The 14-year MMA career of “Filthy” Tom Lawlor has come to an end.
The emotional 38-year-old put his gloves in the cage following his unanimous decision win over Jordan Young at PFL 5 Thursday despite still being in the fourth and final playoff spot with the victory.
Lawlor, co-host of Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez on this website, leaves the sport with an 11-8-0-1 mark with no MMA titles to his name.
Known for wearing various outfits to weigh-ins and to the cage during the time when UFC allowed such things, Lawlor was the victim of a two-year suspension from USADA in late-2016 for failing for Ostarine. He denied ever knowingly taking the drug, but any appeals and release requests so he could fight elsewhere were denied.
The UFC then released him less than two months before his suspension was up. Following a 2019 Ostarine violation by another fighter that resulted in a much shorter suspension, USADA admitted that if the case came up later, Lawlor’s punishment wouldn’t have been as long.
After becoming a three-time National Collegiate Wrestling Association champion at the University of Central Florida, Lawlor’s fighting career started in March 2007 and after six fights, he got an opportunity to be on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter (Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira). As part of Team Mir at light heavyweight, he lost in his first fight to Ryan Bader via first round knockout.
During his 6-5 run at middleweight, he picked up wins over Patrick Cote, CB Dollaway and Gian Villante while losing to eventual middleweight champion Chris Weidman and Corey Anderson.
After losing to Deron Winn on the undercard of the Oscar De La Hoya-promoted Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell III show, he signed with PFL. He had lost his debut against Antonio Carlos Junior (aka “Shoeface”) before Thursday’s win.
Lawlor resumed his pro wrestling career in 2014 and has already made a name for himself with his run in MLW (World Champion, Opera Cup winner, Battle Riot winner) and New Japan Pro Wrestling where he is the first-ever Strong Openweight Champion. He also frequently works for various indie promotions.
.@FilthyTomLawlor removes his gloves and places them at the center of the cage — despite currently sitting in fourth place in the 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight standings, which would qualify him for the Playoffs. Keep an eye on this situation as it develops. #2021PFL5
ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/hY0Gw3ETPU
Dave Meltzer recaps the AEW Blood and Guts special, both nights of NJPW’s Wrestling Dontaku.
Also in this issue:
Idea of War Games, Blood & Guts coverage, understanding the ratings and business notes.
Ospreay vs. Takagi, Dontaku coverage and New Japan COVID issues explained.
Notes on the upcoming AEW & WWE PPV shows.
Saturday’s UFC coverage.
The life of Randy Savage, what was and wasn’t covered by A&E, aspects that were and weren’t true.
AAA Rey de Reyes coverage and a major bout of international stars set up with Omega vs. Andrade.
Debut of a new promotion with lots of international stars coming to PPV.
Dragon Gate Dead or Alive coverage.
Lots of new info on exactly how people watch the major wrestling shows.
How many different people actually tuned in to see the different wrestling shows last week and why it’s far more than people realize.
Champion Carnival finals notes.
Hall of Famer returns to start new major promotion.
Story behind the Reigns vs. Bryan match.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, how every segment on NXT and AEW did as well as how it did with different age groups, genders and more, plus a look at all other wrestling shows of the past week.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of 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].
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Garrett Gonzales and I are doing a show tonight on Brian Pillman, coming off last night’s Dark Side of the Ring episode. Kim Wood will be our guest and we are taking listener questions on Pillman for tonight to be sent to [email protected]. Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night talking about the fallout of Blood & Guts, UFC, Bellator and more.
Regarding the two New Japan stadium shows in May that have been postponed due to the state of emergency in Japan, the plan is to run both the Yokohama Arena and Tokyo Dome shows later this year when things are better. It’s also been noted that if the state of emergency is extended past 5/31, that Dominion, on 6/6, would be in jeopardy of taking place as scheduled. More notably, we are getting far too close for comfort for the Olympics in Tokyo in August. There are good and bad things about Japanese culture but they are generally not into vaccinations like American culture and right now that is not a good thing.
The AEW numbers for Wednesday were phenomenal considering it was Cinco de Mayo and their main audience is males 18-49. It was the first time AEW in its history ever finished first in cable, and not only did it beat everything in cable in the key demo but also beat both CBS and NBC programming head-to-head. The current issue goes deep into what the numbers mean and what they would have done on a more normal Wednesday.
Smackdown tonight is the Retro show featuring Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro. 205 Live tonight features the debut of Ikkeman Jiro (Jiro Kuroshio) & August Gray vs. Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari and the debut of Ari Sterling (Alex Zayne) vs. Samir Singh.
The trial of Alberto Rodriguez (Alberto El Patron) that was scheduled for this week has been moved to 8/2, believed to be COVID related.
Bellator tonight on Showtime at 9 p.m. Eastern:
Michael Venom Page (174.75) vs. Derek Anderson (175)
Patricky Pitbull Freire (155.5) vs. Peter Queally (155)
Anthony Rumble Johnson (205) vs. Jose Augusto (204.75) in a light heavyweight Grand Prix tournament first round match
Juan Archuleta (135) vs. Sergio Pettis (134.75 for the bantamweight title
UFC tomorrow night has the prelims starting at 6 p.m. on ESPN+ and the main card at 8 p.m. on ESPN:
Prelims:
Christian Aguilera (170.5) vs. Carlston Harris (170.5)
Jun Yong Park (186) vs.Tafon Nchukwi (186)
Ludovit Klein (146) vs. Michael Trizano (146)
Kyle Daukaus (186) vs. Phil Hawes (186)
Main card:
Angela Hill (116) vs. Amanda Ribas (115.5)
Diego Ferreira (160.5) vs. Gregor Gillespie (156)
Maurice Greene (237) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (264.5)
Neil Magny (170.5) vs. Geoff Neal (171)
Donald Cerrone (170) vs. Alex Morono (170.5)
Marina Rodriguez (125.5) vs. Michelle Waterson (125)
Ferriera missed weight by 4.5 pounds and has been fined 30 percent of his purse to Gillespie. The Phillipe Lins vs. Ben Rothwell heavyweight fight is off because Lins wasn’t medically cleared to compete. Ryan Benoit weighed 129, missing weight by three pounds, but he could barely stand up on the scale and his fight with Zarrukh Adashev was canceled. He needed help just to step onto the scale.
