Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the Sammy Guevara vs. Andrade incident backstage at AEW, the three-year anniversary Dynamite, NXT, more on Antonio Inoki, ratings and more. A packed show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Andrade/Sammy Guevara fight
18:56: AEW signs Bandido
24:22: Antonio Inoki and Roland Bock clarification
29:48: Memphis Tales from the Territories episode
32:16: Ratings
40:46: Kevin Holland unretiring
41:03: AEW Dynamite recap
1:02:48: NXT recap
1:12:48: Antonio Inoki bio set for this week’s Observer
Before Antonio Inoki’s passing, he accepted an honorary role with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
NJPW issued an announcement today revealing that, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration, it had decided to name Inoki as the company’s “Honorary Lifetime Chairman.” Inoki accepted the invitation, and he was officially named Honorary Lifetime Chairman on September 1. The information was going to be made public at NJPW’s Declaration of Power event on October 10.
The role was to celebrate Inoki’s contributions as NJPW’s founder, a wrestler, and beyond.
NJPW wrote:
New Japan Pro-Wrestling wishes once again to express profound grief at the passing of founder Antonio Inoki, and our deepest sympathies to fans, family and friends.
As part of our 50th Anniversary celebrations, and to celebrate Antonio Inoki’s role as a founder, wrestler and beyond, NJPW had planned to name Mr. Inoki the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. After Antonio Inoki graciously accepted the invitation, he was officially named Honorary Lifetime Chairman on September 1 2022.
This information was due to be made public on October 10 at Declaration of Power in Ryogoku Sumo Hall. It is to our deep sadness that this announcement cannot take place as previously planned. However, in accordance with Mr. Inoki’s wishes, all of us at New Japan Pro-Wrestling will continue to move forward and lead the professional wrestling world to the utmost of our abilities.
NJPW was founded by Inoki in January 1972.
Inoki, one of the most powerful and influential figures in pro wrestling history, died at 79 years old on October 1.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including more Inoki questions from the mailbag, Royal Rumble ticket sales, ratings, NXT and AEW Dynamite previews, RAW report and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Royal Rumble tickets, NXT & AEW Dynamite previews, Andrade
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with TONS to talk about today including the death of Antonio Inoki, some famous matches Tom recently watched, Stardom Grand Prix semi-finals and finals, New Japan Strong, Smackdown and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including the death of Antonio Inoki and his tie-in to mixed martial arts, RAW and Dynamite line-ups, Smackdown and Rampage, Ricky Steamboat wrestling again, the whole nine yards. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio.
Evan Husney, Executive Producer of Dark Side of the Ring joins us to talk about his new project with Jason Eisener and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions, Tales from the Territories.
Before we talk to Evan, we discuss the passing of Antonio Inoki. Dave talks about his legacy. We also talk about a new documentary coming out on Vince McMahon and AEW ticket sales woes.
Topics with Evan include:
The difference between the new project and Dark Side of the Ring
How The Rock’s Seven Bucks became involved
How the Jerry Lawler/Andy Kaufman story became its own episode
Antonio Inoki, the founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling who became one of the biggest pro wrestling stars in the history of Japan, has passed away.
Yahoo News Japan confirmed Inoki passed away on Saturday morning in Japan. Inoki, 79, had been battling health problems in recent years and had been confined to a wheelchair.
During Friday’s SmackDown, announcers Michael Cole and Corey Graves took time to speak on Inoki’s death.
Inoki started wrestling in 1960, training under Rikidozan, one of the first popular pro wrestling figures in Japan. Later in the decade, he formed a tag team with Giant Baba in the Japan Wrestling Association, with the team winning the NWA International Tag Team Championship four times. Baba would later form All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1972, becoming a direct competitor against Inoki’s NJPW.
After being fired from JWA in 1971 for planning a takeover of the promotion, Inoki founded New Japan Pro Wrestling the following year. One of Inoki’s more famous bouts during this era was a mixed martial arts match in 1976 between himself and Muhammad Ali, where the match ended in a draw.
