Tag: dana white

Daily Update: ESPN, Tom Cole, Stefan Struve

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

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JOB LISTING: Web/UI Developer(s)

  • Experience with OnLamp (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP)
  • GITHUB and Linux command line experience while be helpful as well.
  • CMS – Drupal and WordPress. vBulletin
  • Possible experience with AWS (s3 specifically), Dreamhost, UI development
  • Cloud based hosting experience a plus
  • Javascript also a huge plus

While this is a diverse request this doesn’t have to be just one person! If you fit any part of this please feel free to inquire.

This is not just for projects related to F4WOnline.

  • Send all inquiries to [email protected] with title WEB DEVELOPER.
  • If you have inquired before, please send your information again. 

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WON NEWSLETTER: February 15, 2021 Observer Newsletter: Butch Reed bio, Bellator to Showtime

A look at the career of 80s star Hacksaw Butch Reed, who passed away this past week, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

We look at all of his titles won, sports career before wrestling, what was and wasn’t exaggerated about him, how he got started in wrestling, how fast it was that he was moved to star status, including main eventing at the key wrestling arenas in the country very early, the role Dory Funk Jr, made in his career, how he was booked, a super tag team with Skip Young that few outside of Florida ever saw, feuding with the biggest names on top, his matches with Ric Flair up and down the state of Florida, his sellout with Flair in St. Louis, runs in Georgia and his move to Mid South, his Mid South runs, the high point of his career, his feud with JYD, his Superdome main events, his face and heel turns, his biggest angles, his fight with John Nord and his departure from Mid South, his meeting with Slick, heading to WWF as The Natural Butch Reed, and his WCW run as part of the tag team of Doom with Ron Simmons, life after wrestling and his feelings on Will Hobbs.

Also in this issue:

Nick Khan’s talk about things WWE is doing to try and get new fans, a look at the aging of the sports audience and how wrestling fits in, update on Braun Strowman, update on John Cena TV series, son of 90s star starting in WWE camp, WWE  star talks having a stroke, WWE star gets stalked, experience of being in the Thunderdome and what they look for, how WWE & AEW did compared to sports this past week, international rtings news, more on COVID’s effect onWWE, big matches coming on upcoming shows, WWE market value and most-watched shows on the WWE Network this past week.

Bellator’s new broadcast deals in the U.S. and the U.K., as well as main events for the first shows in April, and look at the light heavyweight tournament.

New Beginning in Hiroshima and the Castle Attack cards for New Japan.

Most-watched televised pro wrestling matches in history, including Hogan vs. Andre and Rikidozan vs. Destroyer.

Preview the next two WWE major shows.

Saturday’s UFC event with the potential knockout of the year.

Gina Carano losing her job in “The Mandalorian” on the anniversary of her landmark fight with Julie Kedzie.

A feature looking at the best matches of top wrestlers of 2020.

Television ratings of the past week, including segment-by-segment numbers for the past two weeks on Wednesday, who was watching in different age groups, how different segments did on Raw & Smackdown and more.

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw and the rest of the current wrestling news. You can send questions to the show to [email protected]

If you didn’t see last night’s Takeover, I’d go out of your way to see it.  It was an outstanding show. Takeover didn’t make the Google search list yesterday. It rarely does but No 20 was only 50,000 and it didn’t crack that.

Lee Cole spoke about the death of his brother Tom to Boston Wrestling.

Jamie Hemmings of Slam Wrestling wrote this story on the death of Tom Cole. We will have a lot more about this in the next Observer, but I’ve also talked about it extensively on the show taped Saturday night and more on the show last night in far more detail than anyone in what is a very troubling and complicated story.

Pat Laprade, who was a good friend of Pat Patterson’s responded today saying, “So sick to read so many people disrespecting Pat Patterson since the death of Tom Cole. I have all the sympathy in the world for Cole and his family. But Pat didn’t do anything. Or cover anything up. That’s not who Pat was. Those behind this have been fired and never came back.  Pat had a weird sense of humour, especially regarding his own sexuality, and it could be misinterpreted. That’s all. Cole felt Pat must have known, but based on what? Nothing. Just because he was gay like the other 2. Again, I feel for what happened to Cole, but Pat was clean.”

Chris Jericho’s wife Jessica Lockhart Irvnie posted on Instagram photos of herself with other women behind a banner that read “Women for Trump” that was taken on 1/6 in Washington, DC as part of the capitol break-in. She was not part of that but was there at the Trump rally.  Jericho also retweeted the photo.  

Raw tonight has a gauntlet match with the six men in the Elimination Chamber match on Sunday, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, A.J. Styles, Jeff Hardy, Sheamus and The Miz. That should take up a long portion of tonight’s show.

Dwayne Johnson’s new NBC-TV show “Young Rock,” with stories about him as a ten year old kid as a wrestling fan, a 15-year-old in high school constantly getting into trouble, and a 20-year-old college football player, built around his father, Rocky Johnson, mother, Ata, grandmother Lia Maivia with characters playing Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Iron Sheik, Afa, Sika and others, debuts at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow night.  The show will run the next 11 weeks.

Stefan Struve announced his retirement from fighting today at the age of 32. He said it was due to health concerns, an inner ear issue giving him vertigo that was made worse in his last fight.  He has been told after undergoing tests that his vertigo issues are likely permanent.  When he started fighting in 2009, given his size and skill level,it was believed in time he would be a world champion, as he was considered the next Semmy Schiltt, who was a dominant K-1 star. But he never learned to use his size in the stand-up to its best advantage. He did knock out Stipe Miocic once, but overall was never a top contender for the championship.

The first round of AEW’s Japanese women’s tournament is up right now on the AEW YouTube page. The first round matches are:

  • Yuka Sakazaki vs. Mei Suruga
  • Veny vs. Emi Sakura
  • Maki Itoh vs. Ryo Mizunami
  • Aja Kong vs. Rin Kadoukura

Longtime reader Ken Raftery wrote a story on Kong.

ESPN had been heavily criticized by ignoring the issue between Dana White of UFC, their content partner, and Ariel Helwani, their television face of MMA reporting. Today they did issue a statement to the New York Post saying “Ariel is a valued colleague and an exceptional MMA reporter. His record speaks for itself,” ESPN told the New York Post.

A quick note that with today as a holiday, television ratings will be delayed by one day, so Smackdown numbers will come out tomorrow and Raw numbers on Wednesday. We should have AEW and NXT numbers on Thursday but maybe not in complete detail until the following week’s issue.

New Japan has another Korakuen Hall show tonight at 4 a.m. Eastern on New Japan World

  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Satoshi Kojima & Yota Tsuji vs. Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb & Great O’Khan
  • Sanada & Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi vs. Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Sho vs. Jay White & Chase Owens & Gedo
  • Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata vs. Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi
  • Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa & Evil

WWE

  • Amazing that here we are more than 23 years later and Undertaker explained that Vince McMahon had to get the belt off Bret Hart because Hart was going to take the belt and appear on Nitro when that’s been debunked over and over. (thanks to Jay Dumont)
  • Hip hop star Bow Wow announced he was training under Rikishi in California after last week talking about how he wants to wrestle for WWE. He’s trying to build a match with Bad Bunny.

UFC

  • Bruno Silva vs. JP Buys has been added to the 3/20 show. Buys’ wife, Cheyanne Buys, will also be fighting on that show against Kay Hansen.
  • Raulian Paiva vs. David Dvorak has been added to the 5/22 show.  Dvorak comes into the fight with a 15 fight winning streak that dates back nine years.
  • Emily Whitmire has pulled out of her 2/27 fight with Samantha Hughes. No reason was given for her withdrawal.

AEW

  • Cody Rhodes was interviewed by the New York Post about Shaquille O’Neal and working with New Japan Pro Wrestling among a number of subjects.

OTHER NOTES

  • A Go Fund Me has been set up for funeral costs for Rusty Brooks.
  • KSW today announced that Marius Pudzianowski, its biggest drawing card and former world’s strongest man, will face Bombardier (2-0) billed as a heavyweight champion of Senegal, in a fight on the 3/20 show in Lodz, Poland.  Bombardier, real name Seringe Ousmane, is a 44-year-old former champion who got into MMA in 2018.   This is the kind of monster fight that Pride sometimes did and that KSW has done a lot of.  There will likely be some awesome promotional videos over the next few weeks building this.
  • MLW’s Filthy Island TV show, a takeoff on Fight Island with the idea Tom Lawlor is producer, will be on the Wednesday show. The matches announced are Dominic Garrini vs. Mauna Loa, Mil Muertes vs. Savio Vega in an Aztec Jungle Fight,  Rocky Romero vs. Gringo Loco  and Low Ki vs. King Mo in a no holds barred fight.  Plus Dan Lambert will appear on the show.
  • The X Division title match set up on Saturday night when Josh Alexander won the series of three-ways will take place on Tuesday’s Impact show, as he faces TJP.
  • Masked Republic has announced Expo Lucha, the world’s largest Lucha Libre fan convention as a virtual event on 3/20. They will stream free matches from companies all over the world including AAAA, CMLL, AEW, Impact and others, Psicosis original and Damian 666 will sign, Vampiro will do a panel discussion, Denise Salcedo will interview Cassandro and a lot more.
  • Lex Luger has been announced as a guest for this year’s WrestleCon in Tampa.
  • The SHWA on 2/13 that was canceled due to the lockdown in Perth, Western Australia, has been rescheduled for 3/6.  The Death Match Downunder show on 2/13 in Melbourne was canceled before the city went into a five-day lockdown.
  • Mark Davis was announced as the new head trainer at the 3 Count Wrestling Academy in Brisbane, Australia.  Davis is part of the tag team Aussie Open that was on the verge of breaking through when he blew out his knee and then COVID hit.  This may indicate he’s not looking at going back to the U.K., where he was based for years.
  • Warrior Wrestling from Saturday night in Whangarei, New Zealand:  TKD & Tee Hawke b Will Stone & Vinny Dunn, NIWA b Liam Erikson, Kingi b Chalky Murdoch, Reuben de Jong b Sam Black, Shane Sinclair & Roddy Gunn & Henry Merritt b Pat Schisk & Jordan Wright & Cam Khyber, Slade Mercer b Kai Solomon, Victoria Ryan b Frankie Quinn, NIWA b Reuben de Jong, Anthony Khan & Ringo Ryan b Jamie Tagataese  Rowan Signal, Slade Mercer b Kingi, NIWA b Slade Mercer (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
  • In yesterday’s update the PWA Black Label results attributed to Kevin Chiat were not sent by him.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Eddie Guerrero wins WWE title at No Way Out 2004

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UFC notes: Jon Jones title shot, Poirier-McGregor 3, Khabib, GSP

Posted on by Josh Nason

In an interview with TMZ, UFC president Dana White said that Jon Jones is next in line for a heavyweight title shot.