ROH is doing an angle where Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King and Bestia del Ring have been suspended for the month of May. The suspension was due to the attack on Amy Rose at the PPV and for using weapons.
Matt Taven & Mike Bennett challenge Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus for the ROH tag titles on the 5/22 TV show
Last night’s Dark Side of the Ring drew 272,000 viewers and 0.09 in 18-49. It would be the third highest viewership for any show ever on VICE, trailing previous Dark Side episodes on Owen Hart and Chris Benoit.
New Japan Strong tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern
Kevin Knight & The DKC vs. Barrett Brown & Adrian Quest
Misterioso vs. Jordan Clearwater vs. Royce Issacs
Jon Moxley & Chis Dickinson vs. Yuji Nagata & Ren Narita
Sara McMann vs. Ketlen Vieira is scheduled for 8/28. Vieira beat McMann four years ago via submission with a triangle.
Soriano vs. Christos Giagos is scheduled for a lightweight fight on 5/15.
Norman Dumont vs. Felicia Spencer will take place on 5/22 according to an announcement by Spencer. This will be Spencer’s first fight since losing a featherweight title match to Amanda Nunes.
AEW
As of 7 p.m. Eastern time, there were 827 tickets still unsold for the Wednesday Dynamite tapings in Jacksonville.
OTHER NOTES
Chael Sonnen has signed a new multi-year contract extension with ESPN. He will continue to cover UFC events every weekend and co-host the show Ariel & The Bad Guy with Ariel Helwani on ESPN+.
Bellator has announced Tim Johnson vs. Valentin Moldavsky for the interim heavyweight title on 6/25. They are doing an interim title because Ryan Bader is currently competing in the light heavyweight tournament and until he loses, wouldn’t be able to defend the heavyweight title. If and when Bader loses in the tournament, he would then face the interim champion.
PFL had its first show on ESPN last night:
Renan Ferreira tapped out from a triangle, but the ref didn’t see it, and Werdum softened his hold and got pounded out in just 2:32 of the first round in a major upset.
Kayla Harrisin finished Mariana Morais via strikes in just 1:23 of round one
Brandon Sayles beat Mohammed Usman (Kamaru’s brother) via choke at 3:42 of round two
Larissa Pacheco b Julija Pajic via strikes in :51 of round one
Bruno Cappeloza stopped Ante Delija via knockout in :46 of round one
The next PFL show is 6/10 with the debut of Claressa Shields. The show did 324,000 viewers on ESPN last night and 0.09 in 18-49.
MCW has a fan convention on Saturday at 1000 Joppa Farm Rd, in Joppa, MD featuring Matt Cardona.
AAW tonight live on FITE TV at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time:
Mance Warner vs Fred Yehi for AAW heavyweight title
Myron Reed vs. Mat Fitchett for AAW Heritage title
Davey Vega vs. ACH
Skye Blue vs. Allysin Kay
Lio Rush vs. Laredo Kid
Hakim Zane vs. Dante Leon
CWE in Canada announced that due to governmental regulations the May tour has to be canceled. They are hoping to return to action on 7/2 in Winnipeg but aren’t putting tickets on sale until they find out they can do the scheduled tour.
Court Bauer sent out a funny tweet about Wednesday’s show, which got a lot of attention with the reveal of Luis Fernandez-Gil (formerly Dario Cueto) as a new regular character. “Thank you for watching the season finale of MLW Fusion last night. It was the highest social media engagement in MLW history. I’m not exactly sure what that means but I’m told it’s a good thing.” Cueto’s new name will be Cesar Duran.
Arena Mexico will be allowed to open up to 500 fan shows starting on 5/17 so it appears the 5/28 PPV show will be its first with fans.
Congratulations to Patric Laprade, whose Les Anti-Ods de la Lutte podcast was nominated for the Canadian Podcast Awards in the sports category and is the only French language podcast nominated. Laprade also noted that his biography of Andre the Giant, written with Bertrand Hebert, has sold more than 15,000 copies, and made the Quebec best sellers list. The book took second in this year’s Observer awards and is well worth checking out. Really, if you have any interest at all in Andre, you should read it.
We have a loaded issue of the Wrestling Observer this week, with business and history features.
We update WWE financials, with comments from Nick Khan, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Kristina Salen talking about the state of the company, the state of sports business, what media companies are looking at right now, AEW, plus a look at WWE revenue and profits. We also look behind the numbers at what they mean, how every category is doing and what categories the company is no longer reporting on. We also look at the decline of WWE ratings as compared to that of cable television and network television.
Also in this issue:
The new attempt at a unique concept PPV with the Triller promotion and Ben Askren vs. Jake Paul, the show, the match, the blitzed announcers, Ric Flair, comparisons to other similar things and long-term sustainability.
Kenny Omega vs Rich Swann match, followed by a story on famous title unification matches throughout pro wrestling history. We look at some of the biggest and most important matches of all-time that were two champions unifying a world title from 1920 to the present.
WrestleMania business numbers when it came to the two live shows, with real attendance, real gates and what it means.
New Smackdown announcing team, Pat McAfee talks his debut, Daniel Bryan talks his current situation and contract, thoughts on Daniel Bryan’s future, new hires and departures at WWE, change in show distribution, former star talks coming out of retirement, how the WWE & AEW shows rank among sports programming, WWE star bio released, Damien Priest talks Bad Bunny, more on Kalisto being let go, Dr. Wagner Jr. talks WWE, political reason for a winning streak, and most-watched YouTube segments on his week’s WWE programming.
A major feature on the career of Steve Austin and the A&E special, his background, how he got into wrestling, the WCW years, the Stone Cold name, life after wrestling, and what were key things not talked about on the documentary.
Mickie James garbage bag situation and the firing of Mark Carrano.
MLW’s new television deal, who else was in talks about that deal, MLW returning to shows with fans and a spinoff planned.
Coverage of this past week’s UFC show, business notes, where the top fighters are headed plus match-by-match coverage.