Inoki also headlined one of the highest-attended shows in pro wrestling history in Pyongyang, North Korea, where he defeated Ric Flair on the second night of a two-day event. The announced crowds for those shows were 165,000 and 190,000 respectively.
Inoki retired from professional wrestling in 1998, with his final match being a victory over Don Frye. He continued to run NJPW until 2005, when Yukes bought out Inoki’s controlling stock with the company. He later founded a new promotion, Inoki Genome Federation. He was into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.
Along with pro wrestling, Inoki also had a career in politics, winning a seat in the House of Councilors in 1989. He left politics in 1994 following scandals, but was later elected in Japan’s Upper House as an MP from 2013 through 2019.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with lots to talk about including your full WWE Raw report from Monday where new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions were crowned.
We look ahead to Saturday’s Clash at the Castle and thoughts, plus talk ratings, Bill Ash, Antonio Inoki’s condition and more.
Co-host Fumi Saito gives his thoughts on the Kota Ibushi-NJPW situation and also discusses his new book on the relationship and parallels between Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba.
Fumi also has the line-up for the next Hana Kimura Memorial Show as he and KAIRI will be doing commentary.
Plus, we talk about the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view, the popularity of AEW in Japan, 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].
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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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Sunday News Update
Best wishes to Dustin Rhodes with his mother in the hospital and to John Arezzi, who is battling COVID.
Our weekend show covering Elimination Chamber and the rest of the weekend news is up on the site right now. We also have a great interview with Kenny Omega that Garrett and I did on the site. We’ve gotten tremendous feedback to it and it covered many different topics including his recovery from injuries, the vision of AEW, Cody Rhodes leaving and much more.
We are doing thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle polls, as well as best and worst matches from each show on WWE Elimination Chamber, Impact No Surrender, both nights of New Japan and AAA Rey de Reyes. You can send to [email protected]
We’re looking for reports from the Impact tapings in New Orleans tonight as well as GCW last night and tonight in Atlantic City to [email protected].
WWE
Big E drove the pace car at the Daytona 500 today.
Elimination Chamber yesterday had 200,000 searches which is normal level for a non-big four show. It was the fifth most searched topic of the day. The UFC show didn’t crack the top 20 and No. 20 was 50,000, so that show had a genuine lack of interest compared to usual. Only two other things related to wrestling, boxing and MMA cracked the top 20 this past week. Amir Khan was No. 20 yesterday and Cody Rhodes was No. 2 with 200,000 searches on Tuesday. Steve Austin didn’t crack the top 20 nor did Undertaker.
Undertaker was on The Today Show talking about his Hall of Fame induction.
AAA
The American announce team of Joe Dombrowski and Larry Dallas got a lot of praise from last night’s AAA Rey de Reyes. The show itself got very little praise.
Carlos Cabrera debuted as a Spanish language announcer on the show and he got little praise as it was said he knew none of the characters and storylines. But some fans liked the idea of the reuniting of Cabrera and Hugo Savinovich, who were the Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler for WWE Spanish language fans of a generation.
NJPW
Lots of praise for the Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito match from today’s New Japan show in Sapporo. I saw the end and it was very good. It was the first match in the short history of the IWGP World title to finish in less than 30:00, going 29:34.
New Japan will have a press conference at 4 a.m. Eastern to announce the 3/1 Budokan Hall show as well as the New Japan Cup brackets. There will be a 48 man field this year.
Other Wrestling
Antonio Inoki turned 79 today.
Impact champions Moose and Mickie James are scheduled to appear on Thursday’s taping for OVW Wrestling.
Today is the 33rd anniversary of Ricky Steamboat’s NWA world title in over Ric Flair in Chicago. I was at the match and it was a classic for its era.
Today also marks 101 years since the birth of Buddy Rogers, who was a gigantic star from the late 40s into the early 60s, and a very controversial NWA champion, who drew well but nearly killed the NWA due to power plays regarding booking him, which led to the creation of the WWWF name and title.