White said that Jones wants the winner of the upcoming Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou rematch and “he’s gonna get it.” Jones declared he was moving up to heavyweight after vacating the light heavyweight title last year following three successful title defenses in his second reign with the belt.

Miocic is set to defend the title against Ngannou at March 27th’s UFC 260. White said if that fight goes off as planned, the Jones fight could happen this summer. Despite extended periods of time off due to USADA violations, the 33-year-old has only been defeated once in 28 fights with that one loss a controversial one to Matt Hamill relatively early in his UFC run. He was last seen in action edging out Dominick Reyes in February of last year.

Some other notes from the TMZ interview and another he did with ESPN:

  • A trilogy fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor “makes sense.” He said both guys wants the rematch but it won’t be for the title.
  • A May-July return for McGregor is realistic.
  • White said they aren’t doing an official tournament but said all the lightweights (ranked 1-7) are going to end up fighting each other with McGregor in that mix. They will get down to the top two guys and have them fight for the belt.
  • White is talking to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov soon in Las Vegas and is still holding out hope he will fight again. He said he truly believes he will return to fight whoever emerges from the lightweight mix.
  • He’s unsure if Israel Adesanya will return quickly to middleweight after his March champion vs. champion fight against light heavyweight titleholder Jan Blachowicz.
  • He said he’s 99.9% sure they will do women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas in Asia and are working on that.
  • Even though videos have surfaced of Georges St. Pierre training, White said he doesn’t see an Octagon return in his future.
  • Nick Diaz is indeed interested in fighting again.
  • White said they will be announcing news people want to hear with Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington and a possible coaching stint on TUF.
  • White promised some big “game changing, next level” announcements and moves this summer.

Daily Update: Ethan Page, Guy Hauray, Dana White

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

JOB LISTING: Web/UI Developer(s)

  • Experience with OnLamp (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP)
  • GITHUB and Linux command line experience while be helpful as well.
  • CMS – Drupal and WordPress. vBulletin
  • Possible experience with AWS (s3 specifically), Dreamhost, UI development
  • Cloud based hosting experience a plus
  • Javascript also a huge plus

While this is a diverse request this doesn’t have to be just one person! If you fit any part of this please feel free to inquire.

This is not just for projects related to F4WOnline.

  • Send all inquiries to [email protected] with title WEB DEVELOPER.
  • If you have inquired before, please send your information again. 

Latest Free YouTube Video:

Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!

WON NEWSLETTER: January 18, 2021 Observer Newsletter: The COVID-19 era continues

We have an update with more info on a number of COVID cases involving pro wrestling including more on Chris Jericho, Nick Jackson, Drew McIntyre, Mick Foley, Les Thatcher and more.  We look at what Paul Levesque said about the COVID issue, Jericho  talking about getting it in September, Nick Jackson, and more on others in the industry.

Also in this issue:

We also have our 2020 Business Year in Review issue talking about the biggest crowds, the biggest PPVs, how the year was totally different from any other, UFC business history and more.

Every major promotion, why this year is so hard to evaluate, what you can’t learn from the past year and can, how things look going into the new year, and issues going forward for every company.

Raw, Smackdown AEW and NXT and compare how they are doing now with one year ago, and where things will be in one year if the current direction doesn’t change.

How much money Linda McMahon donated to Trump’s re-election and funding of the recent attempt to take over the capitol.

Royal Rumble update, how much money top stars can earn from doing social media advertising, Update on WWE’s new A&E documentaries for this year, biggest Wednesday drawing card, more on  the next TV special for India, new stars from India debuting including two giants, Dusty Rhodes tag tourney news, the next Takeover show, Injury updates, Lita talks about when she was threatened with being fired, Ricochet contract notes, U.S. sports ratings, U.K. and Canadian TV ratings, New NXT stars, movie star teases working with WWE, Upcoming WWE television shows WWE market value and the most-watched shows on the WWE Network.

Vince McMahon’s lawsuit against Oliver Luck and Luck’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon. We look at McMahon’s complaints as well as what others involved said including some day-by-day looks at aspects of the XFL and its death.

How COVID has changed Japanese wrestling along with new restrictions and what they mean and how they relate to wrestling and the New Japan big show lineup over the next several weeks.

List of the 20 biggest crowds for pro wrestling ever in the country of Canada and notes about business peaks.

Rundowns of the major television shows.

Television ratings of the past week, including segment-by-segment numbers for the past two weeks on Wednesday, who was watching in different age groups, how different segments did on Raw & Smackdown and more.

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I have our weekend show covering UFC, Smackdown and the Impact PPVs as well as the death of Paul Varelans up on the site right now.

Yesterday’s Max Holloway fight with Calvin Kattar, which Holloway won via decision, was a fight of the year candidate. Holloway not only set the record for most strikes landed in a fight, but also broke the record by himself as it related to most strikes landed in a fight by bot fighters combined.  It was one of the most amazing performances in UFC history and should earn him a third bout with current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Only two things during the week cracked the Google top 20 list, both yesterday.  The Holloway vs. Kattar fight was No. 4 with 500,000, which is very high for a television fight as they usually do 100,000 and a big one may do 200,000.  Also yesterday, UFC 257 was No. 11 with 50,000.  ABC, given that Disney owns the PPV fights to UFC, played a one-hour special prior to the UFC on the Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier fight, to try and boost buys.

Ethan Page was not happy with the Ethan Page vs. Karate Man gimmick that was on the Hard to Kill PPV show. Page is no longer with the company and said he had no idea how the thing would be edited until he saw it:

I’m going to take a full blown break from social media. I’ll be staying active on my personal Patreon as much as I can & probably in this group too cuz I love the fig life & u guys. Xoxox. But man …. last night sucked. I’m so embarrassed with how IMPACT! lazily edited that segment last night & forced it to be a joke. I felt the thought of the same guys fighting each other was comedy enough & the more serious we took it the better the reaction would be. But cuz I left the company, they lied to my face & just did what they wanted the whole time. I’m sorry if any of my fans paid for that PPV & felt cheated. I honestly feel the free version I gave away was made with more love, care & attention to detail. Sadly I had no control over the creative or the final product & the editor refused to send it to me beforehand …. so I saw it live with you guys & was surrounded by family. All scratching their heads at that high school project level delivery on a PPV. I pray ppl know I didn’t edit that hot garbage. I actually begged IMPACT! Not to even have Karate man on tv. I only wanted it for my YouTube channel. But … we don’t write the shows. We just get the scripts & do our best. Idk what else to say. Breaks my heart this company refuses to respect its talent or it’s fan base on a regular basis. I tried.  Oh well! Life goes on. That door is closed. Now let’s focus on what’s next. Hope you’re all well. I love all of you for supporting me & helping promote my projects. Because without you guys, karate man wouldn’t have been anything haha. I’m gonna just focus on the good that came of him for my social media & my personal channels. He’s gone now & May he live on in GOOD videos edited by the person who created him. Not stolen by a greedy company trying to capitalize on someone else’s hard work & creativity. Sorry if this comes off so negative. I know I’m usually a positive light for my fans … but today, I need to just be honest. I was lied to. I was hurt. I was disrespected. And I need a break from it all.”

Love Julian

Guy Hauray, who would be the legendary pro wrestling announcer in France for WWE, doing shows in the 80s and 90s, passed away back in August at the age of 77 but it was just reported by his family this week.

New Japan has another live show with English commentary at 4 a.m. Eastern on New Japan World from Korakuen Hall:

  • Will Ospreay & Great-O-Khan vs. Satoshi Kojima & Yuya Uemura
  • Minoru Suzuki & Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Douki vs.  Gedo & Jado & El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori
  • Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Evil & Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo
  • Kota Ibushi & Sho & Tomoaki Honma vs.  Tetsuya Naito & Sanda & Hiromu Takahashi
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & Bushi

WWE

  • The only stuff announced for Raw at this point is Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka and a confrontation between Bliss and Randy Orton. Drew McIntyre wouldn’t be available for Monday’s show but is expected to return a week from Monday.
  • The WWE is planning to add episodes of Wrestling Challenge from September 5, 1986 to November 29, 1986 later this week.

UFC

  • Dana White spoke with the media in Abu Dhabi last night regarding Khabib Nurmagomedov and said more than he said on television. He said that the two talked and that Nurmagomedov would be coming to Las Vegas and they would talk again. He said Nurmagomedov never asked about GSP and said he’s not interested in that fight, but is considering Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Dan Hooker, Michael Chandler or Charles Oliveira. White said he also could not fight again.

OTHER NEWS

  • People have been talking about the Dragon Lee vs. Rey Horus ROH TV title match of late and ROH has released the first five minutes.
  • Dave Bautista has offered a $20,000 reward to Manatee defacers. (thanks to Barry Werner)
  • Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling results from last night in Tokyo:  Maki Itoh b Arisu Endo, Hyper Misao & Shin Ultra-Shoko (Shoko Nakajima) b Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto, Yuki Kamifuku & Pom Harajku b Mirai Maiui & Sena Shiori, Yuki Aino & Nodoka Tenma & Haruna Neko b Marika Kobashi & Suzume & Nao Kakuta, Rika Tatsumi & Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki b Miu Watanabe & Hikari Noa & Raku.  They will return with shows 1/30 and 1/31.
  • Stardom from today at Korakuen Hall for the 10th anniversary show:  Saya Iida b Sayaka Unagi to keep the Future of Stardom title, Natsupoi b Konami-DQ, AZM b Kaori Yoneyama to keep the High Speed title, (Yoneyama had been wrestling as Gokigen Death), Tam Nakano b Starlight Kid, Momo Watanabe & Saya Kamitani won four-way tag team elimination over Syuri & Himeka, Mayu Iwatani & Ruaka and Saki Kashima & Bea Priestley, Giulia b Natsuoko Tora to retain the Wonder of Stardom title, Utami Hayashishita b Maika to retain the World of Stardom title.  Hayashishita will defend her title against Kamitani on 3/3 at Budokan Hall in what is scheduled as the biggest event in company history (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemons.net)
  • SWE Fury on 2/27 in Carthage, TX at the Civic Center is advertising an East Texas Wrestlefest with Terry Funk, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Salina de la Renta, Tim Storm, Christi Jayne, Mark Henry, Teddy Long, Shaul Guerrero, Jazz, Rodney Mack, Mil Muertes, Lacey Von Erich, Melina and Boogeyman.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Vader wins IWGP Heavyweight title

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Daily Update: Clash of Champions, UFC fallout, Dana White

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

WON NEWSLETTER: September 28, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Death of Road Warrior Animal

A look at the Road Warriors, the biggest drawing tag team in pro wrestling history, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We talk about the birth of the team, the background of Joe Laurinaitis, the early days of Hawk, Animal and Rick Rude in pro wrestling, the role of Ole Anderson and Eddy Sharkey in the story, why the Road Warriors did and didn’t work certain territories, why they rarely worked with Bruiser Brody, why they ended up in AWA, JCP, and how they wound up with WWE. We also look at their departure from WWE, Animal leaving wrestling, and their return.