More detail on ratings than any other source, we have how every segment on NXT and AEW did as well as how it did with different age groups, genders and more, plus a look at all other wrestling shows of the past week.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of 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
Garrett Gonzalez and I will be back tonight talking the news of the week and previewing this weekend’s shows and we will also be doing shows Saturday night after UFC, Sunday after Impact and Monday after Raw. You can send email questions to the show to [email protected]
Shows from now through 5/11 in Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto have been canceled due to the government declaring a state of emergency in those cities due to rising COVID rates. The NOAH show in Yokohama, a suburb of Tokyo, is still on for tomorrow. All Japan will be running its scheduled shows on Sunday, next Thursday and 5/3 at Korakuen Hall but they will be empty arena shows.
In a surprise, after the great showing by Robert Whittaker last Saturday, UFC seems to be leaning toward Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori to headline the 6/12 PPV show.
Smackdown tonight on FOX. They have announced that 205 Live tonight has Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari vs. The Singh Brothers and Ashante Adonis vs. August Gray.
New Japan Strong tonight has the finals of the tournament for the New Japan Strong title with Tom Lawlor vs. Brody King at 10 p.m. Eastern on New Japan World. Also on the show is Rocky Romero vs. Wheeler Yuta and TJP & Clark Connors vs. Chris Dickinson & JR Kratos.
ESPN 2 has the opening of the PFL season tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern. It also airs in Spanish on ESPN Deportes. All matches are first round matches in the featherweight and lightweight tournament:
Lance Palmer (145.4) vs. Bubba Jenkins (146)
Movlid Khaybulaev (145.5) vs. Lazar Stojadinovic (145.8)
Natan Schulte (156) vs. Marcin Held (155.8)
Anthony Pettis (156) vs Clay Collard (154.6)
LFA live tonight on UFC Fight Pass from Shawnee, OK at 9 p.m. Eastern:
Zac Pauga (205.6) vs. Logan Nail (205.8)
Tabatha Ricci (116) vs. Shawns Ormsby (116)
Mark Martin (171) vs. Renato Valente (172.8) – Valente missed weight and had to pay a penalty to Martin
Bruce Souto (203.4) vs. Cristian Torres (207.6) – Torres had to pay a penalty to Souto for missing weight
Jake Childers (145.8) vs. Canaan Kawalhae (144)
Piera Rodriguez (114.8) vs. Svetlana Gotsyk (114.8) for the vacant strawweight title
A story on Bruno Sammartino being honored today by a park in Ross Township being named after him and his family being there for the changing of the name. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
Very sad to read about the condition of Steve McMichael, the former Chicago Bears star who later announced and wrestled for WCW and is now battling ALS. It’s such a horrible disease. Best wishes to him and his family because they’ve got a tough fight ahead of them. McMichael has maintained his sense of humor in these very adverse circumstances.
For this week we will be doing polls on tomorrow’s UFC show and Sunday’s Impact Rebellion PPV show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
UFC PPV tomorrow lineup and weights in one of the deepest shows in a long time. The top four matches in particular are all big:
ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m.
Liang Na (116) vs. Ariane Carnelossi (115)
Aori Qileng (126) vs. Jeffrey Molina (126)
Kazula Vargas (155) vs. Rong Zhu (156)
Danaa Batgerel (136) vs. Kevin Natividad (135.5)
ESPN at 8 p.m.
Pat Sabatini (146) vs. Tristan Connelly (146)
Karl Roberson (185) vs Brendan Allen (186)
Dwight Grant (170) vs. Stefan Sekulic (171)
Alex Oliveira (171) vs. Randy Brown (171)
ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m.
Anthony Smith (206) vs. Jim Crute (205.5)
Uriah Hall (185) vs. Chris Weidman (186)
Valentina Shevchenko (124.5) vs. Jessica Andrade (124.5) for flyweight title
Zhang Weili (114.5) vs. Rose Namajunas (114.5) for strawweight ttle
Kamaru Usman (169.5) vs. Jorge Masvidal (170) for welterweight title
Bianca Belair vs. Bayley was officially announced for the 5/16 WrestleMania Backlash PPV with the Smackdown women’s title at stake.
There will be a Hana Kimura Memorial show on 5/23 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. The show will be available to watch live all over the world although the carrier was not announced. But it’s an 11:30 a.m. start in Japan meaning it will start at 10:30 p.m. on 5/22 Eastern time.
WWE
Reader Chris Cassidy noted that even though the Drew McIntyre autobiography isn’t scheduled to be out until 5/4, he saw a copy at his Barnes & Noble store in Burlington, MA so it’s likely in many stores.
IWA from Saturday in Sydney, Australia: Randal the Masked Kamikaze b Head Hunter Rig, Charli Evans b Jessica Troy in a submission match, Sam Osborne b Robbie Zucco, Mehmet the Turkish Delight b Sam Osborne, Jimmy Townsend & Dazza b Will Kiedis & Brad Alexander, Tree Hugger Luchi b Apollo the Alpha Male, Jackson Kelly b Chris Abbot to win the IWA title that Abbott had held for more than 900 days (thanks to Kirk Beattie)
Glory Pro Wrestling from Saturday in St. Louis: Deacon Cash b Stephan Newton, Allie Kat b Hyan, Moses & Raim de la Suede b Chris Hendriz & ATM, Manders b Xavier Walker, Arik Cannon b Warhorse, Paco Gonzalez b Mat Fitchett, Jake Something b Myron Reed (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
The PFL announced deals with BILD in Germany and RMC Sport in France/Belgium, with both networks carrying all events this season starting with tonight’s show.
KSW airs at 2 p.m. Eastern tomorrow on KSWTV.com. The main event has heavyweight champion Phil De Fries (264) vs. Tomasz Narkun (224), plus lightweight champion Marian Ziokowski (155) vs. Maciej Kazieczko (155).
MLW has put tickets on sale for its 7/10 show in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena at www.MLW2300.com. Announced for the show are Jacob Fatu, Ross & Marshall Von Erich, Alex Hammerstone, Mil Muertes, Tom Lawlor, Myron Reed, Josef Samael, Mads Krugger, Alicia Atout, Calvin Tankman, Richard Holliday, Ikuro Kwon, Myron Reed, Gino Medina and Konnan.