Bob Backlund won the WWWF title from Superstar Billy Graham in Madison Square Garden 44 years ago today.
Yesterday was the 68th anniversary of the birth of Japan Pro Wrestling, Rikidozan’s promotion, with the famous Rikidozan & Masahiko Kimura vs Sharpe Brothers match. Wrestling became an instant success from that week.
Wayne Baughman, a legendary wrestler from the 60s, and a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 81. Baughman was a wrestler, coach, historian, author, military officer and volunteer. Baughman competed in 25 national tournaments and never placed lower than third, winning 16 national championships and seven second place finishes. He was the first wrestler to win the national title in freestyle, folkstyle, Greco-Roman and sambo. He was 1962 NCAA champion, and also won five freestyle nationals and nine Greco-Roman national tiles and one sambo national title. He placed in the world championships in freestyle, Greco-Roman and sambo. He was twice Olympic team captain. He later coached 27 years at Air Force.
Joe Hendry is talking independent bookings through Bill Behrens at [email protected]. He is currently based in Scotland but is planning on moving to Baltimore.
The Missouri Historical Society will be hosting a Wrestling at the Chase talk with author Ed Wheatley on Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Black Wrestlers Matter from last night in St. Louis: Ryu Kendrick b Denzel Rollins, Fred Yehi b JDX, Stephen Wolf b Carlie Bravo, AC Mack won four-way over Zay Washington, Doc Simmons and Darien Bengston, Suge D b ATM, Isaiah Broner b Joseline Navarro, Camaro Jackson b ACH, Barackus b Eli Rossi, Myron Reed b Kenny Alfonso, Moses the Deliverer & Rahim De La Suede b Zack Mason& Warren J, Jah-C b Mike Outlaw, Tootie Lynn b Big Swole (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Northeast Wrestling from last night in Bethany, CT: Tina San Antonio b JC Storm, Hale Colins b Chris Monjo, KC Navarro b Brett Ryan Gosselin, Mike Verna b Chris Battle, Julio Cruz & Victor Chase b Dustin Waller & Kylon King, Wrecking Bell Legursky b AJZ, Flip Gordon b JT Dunn Dan Maff b Brad Hollister to keep the heavyweight title, Jaelyn Brandyn & Treavon Jordan b Antonio Zambrano & Cam Zagami to win tag titles.
Stardom from today in Chiba: Fukigen Death won four-way over Hanan, Mirai and Saya Kamitani, Maika & Himeka b Ruaka & Rina, Syuri & Natsupoi d Utami Hayashishita & AZM 15:00, Mayu Iwatani & Hazuki & Koguma & Momo Kohgo b Tam Nakano & Unagi Sayaka & Mina Shirakawa & Waka Tsukiyama, Giulia & Thekla & Mai Sakurai b Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe & Saki Kashima
PWP from Thursday night in Omaha, NE: Willy Sweet b Purple, Omar Pachecco b Joey Daniels, Preston Maxwell b Duke Cornell, Seto Kobara & Tim Boston b Moonshine Russell & Jack Darling, Paul Daniels b Xander McIntosh, Paul Daniels b Sander McIntosh, Pat Powers b Branden Juarez-Next show is 3/10 at the Waiting Room Lounge.
Insane Wrestling Revolution from Thursday night in Monroe, MI: Kenny Urban b Zach Thomas, Jason Hotch b Jackson Stone, Trey Miguel b Jeremiah Goldmain, Trey Miguel b Hannah Henderson, Trey Miguel b Kyler Coleman, Chinstrap Jesus & Nate Bock b Chris Clontz & Tanner Nix, Dread King Logan b Sam Aljahi, Rhino & Heath b Aaron Orion & Jack Price to become first tag tea champions, Krimson & Rod Lee b Sam Beale & Benjamin Boone, Big Kon (Konnor of The Ascension) b Madman Fulton to become the first heavyweight champion (thanks to Leonard Brand)
MMA
PFL results from Thursday night:
John Silveira b Mohamed Juma via submission 1:52 of round three
Taylor Johnson b Alexander Poppeck via straight 29-28 scores
Bruce Souto b Travis Davis via knockout 4:43
Karl Williams b Miles Amos on scores of 30-27, 30-26, 30-27
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
Our weekend show talking Smackdown and Rampage is up on the site right now. We’ll have another show tomorrow night after Raw.