Also in this issue:

COVID in WWE, AEW and CMLL, changes that were made, why AEW and WWE had a breakout in the same week, how AEW is changing its procedures, the belief of how this all started and much more.

G-1 Climax tournament, with an overview of the first shows, this week’s lineups, standings, poll results, star ratings and more covering all the first week shows.

Sports news that affects WWE’s next television deal as well as shakeups at NBCU that also do.  We look at a new WWE marketing idea, Stephanie McMahon’s stock sale, why WWE stock fell, Undertaker talks the end of his documentary, changes at NXT UK, What NXT UK talent were told at meeting this week, NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament, former WWE star talked about returning, more on the Retribution storyline, who is doing the rules and the story behind the finish of the Raw match.  We also have international ratings notes, WWE up for awards, new WWE marketing ventures, Roman Reigns talks changes in his presentation, Dwayne Johnson talks, why Kane is in the news again, WWE market value as well as a look at the most-watched shows on the WWE Network.

Saturday’s UFC show and more thoughts on Colby Covington and the line between playing bad guy wrestler and being offensive is.

WWE’s next two major shows with the cards and backgrounds.

Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate show from this past week.

Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Clash of Champions, G-1 in Kobe, and the rest of the news tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio. I also have a show with Garrett Gonzalez from Friday night talking the week’s news including the Road Warriors, the Wednesday ratings ebbs and flows, how the COVID outbreak happened and why in AEW and WWE at the same time, and more. We are also scheduled for some special Hall of Fame shows this coming weekend.

Dana White last night talked about making a match with Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal. Originally he was planning on Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz for a January PPV show.

Dana White said that Conor McGregor broke the”man code” by releasing private text messages.  McGregor claimed that he did so because White lied about saying he didn’t want to fight, proving they were talking about fighting on a show in May but UFC didn’t want him to fight until they could get fans back. White also said that McGregor texted he was retired and had no idea regarding the talks of a McGregor vs. Manny Pacquiao boxing match.  McGregor said that White, in fact, was involved in those talks.

Clash of the Champions starts at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on the WWE Network.  We are doing weekend polls for three shows, Clash of Champions, today’s New Japan show from Kobe and last night’s UFC 253, thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match for each to [email protected]  The odds tell you how badly they’ve done convincing people these matches are competitive. The odds are from BetOnline and this show has the most one-sided odds since the days when the results would sneak out and gambling patterns from insider bettors ruled.  Here, these one-sided odds are because in most of the undercard matches, nobody takes the challengers seriously.

  • Asuka vs. Zelina Vega for the Raw women’s title – This will be on the preshow. Asuka is a -1500 favorite to win.  Asuka is one of the best workers in the company regardless of gender, but Vega is very much unproven in long singles matches so this is a big one for her.
  • Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews for the U.S.title.  Lashley is a -950 favorite.  Crews is really good. If they have time it should be fine but Crews has not been portrayed in booking like he has a chance of winning.
  • Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Lucha House Party for the Smackdown tag titles.  There is a ton of talent in this match, but once again, the challengers have been portrayed as guys getting squashed. The build for this match even more than any other has been beyond mystifying.  Perhaps it’s to set up a “fluke” win. Still the champs are favored at -500.
  • Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza for the Raw tag titles. Andrade & Garza are -140 to win the match. They’ve wrestled many times before. It should be good.
  • Jeff Hardy vs. Sami Zayn vs. A.J. Styles for the IC title in a ladder match.  Hardy is the king of ladder matches and I’ve seen Zayn have incredible ones over  the years as well, and Styles is as good as anyone in WWE. Hardy is -125 as the favorite, Zayn is +150 ad Styles is +300.  This should be one of the best bouts on the how.
  • Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso for the Universal title. The build for this match on Friday’s Smackdown was really good and Reigns is right now the best portrayed character in the company. And I would think these two in a co-main singles match should have a great match. Jey is really talented and his never gotten a chance to show it in this type of environment.  Reigns is a  -3500 favorite and literally nobody thinks the title is changing here.
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title in an ambulance match.  Ambulance matches in WWE are known for fluke endings. The idea of putting the title on Orton with a fluke and protecting McIntyre seems viable.  Keith Lee has been part of this angle since the start and always on the short end. Orton is a -140 favorite to take the title.

Today’s G-1 had incredible matches with Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kota Ibushi to the surprise of almost nobody. The Kobe show on paper looked to be the best of the tour going in. 

Last night’s UFC show did 2.million searches making it the most-searched topic on the Internet in the U.S. last night, beating out the Los Angeles Lakers.  Conor McGregor was No. 14 with 100,000. The Charlo Brothers PPV last night didn’t even crack the top 20 which is really bad news for that show. The only other combat sport item all week to crack the top 20 was on Wednesday with the death of Road Warrior Animal at 200,000. Clash of Champions today should be expected to do around 200,000 based on prior shows of this caliber. 

The BBC had a story on the Speaking Out movement.

WWE

  • Raw tomorrow night not only has competition of the biggest NFL game so far this season, but also the biggest Monday Night game scheduled this  season, as well as Game six of the Stanley Cup finals.
  • Glenn Jacobs cuts a college football promo. (thanks to Barry Werner and Mike Kuzmuk)  

UFC

  • Miles Johns vs. Kevin Natividad was reported by MMA Junkie as a new fight for 10/31. 

AEW

  • Dark for Tuesday:
    Chuck Taylor & Trent vs. M’Badu & BShop King
    Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet
    Billy & Austin Gunn vs. Cezar Bononi & Shawn Dean
    Penelope Ford vs. Alex Gracia
    Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy vs. Alan Angels & Preston Vance of the Dark Order 5 & 10
    Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall vs. Alex Reynolds & John Silver
    Nyla Rose vs. Rache Chanel
    Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison vs. Luther & Serptentico
    Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian vs. Ryzin & Ray Rosas 

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Kento Miyahara vs. Zeus is the Champion Carnival final and takes place 10/5 at Korakuen Hall.
  • A correction from the Observer. The Best of the Super Juniors tournament and New Japan tag team tournament are expected on the same tour, but not the next tour.  It is scheduled for the final tour of the year. (thanks to Super J Cast).
  • Kailey Farmer, Kamille Brickhouse in the NWA, had a big night last night. She won the NPC Daytona Beach Classic bodybuilding show, and then while on stage right after winning, her boyfriend, NWA wrestler Thom Latimer, asked her to marry him.  She accepted.  Latimer was once married to Ashley Fliehr (Charlotte Flair).
  • IWA’s Double Death Match show scheduled for today was canceled because at least five people scheduled on the show either tested positive for COVID or were quarantining themselves after being exposed to someone who had tested positive.
  • Warrior Wrestling from last night in Chicago Heights, IL:  Moose b Suicide, Mike Bennett b Cheeseburger, Isaias Velazquez b Travis Ttian, Rhino b Best Man, Air Wolf won six-way scramble match, Zachary Wentz b Blake Christian, Joey Janela b Robert Anthony in a street fight, Kylie Rae b Madison Rayne to keep the women’s title, Trey Miguel won the Warrior title in a three-way over champion Brian Pillman Jr. and former champion Brian Cage.  Main event, Janela vs Anthony and Wentz vs. Christian were said to be the highlights. Janela did a flip off the goal posts on Anthony and Frank the Clown. (thanks to Lance LeVine)
  • Mike Mooneyham writes about Road Warrior Animal.
  • SHWA from last night in Perth, Western Australia:  Callum Collins b Chris Target, Chadwick Jackson & Stella Nyx b Del Cano & Ryan Allen, Dave Marshall b The Horde, Dizzy Videl b Pegasus, Pocket Rockets b James Hartness & Casey Johns, Great George b Toro Blanco, Felix Young b Axxton. 
  • Australian Wrestling Superstars on 10/31 in Sydney will be the first show since the pandemic in New South Wales with a paying audience (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
  • AAW runs Thursday night at 115 Bourbon Street in  Merrionette Park, IL.  With only 50 fans allowed the shows sold out instantly.  It is available for $12.99 on FITE TV with Mance Warner vs. Jake Crist for the AAW title, Besties in the World vs. Ace Austin & Mad Man Fulton for the AAW tag titles, Christi Jaynes vs. Hyan, Skye Blue vs. Elayna Black, plus Hakim Zane, Karam, Matt Justice, Stephen Wolf, Gringo Loco, Steve Manders, Travis Titan, Air Wolf, Angel Dorado, Ace Perry and more. 
  • The LFA runs Friday night at Hartman Arena in Park City, KS.  They will also run 10/16 and 10/30 at the same location.  All three events air at 9 p.m. Eastern on UFC Fight Pass.  Kevin Wirth (8-1) vs Askar Askar (10-1) and Andre Fialho (10-3) vs. Antonio dos Santos Jr (8-4) headline Friday’s show.
  • The Los Angeles Times ran a story about a Lucha Libre drive-in show at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, CA put on by Fight Club OC. The show was in the parking lot of the fairgrounds . Fans were encouraged to honk their horns when the action got exciting. They did 173 cars in attendance using locals like Piloto Suicida, who dates back 30 years. A lot of the fans were Fight Club OC regulars who usually attend boxing and MMA shows. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
  • Eddie Kingston’s Grindhouse results from Tampa, FL: Joseph Black b Davey Vega, Troy Hollywood b Ariel Dominguez, Sean Maluta b Kody Lane, Jeremy Wyatt b Thomas Shire, Jon Davis b Fred Yehi
  • A former pro wrestling arena which ran ECW events and many other shows is being sold (thanks to Norm Connors)

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Razor Ramon wins WWF IC title

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Daily Update: UFC fallout, Jon Fitch, Dana White

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

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WON NEWSLETTER: September 14, 2020 Observer Newsletter: AEW All Out reviewed, more

A look at recent concussion and head trauma issues in wrestling as it relates to Matt Hardy and other recent situations in other companies is the lead story in the new issue of the Observer.  We go through Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara, how it was handled, Reby Hardy’s reactions, AEW’s releases, as well as look at many other high profile situations in the last few years in New Japan and WWE, including Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar and how that match pretty much tells you that there will always be exceptions to concussion protocol.