AAW tomorrow night at 6:05 p.m. Eastern time will be on Twitch live from Villa Park, IL,. There are tickets available or the show. Matches announced are:
Ace Perry vs. Jake Lander
Matt Justice vs. Fred Yehi
Schaff vs. Davey Vega
Mat Fitchett vs. Thomas Shire
Hyan vs. Skye Blue 2/3 falls
Myron Reed vs. Brayden Lee for the Heritage title
Triller — the promoters of last year’s successful Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. boxing exhibition and this Saturday’s Ben Askren vs. Jake Paul boxing match — has acquired FITE.tv.
FITE.tv is known for being a primary location for pay-per-view wrestling, MMA and boxing events worldwide in addition to both live concerts and soccer. A press release for the announcement revealed FITE has four million registrants, over 10 million users, and more than 5000 streamed live shows over the last five years.
FITE will be the exclusive distributor of all Triller Fight Club shows starting this Saturday. Following the success of the Jones-Tyson event which the two companies partnered on, Triller announced a deal with Snoop Dogg for “The Fight Club,” a series that will run five-to-eight times a year, mixing boxing with entertainment.
Parent company TrillerNet has been on an acquisition run, acquiring a live music streaming platform (Verzuz) last month. The release mentions they will continue to invest in “new lifestyle and entertainment programming” with FITE helping to “greatly expanding the reach of Triller’s fast-growing AI-powered content and distribution ecosystem.”
It’s unknown how, or even if, this will affect their streaming deals with AEW, Impact Wrestling, GCW or any of their current partners.
Based in both New York and Bulgaria, FITE launched in May 2012.
In one of the strangest occurrences in combat sports history, a fighter’s finger temporarily disappeared during a Thursday night CFFC event.
In the co-main event, Khetag Pliev was taking on Devin Goodale in a middleweight clash when between the second and third round, Pliev and his corner noticed his left ring finger simply wasn’t there. If that wasn’t bizarre enough of a scenario, the ring announcer later asked fans in the arena to look for the finger as it was missing.
Shortly thereafter, Pliev’s finger was found bent back into his glove as it didn’t actually fall off. However, it needed to be reattached as he suffered a severe dislocation. He underwent surgery last night to reattach the finger and is expected to return to action.
A later examination of the fight showed the injury was due to a kick that caught Pliev’s hand just right.
Goodale won the fight by second round TKO.
Former WWE star and two-time UFC fighter CM Punk was on the call with MMA Junkie’s John Morgan and couldn’t believe what they saw:
We’ve got the most detailed analysis of AEW Revolution as the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at the fallout of the errant explosion, the business numbers, what drew and what was the reason for so many new purchasers and will they be back, lessons from the show, the signing of Christian Cage, a look back at different signings and how they’ve turned out, Christian’s road to returning to wrestling, usage of Christian Cage, differences with AEW and Impact, Ethan Page, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Also in this issue:
WrestleMania ticket sales, as well as the planned show.
We’ve got our first annual Shad Gaspard/Jon Huber Memorial Award winners for 2020 and the reasons why.
WWE Network migration to Peacock, a look at the seven year history of the WWE Network and what was and wasn’t a success financially regarding it, what has happened to PPVs in general. We look at projections and how they fell short, but what ended up saving the company from the projections falling short.
John Laurinaitis being put back n his old position, and his story, and what happens to Mark Carrano, matches for the next Takeover shows, update on Fast Lane, new and departing WWE writers, new television location, WWE reaction to thigh slapping, where wrestling shows rank among sports shows in the U.S. this past week, foreign television ratings, Gable Steveson goes for NCAA title, Jim Johnstone talks WWE music today, Pat McAfee talks WrestleMania, WWE current market value, and the surprising most-watched thing this past week on the WWE Network.
Life of Buddy Colt and the plane crash that ended his career.
UFC 259, with scoring notes, business notes, poll results, where the champions go next, plus match-by-match coverage.
NHL deal affects pro wrestling and what it means for WWE and AEW, how ESPN is using it and where things stand with NBCU.
WWE over WrestleMania weekend, and the Hall of Fame ceremony.
Dwayne Johnson’s attempt to revive the XFL.
New Japan Cup and the anniversary show with match-by-match coverage and star ratings for the matches over the past week, and a look at where things stand for the rest of the tournament.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, we have how every segment on NXT and AEW did as well as how it did with different age groups, genders and more, plus a look at all other wrestling shows of the past week.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Garrett Gonzales and I will be covering the news of the last week on tonight’s Wrestling Observer Radio show.
I’m told there will be notable directions evident for WrestleMania on tonight’s Smackdown show. Scheduled for the show is The Kevin Owens Show with Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair and a contract signing for the Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan Universal title match at Fastlane.
The New Japan Cup continues with a 4 a.m. Eastern show tomorrow from Dolphins Arena in Nagoya on New Japan World:
David Finlay & Gabriel Kidd & Yota Tsuji vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi & Douki vs. Great O’Khan & Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb
Tetsuya Naito & Sanada & Bushi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Yuji Nagata & Sho
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson & Toa Henare vs. Jay White & Bad Luck Fale & Evil
KENTA vs. Minoru Suzuki in the New Japan Cup
Shingo Takagi vs. Hirooki Goto in the New Japan Cup
New Japan Strong at 10 p.m. Eastern tonight on New Japan World:
JR Kratos vs. Fred Rosser in a New Japan Cup USA qualifying match
Hikuleo vs. Jordan Clearwater in a New Japan Cup USA qualfying mach
Adrian Quest & Barrett Brown vs. Logan & Sterling Riegel
UFC tomorrow from Las Vegas starting at 5 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN+:
Matthew Semelsberger (169.5) vs. Jason Witt (171)
Jinh Yu Frey (115.5) vs. Gloria de Paula (115.5)
Courtney Casey (126) vs. JJ Aldrich (125.5)
Nasrat Haqparast (156) vs. Rafa Garcia (156)
Rani Yahya (136) vs Ray Rodriguez (135.5)
Charles Jourdain (145.5) vs. Marcelo Rojo (145.5)
Angela Hill (115.5) vs. Ashley Yoder (116)
Eryk Anders (186) vs. Darren Stewart (185.5)
Manel Kape (125.5) vs. Matheus Nicolau (125.5)
Jonathan Martinez (136) vs. Davey Grant (135.5)
Dan Ige (145.5) vs. Gavin Tucker (146)
Misha Cirkunov (205) vs. Ryan Spann (206)
Leon Edwards (170.5) vs. Belal Muhammad (170)
The son of Kazushi Sakuraba, using the name Saku Jr., debuted on today’s Quintet show from Japan that’s on UFC Fight Pass. He defeated Kazuhiro Suzuki in a submission rules match using a Kimura.