NHK, one of the major networks in Japan, ran a 90 minute special on Saturday night called “Inoki: The Last Stand.” It was the first time the general public realized Inoki’s severe health issues and his physical decline and a lot of people were shocked, although insiders knew. It also shows that even thought Inoki’s real heyday was the 70s and he remained a major star through the 90s, that a major network would have a huge special like this on him.
The NOAH big show earlier today at Yoyogi Gym in Tokyo with Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kenou match to unify the GHC title with the National title went to a 60:00 draw. I’ve had a number of people call it a strong match of the year candidate and even the best match this year. The big announcement was that KENTA, who was NOAH’s big star for a number of years, will return to the promotion on the Budokan show. There were fans crying when the announcement was made about KENTA returning to NOAH. Go Shiozaki, who had shoulder surgery, came at the end of the show and announced his return match will be on 12/5. The full show is up for free at Wrestle Universe, which is free until the end of the year.
Stardom’s PPV was yesterday and people were raving about this as well: Ruaka retained the Future of Stardom title over Mai Sakurai and Waka Tsukiyama, Momo Watanabe & AZM b Unagi Sayaka & Lady C, Mayu Iwatani & Hazuki & Hanan b Saki Kashima Fugiken Death & Rina, Saya Kamitani won a three-way for the Wonder of Stardom title shot over Himeka and Natsupoi, Starlight Kid b Koguma to keep the High Speed title, Syuri b Konami to retain the SWA title and get the next World of Stardom title shot in a UWF rules match, Tam Nakano b Mina Shirakawa to keep the Wonder of Stardom title in a match people were very polarized on as many didn’t like it and others loved it, and Utami Hayashishita b Maika to keep the World of Stardom title. This sets up Hayashishita vs. Syuri on 12/29 at Sumo Hall which is a gigantic match. Nakano vs. Kamitani is the Wonder of Stardom title match on that show.
We are doing polls this weekend on both the Stardom and NOAH shows, 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]
Raw at the UBS Arena tomorrow night features the return of Edge. He’s likely to start a new program and Bobby Lashley currently has no program, so we shall see. Big E vs. Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor has been announced for the show at the UBS Arena in Long Island. It’s the first wrestling show in the building that just opened up.
We talked about this on the show, but a lot of the recent shows that have gone on sale for both WWE and AEW have had what I’d call disappointing early sales. Perhaps some will pick up as Christmas approaches. These are usually more of an issue with AEW, since its fan base buys most of its tickets early, while WWE spends far more in local advertising the week of the show so does end up with more late sales. Right now as far as tickets distributed go, according to Wrestletix, 1/3 Raw in Greenville, SC has 2,040 tickets out, 1/17 Raw in Tulsa has 2,167, AEW’s Battle of the Belts on 1/8 in Charlotte did 2,680 on the presale and the big surprise is that was more than 2/2 in Chicago, and previously Chicago has been doing very fast sellouts. Chicago did 2,441 on the first day and 12/29 in Jacksonville did 821 on the presale.
WWE has been doing a lot of two-for-ones this week for many shows including tomorrow’s Raw at the UBS Arena in Long Island, as well as Los Angeles and Baltimore and likely many other markets. The next PPV show, Day One on 1/1 in Atlanta, has buy three and get on ticket free sale currently going on.