Also in this issue:

Other risks taken in AEW of late, along with complete coverage of All Out, with business notes inculding PPV numbers, poll results,match-by-match coverage and star ratings.

WWE’s new policy on third party bookings, with WWE clarifying many issues, talent reactions, how things seemed to change during the week, as well as reaction from others in wrestling along with Andrew Yang.

G-1 Climax tournament including the blocks and favorites.

Appellate court ruling that threw out a series of lawsuits against WWE on different grounds.  We look at the legal technicalities regarding why these cases had little chance from the start, the one aspect still open and reactions from both lawyers.

Latest firings by WWE, who was involved , why they were done now, plus a look at the career of Gerald Brisco.

Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole, Clash of Champions card, PPV schedule change, NXT UK TV show note, Styles talks retirement, AOP firing notes, Canadian ratings, Where WWE ranks in sports ratings, Cena new TV show, Lawler talks why WWE announcing has changed, WWE star nominated for an award, next week’s TV, WWE current market value as well as the most watched shows for the week on the WWE Network.

Complete coverage of this past Saturday’s UFC show.

The formation of a new pro wrestling group by a major corporation and how it differs from any group in the world as far as its main platform.

Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I have our weekend show up on the site right now. We also have a very well received show with Debbie Malenko talking about the in-ring heyday of the All Japan women’s office and working with the likes of Aja Kong, Manami Toyota and Akira Hokuto.

Here is footage of the Akira Hokuto vs. Debbie Malenko match, heavily edited unfortunately, that is talked about on the show from January 4, 1993 at Korakuen Hall, hours before that year’s Tokyo Dome match. The injury that ended her career was during this early 1993 match with Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Malenko & Sakie Hasegawa.

Jon Fitch announced his retirement after his loss to Neiman Gracie last night at the Bellator show in Uncasville, CT. 

On the main event decision with Michelle Waterson vs. Angela Hill last night, to show how close it was, media scores were 50% for Waterson and 50% for Hill. Judge Derek Clearly gave Hill the first two rounds and Waterson the last three.  Judge Sal D’Amato gav Hill only the first round.  Judge Chris Lee gave Hill rounds 1, 2 and 5,.  I gave the last three to Waterson but rounds two and five were very close so anything from 49-46 Waterson to 48-47 Hill are viable scores, so the judging wasn’t bad even though in a close fight, people are guaranteed to blame the judges..

The finish of Wednesday’s Chris Jericho & Jake Hager vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela match did 580,000+ viewers in 18-49 (translates to 0.45 in the demo) and nearly 1.2 million viewers.

The only thing in combat sports that trended on Google this week was Conor McGregor on Sunday with 200,000, which was No. 11. Nothing from pro wrestling made the list and last night’s UFC show did not crack the top 20 which would be a rare thing.

MMA reporter Dave Doyle noted that last night’s Bellator show, the last on Spike, ends 21 straight years of combat sports on the station that was TNN, The National Network, Spike and Paramount.  It started with ECW on TNN, then WWE Raw for five years (2000-2005), UFC from 2005 to 2010, Impact (2004 to 2014), and finally Bellator (2012 to 2020). 

UFC

  • Dana White said that the work of referee Chris Tognoni in the Mike Rodriguez vs. Ed Herman match was, “the worst I’ve ever seen.  He’s f***ing Mazzagatti-level.  Some Mazzagatti-level s*** right there. That was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”  Rodriguez had the fight won after knocking Herman down with a knee to the chest. Herman sold it as a low blow and Tognoni ruled it a low blow. Herman came back to win via Kimura submission in the third round.  White also said the company is paying Rodriguez his win bonus, feeling he won the fight via TKO.  White was also furious at the commission for not having Tognoni watch a replay when the match was stopped to give Herman time for a complete recovery. Most states say that you can only use a replay to look at the finish of a fight and since the fight wasn’t finished, that would seem to make it a forced finish but I do know people have interpreted the Nevada rule differently.
  • The movie “Bruised” which was Halle Berry’s directorial debut and stars Berry and Valentina Shevchenko as MMA fighters premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this past weekend and Netflix offered nearly $20 million for the fights.  The deal was confirmed between Endeavor, which owned the movie as well as UFC and Netflix.
  • Raulian Paiva is off the 10/31 show due to a torn ACL in his right knee, which will require surgery. He was to face Amir Albazi.

MISCELLANEOUS 

  • Reports are that the Champion Carnival matches from today with Jiro Kuroshio beating Suwama and yesterday with Yoshitatsu beating Kento Miyahara are must-see bouts.
  • The Friday night New Japan show on New Japan World from California is starting a new Lion’s Break Crown series which will feature a singles tournament but using the younger wrestlers this time. They also announced ACH & Alex Zayne vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa.
  • Results from last night’s Warrior Wrestling show in Chicago Heights, IL before 200+ fans:  Daga b Isaias Velazques, Thunder Rosa b Kimber Lee, Warhorse b Joey Janela, Alex Shelley b TJP, Elayna Black b Dan the Dad, Brian Cage b Benjamin Carter, Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz & Dezmond Xavier b Chris Bey & Myron Reed & Jordan Oliver, Kylie Rae b Tessa Blanchard to win Warrior Wrestling women’s title.  The crowd was held down being an outdoor show on a day it was raining most of the day and there was a rain delay after the Janela match. Lots of raves about Carter’s performance in the match with Cage.  Blanchard was said to have shown no signs of rust and brawled all over the stadium and was said to be the best match of the Rae-Blanchard series.  (thanks to many including Robert D’Andrea, Lance LeVine, Debra Ketchner, Dave Gould and others)
  •  Ryan Reynolds noted that he was to work on “Red Notice,” a high-priced Netflix movie he and Dwayne Johnson star in that both got huge guarantees for.
  • Fight Network UK programming is no longer on Showcase TV in the U.K. as of the end of August.  Impact Wrestling remains on 5Star but ROH would no longer be on television in the U.K.
  • ROH did return this past weekend with new programming with the start of the Pure championship tournament. It was a very sports-like presentation. .
  • Mr. Chainsaw Pro Wrestling from last night in Kalkaska, MI: This was scheduled as an outdoor show but moved indoors due to the rain: Jumal Kyng b Christopher Saint & Dickie Watts, Max Morrison b Conrad Loucks, Tommy Vendetta b Rhino, Drew Jacobs & TJ Meyer b Jake Price & Isaiah Broner, Effy b Nolan Edwards, Rohit Raju won over Mitch Hewitt, Sean Tyler, Nate Bock, Blake 182 and Chase Burnett, Jack Verville b Neil Gerard in a loser must retire match (thanks to Leonard Brand)
  • Lariato Pro Wrestling from Dublin, GA last night before 200 fans:  Spi-ral b Fry Daddy, Roman Rozell b Tyzin, Bryce Cannon b Clyde Braddock, Francisco Ciatso & Storm Thomas won over Scott Beah & LandonHale and Paul White &Caleb Scott, Heath (Slater) b Jay Bradley, Doc Gallows b Brad Attitude, Eric Young won over Lazer and Micah Taylor in a cage match to win the Lariato title.  Next show is 10/10. Charlie “Scarry” MacGowen, who started as a referee during the heyday of Georgia Championship Wrestling, worked the show.   
  • Bob Kapur talks to Hiram Garcia of Seven Bucks Entertainment about his photo book on Dwayne Johnson.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: WCW vs. NWO at Fall Brawl 1998

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Daily Update: SummerSlam preview, Dana White, Thunder Rosa

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

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WON NEWSLETTER: August 24, 2020 Observer Newsletter: UFC 252 review, Sonya Deville stalker incident, more

A big week of changes in the industry is looked at in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, including the first look at what AEW television fans would do regarding NXT if there was no AEW and which fan base is more likely to watch and which fan base passed on the show.

Our lead story looks at Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic and UFC 252.  We look at the key moments of the fight, the scoring, Jon Jones, the greatest heavyweight of all-time, PPV numbers, television ratings, Sean O’Malley, match-by-match coverage with poll results and more.

Also in this issue:

The history of Phillip Thomas and his attempt to kidnap Daria Berenato (Sonya Deville), his obsession, and full details as to what happened in a scary story.

Multiple shows benig canceled due to COVID, as well as updating the situation in Japan and Mexico and how each country has handled it differently.

WWE moving into the Amway Center, renaming it the Thunderdome for all television, how the idea happened and comments regarding the new location.

The reality of numbers, as well as a look at this week’s major WWE shows.

Renee Young leaving WWE, how she first got into wrestling, her past and hat looks to be her future.

AEW selling tickets for its television tapings, the current schedule, live vs. tape on ratings and what shows Tony Khan studied for ideas on hwo to open.

Next round of New Japan major shows including the King of Pro Wrestling champinoship tournament.

WWE talks, Goldberg and Mysterio contracts, a discussion of the Patrick Clark situation, why NXT isn’t at the Amway Center, why WWE removed a number of documentaries off the WWE Network, update on WWE creative, international TV ratings, WWE star places in fitness competition, how a new law could affect classificiation ofWWE employees and what it means, WWE star looking to at doing a new TV show, most-watched shows on the WWE Network and market value of the WWE right now.

A feature on the life of John “Xavier” Bedoya, the second ROH champion, including the early days of ROH, his comebacks wth the group, post ROH career and his attempts to get into MMA.