The children of Buddy Colt and Legends Lunch would like to invite everyone who knew Buddy Colt to a celebration of life tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Church at Odessa on 1234 Gunn Highway in Odessa, FL 33556. Fans who want to celebrate the life of Buddy Colt are invited to attend but they ask no photos and no asking for autographs of the wrestlers who will be appearing.
The Impact Sacrifice show airs Saturday night at 8 p.m. on Impact+ with Rich Swann vs. Moose for the Impact title, winner faces Kenny Omega in a title vs. title match on 4/24.
Pro Wrestling NOAH has a PPV on FITE TV at 1 a.m. late tomorrow night with Keiji Muto vs. Kaito Kiyomiya for the GHC title in the main event.
WWE
There will be a new Progress show put up on the WWE Network tomorrow.
UFC
UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili made the cover of Forbes 30 under 30 sports issue.
Cheyanne Buys vs. Montserrat Ruiz has been added to the 3/20 UFC show. What’s notable about this is that JP Buys, Cheyanne’s husband, is also fighting on the show against Bruno Silva.
Luigi Vandrammini vs. Fares Ziam has been added to the 6/12 UFC show.
Ed Herman vs Danilo Marques has been added to the 6/26 show..
Ilir Latifi vs.; Tanner Boser in a heavyweight fight is set for the 6/5 show.
Justin Tafa vs. Jared Venderaa is set for the 5/2 show.
Triller Promotions announced undercard fights for the 4/17 show headlined by Jake Paul vs Ben Askren. Announced are a super lightweight fight with Regis Prograis vs. Ivan Radkach, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir vs. former boxing world champion Antonio Tarver and Joe Fournier vs musical star Reykon making his debut. This will be a very unique test of the PPV market putting Paul against a former MMA champion whose boxing game is his weak point.
Innovate Wrestling on 3/27 in Kingsport,TN at the Civic Center features Chase Owens vs. Gustavo Aguilar in the main event.
CWE wrestlers appeared on the TV show Mobile MD on City TV Saskatchewan. The promotion will also return to television starting later this month on Shaw TV Ch. 9 across Canada on Shaw Direct.
LFA announced for 3/19 a main event of Elijah Johns (7-1) vs. Bruno Souza (8-1) and the semifinal of the middleweight tournament with Gregory Rodrigues (7-3) vs.; Al Matavao (8-3) from Shawnee, OK at the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort.
Sendai Girls from today in Miyagno, Japan: Hiroyo Matsumoto b Rydeen Hagane, Yurika Oka & Kanon d Mikto Shindo & Maria over 15:00, Dash Chisako d Hanako Nakamori over 15:00, Meiko Satomura & Kaoru b Chihiro Hashimoto & Manami (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemons.com)
Arena Coliseo in Guadalajara will reopen for shows with fans this coming Tuesday. They had run some empty arena shows. Face masks are required for attendance.
Rush & Dragon Lee & Kenny King & Bestia del Ring vs. Jonathan Gresham & Tracy Wlliams & Rhett Titus & Jay Lethal will be on the 3/20 ROH TV show
Cage Fury airs tonight on UFC Fight Pass headlined by Collin Huckbody (9-2) defending his middleweight title for the first time against Aaron Jeffrey (9-2), as well a fight for the vacant heavyweight title with Jamella Jones (10-6) vs. Cody Goodale (7-4)
PWA Black Label from earlier today in Sydney, Australia on FITE TV: Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher b Jack Bonza & Mick Morreti, Jessica Troy b Charli Evans to keep the PWWA title in a n DQ match, Sam Osborne b Punch DrunkIstira, Ricky South b Caveman Ugg to win the PWA title after a series of piledrivers, Sam Osborne won 30 man Rumble (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
On the New Japan Roku Channel show that debuted yesterday has Kazucika Okada vs. Taichi
Legendary MMA heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko said in a Thursday Instagram post that he is hospitalized with COVID-19.
RT Sport reported that the 44-year-old is at a medical facility that specializes in treating those with the coronavirus. Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA Novosti first reported Emelianenko’s health status but there is no news on how he got it or his current physical state.
On the post, he said (translated), “Thank you all who are sincerely worried about my health. I am feeling well now, I am on the mend. I am grateful to the doctors and medical staff for their care and your hard work.”
Emelianenko last competed in December 2019 as part of Bellator’s debut in Japan, defeating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by TKO in the first round. He signed a new multi-fight deal with the company in the summer of 2019 and is 3-2 overall since making his promotional debut in 2017.
Even though 2020 is a year to forget, there was still plenty in MMA that is worth looking back on — some good, some bad, and some that still leaves us scratching our heads.
In the first of a four part series, I am joined by Figure Four Online/Fight Game Media writer and podcaster Paul Fontaine to sift through the last 12 months, one quarter a time.
We kick off with January, February, and March — the calm before the pandemic storm that was to come.
Here’s some of the many headlines we talked about:
The return of Conor McGregor
The Joanna Jedrzejczyk-Weili Zheng strawweight title classic that left Joanna Champion looking like an alien
The controversial Jon Jones light heavyweight title decision over Dominick Reyes and the scorn heaped on the Texas State Athletic Commission for a bad night at UFC 247
The UFC stubbornly running an empty arena show in Brazil as the pandemic began its deadly rise in the Americas
The 100% batshit crazy March when the UFC was insisting on running shows as the world shut down around them
Join Paul and I for the first of four by clicking below.
A look at the different directions Brock Lesnar could go is the lead story in the new issue of the Observer. We look at the money he can generate for a fight with Jon Jones, the reality about his trying to fight today, why he’s a free agent right now, what Tony Khan said about Lesnar, and why, unless Dana White isn’t telling the truth, it’s unlikely he will fight. Plus we’ve got comments by both White and Scott Coker on fights they would want to make if he does want to fight.
Also in this issue:
Positive COVID tests of Dwayne Johnson, A.J. Styles, Kevin Nash, Glover Teixeira and others that came out this week.