The UBS Arena show has 5,264 tickets out for tomorrow, so they almost doubled since the announcement of Roman Reigns on 10/12. A lot of people were using this to point out that Reigns isn’t a draw but tickets did start moving slowly, but ended up doing much better after the announcement. They did a lot of two-for-ones, four-for-the price of three, announced the return of Edge, and also announced Roman Reigns & Usos vs. Drew McIntyre & Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods for a dark match on the show. But in the end they are doing about the same as a lot of the Raws of late have done if they get a decent walk up tomorrow. They won’t beat what AEW does on 12/8. There are markets of late AEW has won and there are markets of late WWE has won in,.
We’re looking for reports from yesterday’s WWE house show in Roanoke, VA to [email protected]
The Triller Triad boxing vs. MMA show last night on PPV seemingly bombed as it didn’t even crack the top 20 trends for the day. Kubrat Pulaev, a high-level heavyweight boxer, destroyed Frank Mir in the main event of a show with a triangle ring, using MMA gloves but it was only boxing allowed.
As far as trending, with no major shows this week the only stuff that cracked the top 20 all week on the Google charts was boxing related. Tommy Fury was No. 20 on Monday with 50,000 searches and Teofimo Lopez was No. 4 yesterday with 500,000.
New Japan World has a Best of Super Juniors show at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow morning from Korakuen Hall
Kosei Fujita vs. Ryohei Oiwa non-tournament
Douki vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Robbie Eagles vs. Bushi
Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoh
Sho vs. Master Wato
Desperado vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo
The WrestleCade SuperShow from last night in Winston-Salem, NC: CW Anderson & Preston Quinn & JB Cole & White Mike b The Dawsons & Mik Drake & Brad Attitude Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson b Harv & Gurv Sihra (formerly the Singhs in WWE, Caprice Coleman kept the AML title over Dirty Dango (formerly Fandango), Rich Swann & Myron Reed & T.I.M. b Matt Cross & Colby Corino & Andrew Everett, George South b Heath (Slater), PCO b Erick Redbeard (Erick Rowan), Jay Lethal b Matt Cardona, Shane Taylor won Battle Royal (some of the names involved were Shane Douglas, CW Anderson, Jackie Fulton, Swoggle (formerly Hornswoggle), Johnny Swinger, Mr. Hughes, Sam Houston, Moses, Fallah Bahh, The former Ascension and CW Anderson, Thunder Rosa won three-way over Deonna Purrazzo and Mercedes Martinez, Matt Hardy b Nzo, Malakai Black b Buddy Matthews. The two talked about their past and shook hands.
The Friday night WrestleCade results were: Gustavo b Colby Corino, Matt Cross b Haden Sane, Savannah Evans & Mik Drake b Dream Girl Ellie & Steve Pena, BoJack b JD Drake to keep the PWF title, Sean Legacy b Anthony Henry, Davey Richards b Axton Ray to keep the ASW title, Kenzie Paige won three-way over Jordynne Grace and KiLynn King to become the first Imperial Pro women’s champion, ROH trios champions Shane Taylor & Kuan & Moses b Caprice Coleman & Zuka King & TI.M. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
WWE
John Cena made a surprise appearance at the San Diego Comic Con this weekend. The event normally happens near the end of July, but had a small-scale “Special Edition” during Thanksgiving weekend to test how well it can go with pandemic restrictions and regulations. Cena appeared during the Masquerade, the costume show and contest where fans dress up and display themselves in character. Cena showed up dressed as Peacemaker, his character from The Suicide Squad and the upcoming HBO Max spin-off series. After appearing on stage, Cena cut an in-character video for Comic Con’s official Twitter.
AEW
Ryan Nemeth put together a video where five AEW stars openly talked about their mental health issues, seeking therapy & in some cases taking medication . This has Powerhouse Hobbs, Vickie Guerrero, Dax Harwood, Amanda Huber and The Blade openly talking about their issues. (thanks to Stephen Lyon)
Ric Flair on his podcast claimed a promoter in Israel wanted him to do a match with Sammy Guevara. This is likely not happening. Flair said $100,000 and two first class tickets and he’s there.
UFC
Beneil Dariush vs. Islam Makhachev in a major lightweight fight looks to be the main event for a 2/26 show. Dariush has seven wins in a row and Makhachev has nine in a row.