CMLL’s opening in September and plans for its anniversary show including what seven championshps wil be on the line.

Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I have a show from last night covering NXT and AEW and have another show tonight covering NXT and SummerSlam. Garrett Gonzalez and I have a new 100 minute interview with Jon Moxley that people have been very happy with also on the site.

Dana White will be speaking Thursday at the Republican National Convention. 

The deal with Thunder Rosa, the NWA women’s champion, challenging Hikaru Shida for the AEW title on the 9/5 PPV was a deal that Tony Khan worked out with Billy Corgan, so it’s not an indication of anything more and the NWA is still targeting a weekly iPPV schedule with FITE TV.

SummerSlam for tonight with a 6 p.m. pre show and 7 p.m. main show on the WWE Network. Don’t forget we’ve got polls for both SummerSlam & Takeover last night, thumbs up, down or middle, best & worst match to [email protected]

Some late changes to the show are Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt is now falls count anywhere and Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville has changed from hair vs. hair to loser leaves town.

  • Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton for WWE title – There has been talk in both directions regarding the finish here. The two should have an excellent match. Orton is -210 to come out the winner.
  • Strowman vs. Wyatt for Universal title – Wyatt is a -280 favorite. Thus far the matches with these two have not been good, but with falls count anywhere they have far more latitude so it should be the best of them thus far. 
  • Sasha Banks vs. Asuka for Raw women’s title – Depending on the match story and atmosphere, this has a chance to be great. Asuka is a -140 favorite to win since they’ve been teasing Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler for the title.
  • Bayley vs. Asuka for Smackdown women’s title – This match goes first of the two women’s title matches.  Should be good.  Bayley is right now listed as a slight -130 favorite. 
  • Rose vs. Deville loser leaves town – Rose is a -540 favorite to win since Deville has had the edge in most of the stories.
  • Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins in a street fight with Rey and Murphy in the corners.  Real big test for Mysterio in his first pro wrestling match being in such a high profile bout. Rollins is the -175 favorite to win.
  • Apollo Crews vs. MVP for U.S. title – Crews is a -175 favorite to retain.  It appears they are building toward Crews vs. Lashley.
  • Street Profits vs. Angel Garza & Andrade for tag titles – Andrade & Garza are -210 to win the titles. When the program was first set up, that was the plan. 

With another PPV in seven days, expect some major angle or finish or something out of one of the main bouts tonight. At least that would make sense

Regarding the Thursday AEW show that will have a paid attendance of around 500, as it sold out instantly, they are taping just one week (Dynamite & Dark). They have a huge security presence scheduled to enforce mask wearing in the audience and to make sure there are no situations where fans get out of their chairs if there is a brawl and congregate in a cluster to watch anything. Tony Khan studied both GCW and Warrior Wrestling and how they handled live crowds and both the red flags and how it was handled well. There is always a risk for any company running, even in a place like Japan or Australia, and obviously more in Florida. The attempt is by going outdoors and keeping groups apart with only 10 percent capacity and only seats in the 200s and 300s for fans to make it as safe as can be done. Every week is an experiment.

Karrion Kross’ injury from last night early in the match was a separated acromioclavicular joint in his right shoulder.  In short, a shoulder separation. He is having an MRI on Monday to determine the damage and treatment.

UFC did officially announce the Colby Covington vs. Tyron Woodley fight that has been talked about for years. It is scheduled for 9/19, which is not a PPV.

WWE

  • Mauro Ranallo missed last night’s show due to a family issue. 
  • There was a very interesting interchange on yesterday’s Talking Smack between Miz and Big E that we’ve written about for the next issue, having to do with E complaining about Kofi Kingston’s treatment since he lost to Brock Lesnar.  Miz was a last-minute fill-in for Xavier Woods on the show.
  • There were some FOX affiliates that ran sports on Friday so the prelim Smackdown number will include that. The actual number won’t be out until Tuesday, but it’s a virtual certainty the number will be the best the show has done for months due to the Thunderdome curiosity. Even with very tough competition on Monday, the belief is Thunderdome plus being the day after SummerSlam will lead to the best Raw ratings in a while. .
  • NXT U.K. crew was brought together this week for training and a lot of tapings of the U.K. show at the BT Sport Studios so there will be new episodes done. The new episodes start airing on 9/17.
  • Steve Austin just taped a future episode of Broken Skull Sessions with Jerry Lawler.

UFC

  • Media scores for the Frankie Edgar vs. Pedro Munhoz fight were 86 percent for Munhoz, even though Edgar won a split decision with the three judges. It was a great fight and I had Munhoz winning by enough that I was generally shocked it was even a split decision, let alone Edgar winning. Derek Clearly gave Edgar rounds two, three and five. Eric Colon gave Edgar one, two and five. Sal D’Amato was the lone judge for Munhoz and only gave Edgar round two.
  • The planned Ovince Saint Preux vs. Alonzo Menifield semifinal last night was canceled when OSP tested positive for COVID-19. The positive test came back the day of the fight. There are reports he had another positive test earlier in the week but then his next test was negative. OSP was feeling fine all week. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

  • Daga and Tessa Blanchard were married over the weekend in Tijuana. Among those attending were Brian Cage, Melissa Santos and Taya Valkyrie. 
  • There is no date either officially or unofficially for Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Endo or Jon Moxley vs. KENTA matches that the Japanese wrestlers challenged for this weekend. The promotions and wrestlers want those matches and neither is just a grandstand challenge, but the issue is the ability to make them happen given restrictions. The idea everyone is working with is that at some point they will happen, and were scheduled for a long time to happen this year, but it’s obviously been a weird year.    
  • Inside the Ropes has announced the launch of a new pro wrestling magazine with Bill Apter, Findlay Martin, James Dixon, Keith Elliot Grenberg, Brian Elliot and more involved.
  • Last night’s UFC show did 100,000 searches and was No,. 5.  Black Adam, the character Dwayne Johnson is going to play, was No. 11 also at 100,000. Nothing else made the top Google searches last night or even all week, meaning as far as general public interest, Thunderdome, NXT Takeover or yesterday’s AEW TV (regular wrestling TV shows very rarely make the list) for this past week did not crack the top 20.
  • A correction on the 8/24 Observer is the story on the death of Jose Ficca. Ficca did not wrestle in Australia as George Gouliovas. They were two different wrestlers. The misunderstand where people thought they were the same guy is that Ficca was Golden Hawk in 1974-75 in the U.S. and Gouliovas was Golden Hercules in Australia in 1975..  The two actually didn’t look similar; both were pretty powerful looking guys. 
  • Just for a perspective of ratings of sports as compared to Smackdown, last night’s NBA playoff game on ABC did 2.97 million viewers on the overnights (not including West Coast and 1.1 in 18-49.  The NHL came on NBC did 1.23 million and 0.3 and the boxing on FOX did 644,000 and 0.2.  So Smackdown even at its lowest is well ahead of two of those three, and if AEW was on a network on Saturday night, it would easily beat two of those three in 18-49 and boxing for sure and NHL probably overall.
  • AIW on 9/6 in Indianapolis for a Noon show at White River State Park has Swoggle vs. Levi Everett, Erick Stevens vs. Lee Moriarty, Ethan Page vs. Tom Lawlor and more.
  • The premiere of “You Cannot Kill David Arquette, a documentary about his return to pro wrestling took place over the weekend at the Vineland Drive-In Theater in Los Angeles. 
  • Black Label Pro from last night in Crown Point, IL: Josh Bishop b Gary Jay, Trey Miguel b Tre Lamar, Dan the Dad b Cabana Man Dan, Jake Manning and Colin Delaney, Effy b Gangrel, Jake Something b Chris Masters to keep BLP title, Billie Starza b Elayna Balck, Big Beef b Levi Everett, Kylie Rae b Blake Christian to keep Midwest title.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: CM Punk wins World title at SummerSlam 2009

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Daily Update: Cole-McAfee, Dexter Lumis, Fight Island

Posted on by F4W Staff

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

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WON NEWSLETTER: August 3, 2020 Observer Newsletter: WWE has most profitable quarter ever

The most in-depth look at WWE business is the focal point of this week’s double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

WWE set an all-time record for profits even while having no revenue from arena shows or live event merchandise. We go through the key places the cost savings came from and how reliant the company is now on television money.  We also have notes on investors grilling Vince McMahon about the declining ratings and the firing of Paul Heyman and his responses.

The new issue also covers:

Huge growth in June of the WWE Network, the reasons it happened, and whether or not it’s sustainable. We give a realistic reason for the growth as well as a WWE-speak version. We look at the change in marketing strategy and the early returns from this change; We look at where analysts were wrong about profitability, how the stock price rose, and why the rising level wasn’t that much because of many analysts long-term concern and why.

The difference in tax rate, current market value of the company, why the big talent cuts played no part in these profits and how the profits should go once that talent that was let go is no longer being paid.

What the company is now talking about doing with all the extra cash on hand because the pandemic greatly helped short-term business.

Where the stock price really should be based on the sure-fire profits through 2024, and why it’s still much lower. We also look at the Raw and Smackdown numbers for quarter two, how they compare to last year, and break through  just the numbers to look at the impact of wrestling on the USA Network both last year and this year.

More changes in the WWE Network strategy, updates on WrestleMania in Los Angeles, how soon Vince McMahon thinks before ratings turn around, building new stars, Vince’s reason why AEW numbers are holding up better than Raw or Smackdown, safety measures, and even the WWE Hall of Fame.

The health of Antonio Inoki and look at his disease.

The merger of several Japanese companies and what it really means.

We also look at long-term WWE stock analysis.

Update on Rey Mysterio and WWE, WWE hires a new major executive from NBC, Update on people furloughed, departure of Kairi Sane, constant booking plan changes, Randy Orton talks philosophy of wrestling, Lance Storm talks his own status, Xavier Woods wants non-wrestling gig, Kurt Angle talks his retirement, where wrestlnig stands in sports ratings, update on U.K. ratings, strange Bruce Prichard/Nick Aldis story, return of Kyle O’Reilly as well as the most watched shows on the WWE Network.

A feature on Regis Philbin and his long association with pro wrestling. We look at where it started, where it didn’t take place, how Philbin started using WWF talent and what segment nearly ended it.

New Japan’s Sengoku Lord show with match-by-match coverage, business notes, poll results and star ratigns. We also look at the history of pro wrestling at Jingu Stadium, why New Japan booked a stadium show with such little advance time, the creation of the new KOPW title, and the famous world champion vs world champion match at the stadium in 1994.