Payback, including the genesis of the Roman Reigns heel turn, the Rey Mysterio injury, the booking of the show, plus poll results and star ratigns.
New Japan at Jingu Stadium, including Tetsuya Naito growing up going to the stadium, all three-time IWGP champions, most IC tilte runs in Japan, business notes, plans for the tour going on this weeeknd, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
The departure of Mauro Ranallo from WWE, looking and his five years in the company, his background prior to the company, what old and new projects he’s expected to work on, and why he left.
The NXT title Iron Man match, next Takeover shows, Rey Mysterio television cartoon show, Paul Levesque stock sales, Levesque talks UK brnad, more on different allegations against WWE talent, returns of peope who have sit time out, change to Payback, Charlotte Flair news, Renee Young talks leaving WWE, Styles talks Heyman, lots of TV ratings updates internationally, new member of WWE Board of Directors, WWE market value and the most watched shows of the past week on WWE Network.
This past week’s UFC show.
Bio of Tom Anderson, who wrestled as The Claw and one half of the Masked Interns tag team. We look at two of the most tasteless angles in wrestiling that he was involved in, how one failed miserably and how the other was a huge business success. This includes the death of Alberto Torres, the heyday of the The Interns, the history of the masked doctors tag team and where it all came from, and classic stories involving Paul “Bear” Bryant, Ken Ramey, Lonnie Mayne, Beauregarde and what top promoter wouldn’t use the Interns and Ramey and why.
The life and career of Ric Drason, from bodybuilding to wrestling, including what two AEW stars he started, the glory days of Gold’s Gym in Santa Monica and the characters involved, his art work that sold millions of T-shirts, how one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time got his name from him, and why he had chacnes to be a star and the reason he never was.
A major change in how television ratings are done and how this is expectede to impact sports the most.
A comparison of the last week of AEW with competition and the show this past week where the only television competition was a replay show. We look at how this impacted every audience, what the audience numbers are likely to be for a regular unopposed Wednesday for AEW or NXT, and go in depth as to both sides of why WWE and USA would or would not want to move NXT. We also look at the huge change in the AEW audience from 8/12 to 9/2. We also have how the audience ebbed and flowed during the Iron Man match.
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.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio talking Raw, Matt Hardy, BTE, Nick Diaz and a host of other subjects. You can send questions for tonight’s show to [email protected]
Kevin Mubenga, the agent of Nick Diaz, told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that Diaz is ready to return to fighting early next year. Diaz, 37, hasn’t fought since 2015.
Matt Hardy ended up being the No. 9 most searched term on Google yesterday. No updates on Hardy past that he was taken home from the hospital yesterday and is expected on television on Wednesday.
The lineup for tomorrow night’s NXT special which should draw a big number:
Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor in a no time limit match for the vacant NXT title
Rhea Ripley vs. Mercedes Martinez in a cage match
Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory
Killian Dain vs. Roderick Strong
The show goes head-to-head with Impact on AXS TV:
Chris Bey vs. TJP
Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz for tag titles
After Impact, the Impact in 60 nostalgia show on AXS has Sting vs. Bully Ray and A.J. Styles vs. Bully Ray
Ricardo Lamas, a UFC veteran, officially announced his retirement today on MMA Junkie radio. Lamas, 38, once fought Jose Aldo in 2014 for the featherweight title and he had talked about retirement the past few weeks but today made it official.
Paige VanZant on social media noted that while her husband, Austin Vanderford, and a number of their teammates at ATT in Coconut Creek, FL, had tested positive for COVID-19, she tested negative but noted having all kinds of symptoms including a 102 degree fever, a loss of taste and smell and a swollen left eye. Vanderford was scheduled to fight on Saturday’s Bellator show but was pulled today after another positive test.
WWE
In storyline, WWE is saying Big E and Sasha Banks are no longer hospitalized.
Khazmat Chimaev, one of the company’s most talked about new fighters this summer, is scheduled against Gerald Meerschaert on 9/19, which is the final date of the current run at the Apex Arena in Las Vegas. UFC starts a five week run in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi on 9/26 with the Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa middleweight title on PPV.
AEW
There were still 361 tickets left for Wednesday’s Dynamite tapings in Jacksonville as of this morning.
MISCELLANEOUS
Ohio Valley Wrestling will reach a milestone this week when it tapes its 1,100th episode. The show will be a two-hour special that features Jessie Godderz and Brian Pillman Jr., and air on 11Sports on Wednesday night and YTA Sports on Friday night. There are not all that many individual promotions that have taped 1,100 consecutive weeks of television in history and likely none of the size of OVW.
IWTV officially launched its new app this week on Apple TV. Users can get free content from their library. The previous Apple TV app will be discontinued on Wednesday so make sure to update the app.
The United Wrestling Network’s first weekly PPV show on 9/15 has added a Dan The Man Joseph vs. Levi Shapiro match for Joseph’s UWN TV title
Results from the AIW and GCW doubleheader in Indianapolis over the weekend:
AIW: AJ Gray & Pretty Boy Smooth b Eric Ryan & Bobby Beverly, Dominic Garrini b Calvin Tankman, Derek Director b Zack Thomas, Tom Lawlor b Ethan Page, Tre Lamar over Benjamin Carter, Chase Oliver and Johnny Patch, Nate Webb & Levi Everett & Swoggle & Allie Kat b The Duke & Daniel Rockingham & Eric Taylor & Mikey Montgomery, Lee Moriarty b Erick Stevens, Colin Delaney & Cheech b Phily C & Marino T to win tag titles, Matthew Justice & Mance Warner & Manders b Joshua Bishop & Wes Barkley & Mr. Brickster in a street fight
GCW: Thunder Kitty b Billie Starks, Jordan Oliver b Benjamin Carter, Chris Dickinson b Alex Colon, Tony Deppen b Calvin Tankman, KTB & Shane Mercer b Tre Lamar & Lee Moriarty, Allie Kat b Ethan Page, AJ Gray b Mance Warner, Atticus Cougar won over Dyln McKay & Nate Webb & Jimmy Loyd & Cole Radrick & Ace Austin, Joey Janela b Effy, Rickey Shane Page b Matthew Justice, Blake Christian b ACH (thanks to Nick Mahmood)
In a surprise move, former UFC strawweight and once hopeful WWE signee Paige VanZant is leaving MMA for a career in bare knuckle fighting instead.
First reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, VanZant has signed a exclusive four fight deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), turning down a contract offer from front runner and once expected future home, Bellator MMA, where her husband currently fights.
Helwani reported the deal is worth more than $1 million over the life of the deal and also includes incentives.
The 26-year-old lost the final fight on her UFC contract in July and had spoken prior to the fight about wanting to test free agency with Dana White suggesting that would be a good idea. She was 5-4 over nearly six years in the Octagon, fighting just three times since 2017 due to repeated injuries.
During her 13 fight career, she has just two wins by KO or TKO.
VanZant had been linked to WWE in the past, telling TMZ in 2018 she was “definitely interested” in going there, saying she loved it and had the personality for it. She also reportedly was discussing a SummerSlam appearance with the company in 2016.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has rescheduled its next season.
“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Professional Fighters League has rescheduled our upcoming 2020 season for Spring 2021,” PFL CEO Pete Murray announced today. “PFL is a global MMA league with athletes from over 25 countries, and our decision is guided by the health and safety of our fighters, fans, partners, and event personnel.”
This was set to be the PFL’s third season. The promotion was formerly known as World Series of Fighting.
“The PFL mission is to evolve and grow the sport of MMA, and we look forward to staging our unique sport-season format with Regular Season, Playoff and Championship events on ESPN platforms next year. PFL has always been focused on delivering the best made-for-TV MMA product and we will continue to deliver the most innovative fight experience going forward. Fans can also look forward to PFL elevating our roster with new championship caliber fighter signings such as Rory MacDonald,” Murray said.
“For the remainder of 2020, the PFL will support our fighters with a monthly cash stipend to help provide some relief during these challenging times. In addition, for sports fans who we know are looking for compelling content, the PFL will deliver new original programming across ESPN and PFL platforms.”
This year’s season was supposed to begin in May and conclude in December. The PFL had previously announced in March that they were delaying the start of the season and would begin when it was feasible to do so.
For the first time in two years, Brian Campbell of CBS Sports & Showtime returns to Josh Nason’s Punch-Out with a lot to talk about.
Since we last talked, Brian and co-host Luke Thomas launched Morning Kombat, a live YouTube show that has expanded out into watch-alongs and a new show that Brian revealed exclusively on the podcast. He also continues to put in the work with CBS Sports as the host of the State of Combat MMA/boxing podcasts with Rashad Evans, Rafe Bartholomew, Brent Brookhouse, and other guests.
A few topics:
We caught up about how Kombat came to be and his relationship with Luke on and off air.
The reveal of a new show coming to Showtime Extreme.
Dana White’s announcement that they are moving ahead with a May 9th show in an unknown location.
Whether Florida’s essential business change of heart will mean boxing is coming to the Sunshine State
Whether Nevada is going to be next on the essential business combat sports train
An early read on the WWE talent cuts (we recorded right when all hell started breaking loose Wednesday)
I also give a few thoughts on the passing of Howard Finkel including how he influenced me in my brief run as a ring announcer.
Enjoy this talk with one of the nicest guys in the media game and one of the fastest risers.
When it comes to MMA, the beleaguered Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has had quite a month, beginning with UFC 247 which featured several bizarre decisions including a major conflict of interest where a judge trained with one of the fighters he was judging.
On Wednesday, it continued as MMA Junkie reported that Tito Ortiz’s lopsided win over Alberto El Patron at December’s Combate Americas PPV has been changed into a no decision. Junkie got a quote from a state official which said the result was changed “pending further investigation.”
Junkie also reported that the promotion was made aware of the change Tuesday, but they were unable to offer any further information. As of now, neither Combate CEO Campbell McLaren, Ortiz, or El Patron have commented publicly.
Because Ortiz won that night in Hidalgo, the result being changed likely means the issue is with him and not the former WWE star. However, the official gave no details as to what the investigation is regarding and who.
It was the first MMA fight for the former Alberto Del Rio since 2010 while Ortiz had fought the year prior against Chuck Liddell for Oscar De La Hoya’s failed MMA promotion.
We look at the changes in WWE business and details on what Vince McMahon was talking about regarding changes in the network and PPV distribution in the lead story of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We examine the departure of Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, the drop in the stock price, what it will take to get the price back up, McMahon talking business options, what WWE can learn from how UFC handled a similar situation, the business of WrestleMania, the key players, the different options, the UFC PPV deal, and McMahon talks AEW.
Also in this issue:
WWE fourth quarter numbers in every category, profits, losses, arena business, corporate spending and all categories.
McGregor vs. Cerrone business including details of it being the largest streaming PPV in history, how it did on traditional PPV, how UFC ha helped ESPN+ numbers, ESPN+ subscribers as well a the bundle with Hulu and Disney Plus, and how successful it has been financially.
WrestleMania and the net Saudi Arabia show, a new WWE TV deal, Takeover Portland, what medical treatment wrestlers from many different companies are looking at doing, new WWE signings, John Cena in Fast 9, update on talent that has wanted their release, Jake Atlas debut, lots of ratings info, WWE Network price notes, Mauro Ranallo talks getting off twitter, Total Bellas story lines, Bret Hart update, most watched shows on WWE Network and coverage of all of last week’s WWE arena events.
New Beginning shows in Sapporo, with a full rundown of the booking, the business, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
A feature on the Jericho Cruise, the top matches, how TV was taped, and what happened.
UFC event from Raleigh with match-by-match coverage and business notes.
A feature on the death of Romeo Cormier and the famous Burke/Martin/Cormier family and the heyday of pro wrestling in Eastern Canada.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
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.
AEW is holding an online pre-sale tomorrow for their Double or Nothing event in Las Vegas. It starts at 12 p.m. ET here and the presale code is FLEETDON.
Over the Top Wrestling released a video highlighting the David Starr vs. Jeff Cobb match that will take place at ScrapperMania 6 on February 15.
TJPW announced that Yuka Sakazaki will miss their March 1 card at KFC Hall due to scheduling reasons. AEW Revolution takes place a day prior.
Here is a trailer for the next DLC for Fire Pro Wrestling World, which includes Stardom wrestlers.