OTHER NOTES
Soberano Jr. won the Leyenda de Azul match. Notable that Soberano, who called Ultimo Guerrero a cancer and said he wanted to fight him for real, was never allowed in when Guerrero was in. Gran Guerrero may have been eliminated early. He kicked out late when he was being pinned, and then lost his cool and went after the referee and ripped his shirt before another ref calmed him down. Volador Jr. and TJP issued challenges to a hair vs hair match. (thanks to Rene Ochoa)
Naomichi Marufuji will be making his pro boxing debut on 12/16 in Osaka facing comedian Takayuki Kinoshita in a two two-minute round exhibition.
AAW from Friday night in Merrionette Park, IL before 445 fans: Christi Jaynes won over Sierra, Charlie Evans and Lady Frost to become top contender for the women’s title, Silas Young b Manders, Skye Blue b Allisyn Kay to win the AAW women’s title, Schaff won a ladder match over Jake Lander,Brayden Lee, Storm Grayson, Hartenbower, Jah-C, Gringo Loco and Ren James, Ace Austin & Myron Reed b Hakim Zane & Karm in a street fight, Russ Jones b Larry D, Hammerstone & Ace Perry b Jake Something & Dante Leon to win the tag titles, Rich Swann won over Davey Vega, Josh Alexander and Brody King to earn a heavyweight title shot, Mat Fitchett b Fred Yehi to win the heavyweight title. The next show is 12/30 at the Logan Square Arena in Chicago.
The home that formerly was owned by Lillian Ellison, the Fabulous Moolah, and is now a veterans care home, burned to the ground Friday night. Fire officials in Columbia, SC responded to a call Friday night at 9 p.m. and when they arrived, the home was engulfed in flames. They were able to get the fire under control and one person was found dead. About eight people were living in the home.
ISPW on 12/10 in Butler, PA is headlined by Bull James vs. Danny Morrison for their world title with Maven as referee, Crowbar vs. Homicide, plus appearances by Tito Santana and Vincent. 80s WWF manager Slick will be doing a live talk show with Andy Vineberg on the show.
EPW from last night in Western Australia: Jesse Lambert & Dan Moore & Bobby Marshall & Bruno Nitro b Chris L Jazareth & Joel Hagan & Kaz Jordan & Chris Target, Tyler Jacobs b Edith Night, Del Cano & Zenith b Casey Johns & Jams Hartness to keep tag titles, Marcius Pitt b Damian Slater, Aaron Hawk won three -way over Taylor King and Kiel Steria to keep the Coastal championship, Gavin McGavin b Michael Morleone, Julian Ward b Mikey Nicholls to keep the EPW title. The promotion also announced its year end awards. Bruno Nitro was named Most Improved. Gavin McGavin vs. Marcius Pitt in August was match of the year and McGavin was Wrestler of the Year. They also named a 2018 match with The Untouchables vs. Street Gang Hooligans as the best match in the 20-year history of the promotion and Davis Storm was named greatest wrestler in the history of the promotion. The next show is 1/8. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
MCW Pro Wrestling Season’s Beatings on 12/4 in Joppa,MD at the MCW Arena has Brian Johnson vs Moses in a cage match for Johnson’s MCW title. Scarlett Bordeaux will make one of her first appearances since leaving WWE managing Action Andretti in a match against former WWE performer James Ellsworth.
There is a pro wrestling scene in the movie “B-Bit Christmas” in a scene set in the 80s where a kid is wearing a Hogan T-shirt.
Updated coverage on SummerSlam and early word on Survivor Series is the lead story on this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at the location, the time of the show and why they are limited in time, the new stadium, talk about top matches plus more on Dwayne Johnson and WrestleMania, Survivor Series and a plan for an August Takeover.
Also in this issue:
Dominion, the Shingo Takagi title win, with match-by-match coverage, star ratings, poll results, business notes and booking direction.