This past week’s UFC show, the final event of the Abu Dhabi Fight Island series.

The career of Zoltan Boscik, one of the great technical wrestlers of the 60s and 70s and a television regular. Despite being less than 150 pounds and having nothing of an impressive look, Boscik was a two-time British lightweight champion and a regular world title contender.

Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Ahead of tonight’s NXT, Pat McAfee posted pictures of him talking with Adam Cole and them shaking hands: “Hey @AdamColePro.. I’m thankful for the opp to chat. I feel like the convo was something that doesn’t happen often anymore..2 people have a miscommunication, they talk about, can agree to disagree about some things & they move forward. How you doin? Keep it movin. #WWENXT”
  • Cole then responded to McAfee: “What happens when two grown adults hash things out. Class act @PatMcAfeeShow”
  • Dakota Kai and Rhea Ripley’s number one contender’s match will open tonight’s NXT. The winner will challenge for Io Shirai’s NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver XXX on Saturday, August 22.
  • WWE posted a storyline injury update on Dexter Lumis after his match against Timothy Thatcher and Finn Balor from last week’s NXT: “WWE Digital has learned that the severity of the ankle injury suffered by Dexter Lumis is worse than previously reported. In last week’s NXT Injury Report, it was revealed that Lumis had suffered an osteochondral lesion to the talus after a grueling battle with Finn Bálor and Timothy Thatcher for a North American Championship Match opportunity. Lumis won the bout, but the growing severity of his ankle injury has raised some questions around Lumis’ status for the North American Championship Ladder Match at TakeOver XXX.” It was said on WWE’s The Bump this morning that Lumis will still wrestle at TakeOver.
  • Triple H announced that Metallica’s “Moth Into Flame” is an official theme song of NXT TakeOver XXX: “#NXTTakeOver: XXX will be our biggest event yet…so we had to make it as LOUD as possible. A special thank you to @Metallica for this #NXTLoud theme. ‘Moth Into Flame’ gets even LOUDER on S&M2, out August 28th. #WeAreNXT”
  • ESPN reported that James Kimball is taking a senior operations role in WWE: “James Kimball, who has been the operations head of the UFC Performance Institute (in Las Vegas and Shanghai) since the conception of the idea, is leaving the UFC for WWE, sources told ESPN. Kimball is taking a senior business operations role in WWE and will be working out of the corporate office in Stamford, Connecticut. As MMA Junkie reported Wednesday, Dr. Duncan French, who had been the performance head of the UFC PI, will take over as operations head.”
  • Mustafa Ali, Ruby Riott, Big E, and Bronson Reed appeared on WWE’s The Bump this morning.
  • Bret Hart, Matt Riddle, Big Show, Dakota Kai, and comedian Gabriel Iglesias have been announced as guests for next week’s episode of The Bump.
  • WWE on FOX has video of last night’s SummerSlam 1992 watch party with Renee Young, Booker T, CM Punk, Finn Balor, and Bret Hart.
  • The WWE Performance Center uploaded a video on Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, his music, and his Swerve City podcast.
  • Kurt Angle celebrated reaching seven years of sobriety yesterday: “Celebrating 7 years of sobriety today. To all of you who supported me and stood by me, through good and bad, I want to thank you for not giving up on me. Salute! (With a glass of milk in my You Suck cup). #sobriety #addictionsucks #yourenotalone #recovery”
  • Byron Saxton will be the guest on tomorrow’s edition of After the Bell with Corey Graves.

Other Wrestling

  • The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) will get their rematch for the Impact Tag Team titles against the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) at Emergence. Emergence is a two-week special taking place on the August 18 and August 25 episodes of Impact.
  • The following matches have been announced for next Tuesday’s Impact:
    Eddie Edwards Impact World Championship open challenge
    Tasha Steelz & Kiera Hogan vs. Jessicka Havok & Nevaeh in a no DQ match
    Jordynne Grace vs. Kimber Lee
  • During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Matt Cardona discussed his love for pro wrestling: “There are times when it has sucked and there was no light at the end of the tunnel. That’s when you really have to love it. It is so easy to love it when you are on TV every week and in a great spot. Who wouldn’t love that. You have to love it when you are sitting in catering. You have to love it when you are not booked. You have to love it when things aren’t going your way. Then, when you get nights like last week, everything is so much better and sweeter that way. Maybe that’s just my delusional way of thinking about it. For me, that’s how I live my life. I don’t want to live in bitterness. What’s the point? Why complain online? You’re not going to be happier, I’ll tell you that.”
  • Cardona and Brian Myers interviewed Tony Khan on The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast.
  • Khan tweeted yesterday after Fulham FC secured promotion to the English Premier League for next season: “Thank you @FulhamFC supporters worldwide, thank you so much to the squad & staff for today’s win. I love being an owner but being your Director of Football/Sporting Director/GM is my favorite role in life. I love the people at this Club. What a day! Thank you all. Come on Fulham!”
  • Fred Yehi spoke to Andrew Thompson about EVOLVE, MLW, the rise of Black wrestlers, and the ROH Pure title tournament.
  • POST Wrestling has an article on the death of Jaguar Vijay Singh, who passed away last Friday.

MMA

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Great Sasuke wins Unified J-Crown

CONTACT INFORMATION

Dana White: Khabib to fight Gaethje in October, open to GSP fight

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: UFC

In an interview with CNN Tuesday, UFC president Dana White unveiled plans for one of their biggest fights of the fall plus a tease about another fight that would be much bigger.

White said that the lightweight championship unification bout between current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. interim champion Justin Gaethje is a go for Saturday, October 24th with a location TBD.

The undefeated Nurmagomedov has been out of action since last September when he dominated Dustin Poirier in a title defense. Less than two months after Ramadan ended, his father passed away on July 3rd after heart surgery and complications due to COVID-19, adding to his absence. Gaethje defeated Tony Ferguson by fifth round TKO in May to win the interim belt and earn the shot at the Dagestan native.

Then in an ESPN interview, White said that he would be interested in pairing Nurmagomedov against Georges St-Pierre if it was Nurmagomedov’s final fight, a pairing both men talked about wanting to have before GSP’s retirement last year.

“Sure. Yeah, it’s the last fight of his career,” White said. “The guy has been great. He’s been great to the company, he’s been great for the sport, and, I like Khabib Nurmagomedov a lot. I would do anything Khabib wanted to do.”

This came up as the 31-year-old Nurmagomedov’s manager recently said he will retire after two more fights.

JNPO: Dana White’s unexpected ESPN adversary

Posted on by Josh Nason

UFC president Dana White generally despises the media, but has found himself a fairly soft landing spot on ESPN programming. An exception was this past week when he appeared on First Take to officially announce the location of Fight Island. 

What happened after that was unexpected to say the least courtesy of former NFL player turned media personality Domonique Foxworth.

On this new JNPO, MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn returns to the show to discuss the appearance and how the UFC president refuses to budge from his key lines when it comes to paying fighters more money.

Also on the docket:

  • The loaded up UFC 251 card kicking off the Fight Island era of UFC
  • Is Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier III for the right to be called the best UFC heavyweight of all time and could we see a double retirement?
  • Do we really think Conor McGregor is retiring?
  • Some UFC 250 leftovers as the bantamweight division just keeps getting deeper

Click below to listen now.

Right click save

Dana White: Miocic-Cormier III set, Conor could have fought at UFC 249

Posted on by Josh Nason

During an appearance on ESPN First Take Tuesday where he made a formal announcement about Fight Island, UFC president Dana White discussed some other topics including the trilogy fight that could determine the best UFC heavyweight of all time.

White said that UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormer III is set for Saturday, August 15th, but doesn’t have a location yet. The two first fought in July 2018 when the then-light heavyweight champion Cormier knocked out Miocic in the first round to become a double champion. They rematched just over a year later and Miocic reclaimed the title with a fourth round TKO win.

Miocic had set the record for most consecutive title defenses (three) before the Cormier loss while Cormier had never been beaten at heavyweight before MIocic beat him.

Other notes from the conversation:

  • White claimed that Conor McGregor could have fought at UFC 249 as a replacement for either lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov or Tony Ferguson, but chose not to because he said “I’m not a replacement fighter. I’m not going to do it.” Justin Gaethje instead moved into Nurmagomedov’s position and defeated Ferguson for the interim lightweight title. White said McGregor was frustrated that he can’t get what he wants, and recommended the former two divison champion sit back and wait to see how things play out. 
  • When asked about the contracts for Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal, White aired frustration since both signed new deals recently. He said Jones signed a new deal less than a year ago and has eight fights remaining which contradicts what Jones said. With Masvidal, White said he signed a new deal seven months ago.
  • He said Kamaru Usman just signed a new six fight deal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51hKKVlhJug

Daily Update: The Athletic, Jorge Masvidal, Bobby Fulton

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

JOB LISTING: Web/UI Developer(s)

  • Experience with OnLamp(Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP)
  • GITHUB and Linux command line experience while be helpful as well.
  • CMS – Drupal and WordPress. vBulletin
  • Possible experience with AWS(s3 specifically), Dreamhost, UI development
  • Cloud based hosting experience a plus
  • Javascript also a huge plus

While this is a diverse request this doesn’t have to be just one person! If you fit any part of this please feel free to inquire.

This is not just for projects related to F4WOnline.

WON NEWSLETTER: June 8, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Black Lives Matter

We have a feature on systemic prejudice in the U.S. as the lead story in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Also in this issue:

The Dana White/Jon Jones story, explaning the economic realities, the economic fallacies and where things stand with both men’s arguments. We look at what does and doesn’t make sense economically, why Jones and Conor McGregor and all the top draws have lost value to UFC, plus exactly what both men have said about each other and where things stand.

The economics of what Jones has drawn in the past, and the numbers of recent UFC show.

The unwritten WWE rule about not criticizing other talent in a public forum outside of storyline-related reasons, why it was broken this past week, what was said, as well as looking at the ties beween the ownerships of the different wrestling companies with Donald Trump, statements released, and the key things no talent can say.

New WWE Network updates.

Upcoming guidelines for WWE shows, Paul Levesque talks COVID testing, notes on more WWE cuts, Vince McMahon sends out memo, original Gronkowski plans and why they changed and why now.