MMA
Nate Diaz is considering legal action after The Miami Herald reported that he was involved in an altercation with Miami police and was hospitalized. Zach Rosenfield, Diaz’s publicist, immediately denied the report. The publication later issued a correction saying it was not Diaz, but rather Michael Albert Nates, a local MMA fighter.
Police are investigating BJ Penn for a possible DUI violation stemming from an accident in Hilo, Hawaii last week. Penn allegedly was operating a truck that was involved in a single vehicle crash. Penn was taken to the hospital and, according to TMZ, was released shortly after.
UFC is currently finalizing a bout between Niko Price and Muslim Salikhov for April 11 in Portland.
We look at the changes in WWE business and details on what Vince McMahon was talking about regarding changes in the network and PPV distribution in the lead story of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We examine the departure of Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, the drop in the stock price, what it will take to get the price back up, McMahon talking business options, what WWE can learn from how UFC handled a similar situation, the business of WrestleMania, the key players, the different options, the UFC PPV deal, and McMahon talks AEW.
Also in this issue:
WWE fourth quarter numbers in every category, profits, losses, arena business, corporate spending and all categories.
McGregor vs. Cerrone business including details of it being the largest streaming PPV in history, how it did on traditional PPV, how UFC ha helped ESPN+ numbers, ESPN+ subscribers as well a the bundle with Hulu and Disney Plus, and how successful it has been financially.
WrestleMania and the net Saudi Arabia show, a new WWE TV deal, Takeover Portland, what medical treatment wrestlers from many different companies are looking at doing, new WWE signings, John Cena in Fast 9, update on talent that has wanted their release, Jake Atlas debut, lots of ratings info, WWE Network price notes, Mauro Ranallo talks getting off twitter, Total Bellas story lines, Bret Hart update, most watched shows on WWE Network and coverage of all of last week’s WWE arena events.
New Beginning shows in Sapporo, with a full rundown of the booking, the business, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
A feature on the Jericho Cruise, the top matches, how TV was taped, and what happened.
UFC event from Raleigh with match-by-match coverage and business notes.
A feature on the death of Romeo Cormier and the famous Burke/Martin/Cormier family and the heyday of pro wrestling in Eastern Canada.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
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.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight for Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw, New Beginning in Osaka, David Von Erich, Open scoring and other topics. You can send questions to tonight’s show to [email protected]
We’re also looking for reports from the NXT show in Phoenix on Friday, Riverside on Sunday, and WWE house shows in Oakland on Saturday and Fresno on Sunday, as well as dark matches from tonight in San Jose to [email protected]. We’re doing weekend polls on UFC 247 and New Japan New Beginning in Osaka, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
WWE’s official press conference for the 2021 WrestleMania at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood,CA takes place at 11 a.m. local time with Stephanie McMahon, Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, John Saboor (WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events) and Jason Gannon (the Managing Director of the stadium) appearing.
After all the controversy over the weekend with the Jon Jones-Dominick Reyes scoring, Invicta has announced that it will have open scoring, meaning they will announce to the crowd all three judges scores at the end of each round, starting with its 3/6 show in Kansas City. The Kansas Athletic Commission announced today that promoters will have the option to have open scoring or maintain things as they are. They are the first commission that I’m aware of in the U.S. to allow open scoring.
A correction from yesterday. In the note on the New Japan MSG show being one week before All Out 2, it is actually two weeks prior as All Out 2 will be 9/5.
The XFL has gotten mostly strong word of mouth. It is said that they’ve already sold in advance more tickets for this season than the AAF did during its season. On sports radio that I was listening to last night, they were talking about it with the results on the news breaks and such. The Houston team opened up the second deck of TDECU Stadium for walkup and New York and Dallas both drew in excess of 17,000 announced. Elevate Sports Ventures, according to business newsletter John Wallstreet, built out teams sales staff and they were selling tickets for six months before the season started. They will not come close to the attendance of the 2001 league, but everything is different now. The XFL was projecting 15,000 to 20,000 per game this season with Seattle and St. Louis maybe topping that as each team has sold more than 10,000 season tickets..
WWE
Raw tonight is in Ontario, CA. They may sell out TV both tonight and Friday this week as both were close. Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe & Viking Raiders vs. Seth Rollins & Murphy & AOP plus Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the women’s title are the top matches tonight.
Wells Fargo has cut its target price for WWE stock from $80 to $36 due to all the concerns. The stock closed today at $42.05 per share.
The guy who King Corbin poured the drink on Friday night on Smackdown was Markus Mack, the promoter of All Pro Wrestling in Northern California.
UFC
The Ministry of Sports in France and the French Boxing Federation are developing rules for MMA in the country which would eventually lead to UFC debuting in that market.
Rafael Lovato Jr. has vacated the Bellator middleweight title due to what were called ongoing medical issues. He did not elaborate on what they were, but Scott Coker said that this has been a challenging time for Lovato, his team and his family, but called him a true warrior and that they will work with him regarding his future. The company said it will announce plans for filling the title vacancy in the next few days.
Both Ilima-lei MacFarlane and Douglas Lima, two of Bellator’s top stars, holding the women’s flyweight and welterweight titles, have signed multi-year new contracts.
MLW has signed a television deal in France on Webedia airing every Monday night at 9 p.m.
365 Pro Wrestling on 2/29 in Kitchener, ONT at the Alpine Club.
Jerry Lawler will defend his Arkansas title against Michael Barry on 3/21 in Searcy, AR at the White County Fairgrounds.
Defy Wrestling Kings of Crash on 2/21 at Washington Hall in Seattle will feature a show with stars from The Crash promotion in Tijuana plus the return of Jeff Cobb. Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf 450 will defend the Crash tag titles. Ricky Gibson & Eddie Pearl defend the Defy tag titles against Damian 666 & Guillermo Rosas, while Schaff defends the Defy title against Randy Myers.
Lights Out Xtreme fighting on 3/13 at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA has an MMA show with heavyweight champion Mike Quintero (6-2) defending against Blake Troop (8-6). Quintero is also a professor at Los Angeles City College and he’s now 43 years old. The show is being taped for Fox Sports West, Prime Ticket, Fox Sports San Diego and other Fox Sports regional stations.