Plans for a WWE draft, a WWE TV show on verge of being canceled, Bret Hart documentary, Stephanie McMahon talks WWE business, WWE ticket sales, Miz talks injury, UK & Canada viewing numbers, WWE looks a changes in how it does house hows, WWE autograph new rules, most watched WWE videos of the past week and WWE market value.
The next two WWE major events with lineups, notes about the Takeover crowd, matches announced and not yet announced for Hell in a Cell and more.
Full coverage of this past Saturday’s UFC show.
Cyber Fight show combining NOAH, DDT, Ganbare Pro and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. We look at Keiji Muto’s title loss, why he got the title in the first place, why Marufuji wasn’t the guy who should have won, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
The death of controversial wrestler Angel o Demonio.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, how many different viewers the shows had which is very different from the television number, breakdown of who watches the shows, how they watch, DVR numbers and how long the average fan watches.
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.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight taking In Your House Takeover, Stardom PPV and the rest of the latest news. You can also send questions to the show tonight to [email protected]
Antonio Inoki, 78, had emergency surgery due to an intestinal issue a few weeks ago. He has been hospitalized for much of this year with various health problems and his lower back is in a lot of pain and deteriorating leaving him mostly wheelchair bound.
NXT Takeover tonight at 8 p.m. on Peacock from Orlando, FL:
Xia Li vs. Mercedes Martinez. The biggest test of Li’s career to date. Li is currently a -950 favorite to win
Cameron Grimes vs. LA Knight in a ladder match to revive the old Million Dollar belt. The build has been comedy oriented. Grimes is outstanding and this will be a new environment for him. He started training with the ladder experts like the Hardys as a teenager. Knight’s been given a big chance here. Grimes is a very slight betting favorite at -125.
Bronson Reed & MSK defend both the North American title and NXT tag titles against Santos Escobar & Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza. I’m not a fan of singles and tag titles being defended in matches that aren’t singles or four-man tag matches. But it looks to be a good action match. Reed & MSK are -850 favorites.
Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon for the women’s title. Another big test for Gonzalez who is a huge favorite to retain at -1000.
Karrion Kross defends the NXT title against Adam Cole, Pete Dunne, Kyle O’Reilly and Johnny Gargano. By all rights given the talent involved and that they are likely to be going 30:00 or more, this should be a classic match. The last updated odds had Kross as the favorite at -250, while Cole is +550, O’Reilly is +750, Gargano is +1000 and Dunne is +1100.
We’re doing polls this weekend on both UFC 263 and NXT Takeover In Your House so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle along with a best and worst match from each show to [email protected].
How is this for a story on Brandon Moreno:
He debuted on the Ultimate Fighter and was the last man picked
He was cut by UFC after some losses
His weight class was scheduled to be dropped except Henry Cejudo saved it
He became the first Mexican-born UFC champion last night.
Moreno’s title win was one of the best feel good moments in UFC history.
Dana White last night said that he thinks Colby Covington and not Leon Edwards should get the next welterweight title shot at Kamaru Usman.
Nate Diaz said he wants to fight again in the next few months. Diaz got an amazing pop and reaction throughout his fight. If he had pulled that win out in the closing seconds it would be talked about for fight of the year.
White said that he thought last night would be Demian Maia’s last UFC fight. It was the last fight of Maia’s contract and he’s 43 years old.
As far as Lauren Murphy vs. Joanne Calderwood’s fight for a potential women’s flyweight title shot, which Murphy won via split decision, Murphy won round two and Calderwood won round three. The first round was very close and could have gone either way so it was just a close fight. Media scores were 55 percent for Calderwood and 45 percent for Murphy.
Today’s is the 12th anniversary of the death of Mitshuaru Misawa from a severed spine from neck problems. Misawa was among the greatest wrestlers of all-time and as far as a major arena is concerned, Misawa at Budokan Hall would rank with Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden as the biggest and most successful long-term draw in an arena of that size in history.