Upcoming Backlash and Takeover shows, an update on the XFL bankruptcy, how WWE is involved and more.

Update the Kairi Sane injury, Vince McMahon bio, Drake Maverick angle, people talked about for main roster, WWE hires new man t head the Middle East business, Kurt Angle talks why he’s not returning at this point to WWE, plus we look at the current market value of WWE and poll results, as well as WWE’s own track record.

Coverage of Saturday’s UFC show with the storylines and the business news, plus match-by-match coverage.

A large feature on the retirement of Stu Saks and the westling magazine era, the life and times and the glory years of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, the death of the magazine business, how VinceMcMahon tried to kill it early, and the different stages of the magazine era.

A feature on the wrestling career, and life of Danny Havoc from many of the people who knew him best in the industry.

In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

The Athletic website announced today it had cut 46 staff members,which was eight percent of its working force. The cuts were across all sports and among the MMA names cut were Chuck Mindenhall, Dan Stupp, Josh Gross and Chad Dundas. They cited that subscription growth was not at the rate it had been, which is hardly surprising with less live sports.

Dana White said that Gilbert Burns was the front runner for the next welterweight title shot at Kamaru Usman. This came at the same time that Jorge Masvidal, who figured to get the next shot, claimed he was disrespected when UFC made him an offer of half of what he had made for his recent fight with Nate Diaz.  He asked for a release. Masvidal said, “If I’m not worth it, let me go.”

White just said Burns wanted to fight and nobody else wanted to. From a UFC standpoint, Usman vs. Masvidal doesn’t figure to do the business of Diaz vs. Masvidal, and you don’t have a live gate. But since the PPV revenue is guaranteed by ESPN, the idea of cutting pay due to a lesser drawing match doesn’t make as much sense. You can’t argue one way for Jon Jones and another for Jorge Masvidal, which is what is happening here.

Bobby Fulton of The Fantastics tag team announced this morning that he was declared cancer free.

UFC weigh-in results for tomorrow’s show:

  • Prelims on ESPN+ and Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. Eastern:
    Evan Dunham (149.5) vs. Herbert Burns (149.5) – 150 pound fight
    Alonzo Menifield (205) vs. Devin Clark (205.5)
    Jussier Formiga (126) vs. Alex Perez (126)
  • Prelims on ESPN at 8 p.m.:
    Charles Byrd (184.5) vs. Maki Pitolo (185.5)
    Cody Stamann (145.5) vs. Brian Kelleher (146)
    Gerald Meerschaeart (185.5) vs. Ian Heinisch (185.5)
    Chase Hooper (145.5) vs. Alex Caceres (146)
  • Main card on ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m.:
    Sean O’Malley (136) vs. Eddie Wineland (136)
    Neil Magny (171) vs. Anthony Rocco Martin (170.5)
    Aljamain Sterling (136) vs. Cory Sandhagen (135.5)
    Raphael Assuncao (136) vs. Cody Garbrandt (136)
    Amanda Nunes (145) vs. Felicia Spencer (145) for women’s featherweight title

Impact looks to be making an announcement about its world title given Tessa Blanchard is still in Tijuana. The problem now is that COVID-19 is bad in Mexico so even though a lot of talent can get in from Canada and the U.K., those in Mexico, which also include AEW’s Pentagon Jr. and Jack Evans, and all the AAA talent, still are uncertain. 

WWE

  • Smackdown tonight has Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks, a face-to-face with Daniel Bryan and A.J. Styles to build up next week’s IC title match and Jeff Hardy explains last week’s arrest angle. Or at least tries to. 205 Live has Tehuti Miles vs. Oney Lorcan and Isaiah Scott vs. Jack Gallagher.
  • Titus O’Neil speaking in Tampa on Wednesday at the 32:40 mark of this video. (thanks to Mark Schreiner)
  • Odds for Takeover from www.BetOnline.agAdam Cole -300 vs. Velveteen Dream +200
    Io Shirai -150 vs. Charlotte Flair +120 vs. Rhea Ripley +200
    Johnny Gargano -160 vs. Keith Lee +120
    Karrion Kross -250 vs. Tommaso Ciampa +170
    Damien Priest -160 vs. Finn Balor +120
    Yim & Blackheart & Nox -200 vs. LeRae & Kai & Gonzalez +150
  • And for next week:
    Drew McIntyre -900 vs. Bobby Lashley +500
    Asuka -500 vs. Nia Jax +300
    Randy Orton -160 vs. Edge +120
    Braun Strowman -1000 vs. Miz & Morrison +550

UFC

  • Alexander Gustafsson is coming out of retirement to face Fabricio Werdum on a 7/25 UFC show on Fight Island.
  • Here is the Countdown to UFC 250 video.
  • UFC has announced a new issue of UFC Chronicles on the life of Josh Samman, which is up on the site now and a betting show on tomorrow’s card which is also up on the site. There will be a Max Holloway show debuting tomorrow.     
  • Austin Hubbard vs. Joe Solecki at lightweight has been added to the 6/20 show.
  • The main card for the 6/13 UFC show on ESPN+ will be Jordan Espinosa vs. Mark De La Rosa, Andre Fili vs. Charles Jourdain, Ray Borg vs. Merab Dvalishvili, Karl Roberson vs. Marvin Vettori and Jessica Eye vs. Cynthia Calvillo.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • CWE has announced a show open to the public on 6/12 in Winnipeg at Rookie’s Sports Bar. Itwill be restricted to only 100 spectators. Wearing a mask is recommended but not mandated and people are allowed to sit close with people they arrive wit but asked to stay away from others. They’ve also announced a tour throughout Canada form 10/17 to 11/9 with shows in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. 
  • Gino Gambino is donating proceeds for all his Pro Wrestling Tees sales for the rest of the year to Aboriginal Legal Services. Charli Evans, Jessica Troy, Kingsley and Shazza McKenzie are also donating their proceeds for this month through WrestlerMerch as well.
  • Kevin Eck’s weekly ROH rundown.
  • MLW Anthology this week will focus on Satoshi Kojima and his run as MLW champion with matches against Jerry Lynn, Vampiro and Johnny Smith. 
  • This week’s ROH TV show will be featured around Brody King, including a match with Jeff Cobb.
  • VFW Magazine has an article on pro wrestler Ryan Oshun in the active duty U.S. Air Force.
  • There is a Go Fund Me for longtime subscriber and correspondent Jon Southerland, who is being treated at Clovis Community Hospital. He was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer that has spread to his liver and lungs.  He was diagnosed in the first week of May. He’s currently in the ICU awaiting his first round of chemo.Chris Gonzalez is attempting to raise funds to assist in paying for his treatment and recovery. There are more details on the GoFundMe page. 
  • Nick Aldis says he would like to defend his title against Joe Hennig in an interview with TSN 1200 in Ottawa: “The one that may surprise people but I really have faith and could really make magic with is Joe Hennig. Curtis Axel in WWE… I’m getting excited just talking about it but Joe and I attended Harley Race’s camp together in 2007 I think it was… We were all like that’s Curt Hennig’s kid. Wow. He’s just started wrestling and he was such a natural. I couldn’t believe it. I was just so envious. This perfect footwork and takes these perfect crisp flatback bumps. Perfect dropkick. I was like “I’ve been doing this for like 4 years and I can’t do it like that!”. You know for me I just don’t understand why and how that was never taken advantage of but in our world you can bet your ass that that’s how we do it. We would take you on that ride and tell you every part of that story and get you emotionally invested. Not to say that we would exploit any of those things but if anyone saw the build towards me and Cody and the emotion attached to that because of Dusty and because of what it meant to Cody. It’s genuine. It’s real. What it genuinely meant to Cody to get a shot at the title and what it meant to his family. I think that a lot of the same elements exist with Joe Hennig except with Joe Hennig it’s a real point to prove with him. I think two guys around the same age with very different paths but sort of converging at the same point in time with this ultimate prize on the line but both with real significant points to prove. I think it’s pretty hard to go wrong with that. “

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Ospreay defeats Shingo to win 2019 Best of the Super Juniors

CONTACT INFORMATION

June 8, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Black Lives Matter

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

BLACK LIVES MATTER

2020 will go down as a year that has been the worst of most of our lifetimes, a combination of 1918 and 1929, where we had to deal with the loss of jobs, freedom, many of us or our families were directly affected by health issues, loss of entertainment, far too many out of touch and outright stupid people we voted into leadership roles and all the assorted mental health issues that were sure to follow.

You all know the story. You all know about the divisiveness, the intolerance, and political leaders on both sides being oblivious and making a bad situation much worse. It was a time when, at the end of the day, there was going to be a huge magnifying glass on people in power, heads of state and heads of businesses. We would see very strongly the good, the evil, those who really care, and those who only care about themselves.

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

Jon Jones offers to relinquish UFC title as Dana White spat continues

Posted on by Josh Nason

The turbulent relationship between Dana White, the UFC, and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones continued through the weekend with the latest chess move being a surprising one made Sunday afternoon.

On Twitter, Jones said he was willing to relinquish his championship (“Veni, vidi, vici”) and that top contenders Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz should fight for the title instead. When a fan asked him if he was “revoking” his title, he answered yes.

“As of right now, I got nothing to really gain fighting either of them. Let me know if you guys want to set up a day in 2021 for that Izzy fight. Hopefully you guys will be willing to pay by then,”he tweeted, ‘Izzy’ is in reference to middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

After hearing White’s post-UFC Fight Night press conference Saturday in which the UFC president continued to say it was “crazy” for Jones to ask for $20 or $30 million to fight top contender Francis Ngannou at heavyweight, Jones (on Twitter) questioned why he was being painted in such a light and asked for his release:

“The reporter asked Dana to show the text messages instead he gives a 55 second response talking about why would I lie. At no point did I ever demand anything from you Dana, I simply asked for a Super fight and asked to be compensated for it. You are the one who started talking negotiations publicly and showing the world how much you’ve been withholding from your athletes this whole time.

“Hunter and I had a very respectful conversation, I love how you’re trying to paint this picture of me being some angry guy disrespectfully demanding money. And then bringing up my out of the cage affairs to justify under paying me by tens of millions for years You’re talking all that big guy stuff about not caring, put your money where your mouth is and release me from that contract.”

These recent issues started when White said the heavyweight superfight between Jones and Ngannou wasn’t happening due to Jones’ money demands. While he initially was vague about the amount, White later said Jones (26-1-0-1) was asking for “Deontay Wilder money”, a reference to the heavyweight champion boxer who made $30 million for a recent fight. 

Indications are that Jones, who recently signed a new deal, was asking for $15 million given the magnitude of the fight and denied asking for $30 million. White said text messages exist that prove it, but is declining to release them. ‘Hunter’ is UFC EVP Hunter Campbell who White is deferring management of this situation to.

The 32-year-old and the UFC have had problems in the past given Jones’ proclivity to legal issues ranging from drug test failures (PEDs and cocaine) to a 2015 hit and run incident involving a pregnant woman. There was also a dispute with UFC 151 in August 2012 when Jones declined to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice when Dan Henderson had to pull out. White canceled the event and sent out a press release says Jones and head coach Greg Jackson “murdered” the event by not taking the fight. 

Yet, the UFC has brought him back repeatedly and put him in championship opportunities with White calling him the greatest fighter of all time as recent as Friday. Jones has three successful defenses in his current title reign, last defeating Reyes in a controversial unanimous decision in February.

Daily Update: Jon Jones, Dana White, Chris DeJoseph

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

JOB LISTING: Web/UI Developer(s)

  • Experience with OnLamp(Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP)
  • GITHUB and Linux command line experience while be helpful as well.
  • CMS – Drupal and WordPress. vBulletin
  • Possible experience with AWS(s3 specifically), Dreamhost, UI development
  • Cloud based hosting experience a plus
  • Javascript also a huge plus

While this is a diverse request this doesn’t have to be just one person! If you fit any part of this please feel free to inquire.

This is not just for projects related to F4WOnline.

WON NEWSLETTER: June 1, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Death of Hana Kimura Dave Meltzer covers a sad week for pro wrestling, reviews AEW Double or Nothing, and more.

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

Jon Jones and Dana White have been firing back and forth yesterday and today. Basically each is calling the other a liar. White claimed Jones was asking for $30 million to do the fight with Francis Ngannou. Jones said he never asked for a dollar figure but said he signed a new deal but feels he deserves more for a superfight. White said that he had text messages that prove otherwise. Jones then told White to release the text messages. Jones also suggested to White that if he doesn’t want to pay him, release him so he can be a free agent. Dana White suggested both take a lie detector test. Releasing the text messages would be more enlightening. Jones did say that he makes more than $5 million per fight but believes he should be paid more for a fight with Ngannou. 

Christopher DeJoseph, who was one of the lead writers of Smackdown, was let go. No other details are available.

Here are the weigh-in results for tomorrow’s UFC show on ESPN which starts at 6 p.m. Eastern

  • Chris Gutierrez (145.5) vs. Vince Morales (145.5)
  • Casey Kenney (136) vs. Louis Smolka (136)
  • Tim Elliott (126) vs. Brandon Royval (125.5)
  • Klidson Abreau (206) vs. Jamahal Hill (205.5)
  • Billy Quarantillo (149.5) vs. Spike Carlyle (150) – they agreed to a 150 pound catch weight fight
  • Katlyn Chookagian (126) vs. Antonina Shevchenko (125.5)
  • Mackenzie Dern (115.5) vs. Hannah Cifers (115.5) 
  • Brok Weaver (157.5) vs.  Roosevelt Roberts (156) – Weaver missed weight by 1.5 pounds
  • Daniel Rodriguez (170) vs. Gabriel Green (170.5)
  • Augusto Sakai (259.5) vs. Blagoy Ivanov (255.5)
  • Tyron Woodley (170.5) vs. Gilbert Burns (170.5)

As part of Ric Flair’s new contract, he sold rights to the term “The Man” to WWE that he had attempted to trademark which led to a business dispute with WWE who had been using the term for Becky Lynch. 

The Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream NXT title match for 6/7 was filmed last night until 1:30 a.m.

WWE

  • WWE has just added a Best of Shayna Baszler show on the WWE Network.
  • Announced 205 Live matches for tonight include Danny Burch vs. Tehuti Miles and Tyler Breeze vs. Tony Nese.
  • Bob Kulivk, who produced and played lead guitar on the song “The Game” for HHH, passed away at the age of 70. He also worked with Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy early on.
  • The Fox station in Columbus, OH has a feature with Elias. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)

UFC

  • In an interview with Aaron Bronster, Dana White was asked why Ronaldo Jacare Souza wasn’t sent home when he arrived in Jacksonville after telling the UFC he had been in contact with someone who had COVID-19. White defended it saying that they were waiting for his test result first.  “Because I didn’t want to. It’s my show. I’ll do what I want to do. I didn’t want to. I wanted to wait for the test to come in.”
  • There is another controversy brewing for tomorrow’s show. According to Ariel Helwani, Nevada wants everyone in attendance at the shows to wear a mask. White told reporters he would not be wearing a mask, and if he’s forced to, will watch the show from a private room instead.
  • The LFA noted that five alumni of the promotion, Brandon Royval, Mackenzie Dern, Spike Carlyle, Tim Elliott, Chris Gutierrez and Casey Kenney are fighting on tomorrow night’s show. 

MISCELLANEOUS

  • ROH, Pro Wrestling Tees and the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown are celebrating Pride Month with a limited edition Ian Riccaboni Micro Brawlers with proceeds being donated to the Bradbury-Sullivan Center in support of community programs and initiatives.  There will be only 500 figures produced and they are available from ROHProShop.com and ProWrestlingTees.com
  • ROH has announced that 50 matches from the past will be added to Honor Club ever Friday night starting today. Among the matches added today are:
    DoFixer vs Blood Generation which won the 2006 Match of the Year award in the Observer poll
    Samoa Joe & Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji
    Christopher Daniels vs. Roderick Strong for the ROH title
    Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio Castagnoli for the Pure title
    Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. A.J. Styles & Matt Sydal
    Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans
    Mercedes Martinez vs. Lacey vs. Daizee Haze vs. Allison Danger
  • Kevin Eck runs down the week in ROH.
  • A graffiti tribute to Shad Gaspard in Somerset, KY is just off the street where Old Monticello St and Beecher St meet if anyone with access wants to visit it.
  • IWTW starting 6/2 will introduce a new weekly streaming block of Japanese wrestling from the Freedoms promotion.
  • Western Australia announced they will be going to Stage 3 on 6/6 meaning that EPW will reopen its wrestling school.
  • Philippine Wrestling Revolution’s Homecoming show from last year that features Jeff Cobb and TJP will be streamed as an iPPV on Sunday. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
  • MLW is releasing a new weekly digital short series called MLW Pulp Fusion on its YouTube channel and page.  The first episode features The Dynasty, Tom Lawlor, Dominic Garrini, Konnan, Myron Reed, L.A. Park and Kevin & Ross & Marshall Von Erich.
  • This week’s MLW Anthology show at 10 p.m. tomorrow on Bein Sports and 6:05 p.m. tomorrow on YouTube is built around Low Ki, including matches with Shane Strickland and Homicide.
  • A story on Joe Perri, a longtime Pittsburgh area fan, who passed away due to cancer. (thanks to Lee Wall)
  • CWE’s 11th anniversary show will be on its Facebook page live tonight.  There will be attempts to raise money such as you get a shoutout for a $25 donation, plus autographs, phone calls from talent and other things can be had with donations.  The empty arena show starts at 8 p.m. Eastern live from Winnipeg with a tag team tournament.
  • A story on Ron Simmons. (thanks to Mike Kumzuk)
  • A story on Impact’s Chris Bey in the RetroMania video game.
  • United Wrestling Network has new segments including Work Rate, Heritage Hall, and The Push.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: First NXT TakeOver

CONTACT INFORMATION

Dana White on Jones-Ngannou, Mike Tyson, future UFC title fights

Posted on by Josh Nason

This story was updated at 1:40 PM Eastern.

UFC president Dana White did a 25-minute interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto Thursday where he addressed the recent Jon Jones-Francis Ngannou fight rumors, Mike Tyson’s fighting future, and some title fights they are looking to make.

On the prospects of Jones-Ngannou at heavyweight, White said that Jones “couldn’t be asking for a more absurd amount of money at a worse time” and questioned why he was angling for a fight when he’s never wanted to go up a weight class. He said a rematch with Dominic Reyes makes more sense while Jan Blachowicz also remains an option. White put over Jones as the greatest of all time with “no debate”.

On Twitter, Jones retorted that he didn’t ask for a pay increase and that they never made a number off. “Immediately the conversation was that I already made enough,” he tweeted, later adding he’s not mad at White or the UFC but is disappointed this went that route.

On Friday’s ESPN First Take, White said he wasn’t lying and doubled down that he was asking for “an obscene amount of money” and if Jones wants to speak up about what he asked for, that’s up to him. White said they told him if he ever wanted to move to heavyweight, they would do a new deal and that was factored into a new deal he signed.

White also did an interesting, and sometimes contentious, interview with ESPN’s Dan Le Betard Friday where he discussed fighter pay and unions among other news, but also said that their deal with Reebok is coming to an end and that they “are talking to people now”. They will not revert back to letting fighters get their own sponsorship deals for placement on shorts like they used to.

Other notes from the Okamoto interview:

  • White said he got Mike Tyson a TV show to keep him away from returning to boxing but that he’s a grown man and if he wants to fight again, he will find a way to be there even if no fans are allowed. He said Tyson had something lined up and that it’s something big.
  • White will stay at Fight Island for a month when it gets up and running with the assumption they will run three or four shows there. The infrastructure being built is for training, food service, and for sleeping arrangements. He was not asked if the facility was in Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
  • After their next two shows in Las Vegas, White said UFC will be back on track with their 2020 schedule, running Saturdays unless ESPN wanted more shows.
  • He confirmed that The Ultimate Fighter will return to UFC Fight Pass this year with some changes but the same style of show with coaches, etc. 
  • He confirmed that the Tuesday Night Contender Series will return this year and said he is working on how to combat the issue of regional MMA being on hold for the time being.
  • He put over Fightlore on Fight Pass as a show people need to see.
  • While not giving any timeframes, he said flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko vs. Joanne Calderwood, heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier III, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa, and Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo for the vacant bantamweight title are all being worked on. Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till is also a fight they want to make.
  • As far as welterweight, he said there’s a lot of drama and “social media b.s.” going on and that things should shake out soon.