Lots of stuff made the top 20 Google search charts this past week. UFC was the biggest thing over the weekend with 2.65 million searches from last night’s Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori fight, a number that was about what you would have expected for a show like that. Besides Adesanya as part of the main event, the key names searched for included Nate Diaz, Brandon Moreno and Paul Craig. Craig’s submission was No. 4 earlier today at 50,000. For yesterday, the Tik Tok vs. YouTube fight show did 1.2 million for No. 2, Diaz was No. 4 with 500,000. Moreno was No. 10 at 100,000. Aaron Carter in a celebrity boxing match was No. 5 on Friday at 200,000. Claressa Shields making her MMA debut on Thursday was No. 11 at 100,000. The Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul show did 5 million. NXT Takeovers have charted before but most often they don’t. I would not expect tonight’s show to do so.
With the A&E bio season over, there is a Most Wanted Treasures episode going head-to-head with Takeover from 8-10 p.m. on A&E. The show features Stephanie McMahon enlisting Mark Henry and Paul Wight to search for Andre the Giant memorabilia. This was filmed before either Henry or Wight went to AEW.
WWE
Cara Noir defends his Progress title against Elijah in the main event for the show that takes place 6/19 and airs on Peacock.
AAW from Friday night in Merrionette Park, IL before 440 fans: Hakim Zane (Rohit Raju) & Ace Austin & Madman Fulton b Dante Leon & Travis Titan & Myron Reed, Davey Vega b Stor Grayson, Allysin Kay b Allie Katch, Josh Alexander d Mat Fitchett( (said to be really good), Joeasa & Deonn Rusman b Manders & Matthew Justice to win AAW title titles, Schaff b AJZ, Fred Yehi b Daniel Garcia, Kris Statlander b Hyan to keep AAW women’s title, Mance Warner b Jake Something to keep AAW title.
Legacy Fighting announced a 7/2 show in Shawnee, OK at the Grand event Center just outside of Oklahoma City. Jesse Murray (8-3) faces Joshua Silveira (5-0), the son of Marcus Conan Silveira and a former wrestler at Arizona State) for the light heavyweight title in the main event. The co-main event, for the interim flyweight title, has Charles Johnson (8-2) vs Yuma Horiuchi (8-3). Horiuchi is the first Japanese fighter to sign with the LFA. Like all LFA shows, this will air on UFC Fight Pass live.
EPW from last night in Western Australia: Dan Moore & Bobby Marshall & Jesse Lambert b Aaron Hawk & Jonathan Windsor & Chris Target, Julian Ward b James Hartness, Damian Slater b Michael Morleone in a submission match, Taylor King & Jack Edwardes b Del Cano & Zenith-DQ in a tag title match, Kaz Jordan b Bruno Nitro, Edith Night b Casey Jones in a street fight, Joel Hagan b Ryan Allen, Marcius Pitt b Gavin McGavin. Next show is 7/25 headlined by Mikey Nicholls vs. Kiel Steria for the EPW title.
Due to a lockdown, the Melbourne City Wrestling show this month has been moved to 7/10. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
A horse that goes by the name Dick the Bruiser won a race yesterday at Arlington Park in Chicago (thanks to Barry Werner)
Mid Missouri Wrestling Alliance from last night in St. Louis: Rick Ruby b Jimmy D, Johnny Blade b Garrett Shanks, CJ Shine b Frodo the Ghost, Moondog Rover b Damion Cortess, D’Mon G d Ryan Ash, Ricky Cruz & Keith Smith Jr. b Kahyman & Damian Blade-DQ, Moondog Rover & Ricky Cruz & Keith Smith Jr. b Kahyman & Damian Blade & Damion Cortess (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Mission Pro Wrestling from last night in Buda, TX: VertVixen b Rache Chanel, Alex Gracia b Shana Reed, Jazmin Allure b Gypsy Mac, JennaCide b Savanna Evans, Robyn Renegade & Charlotte Renegade b Killa Kate & Seishin, Holidead won three-way over Marti Belle and KiLynn King, Rosa Negra b Masha Slamovich to keep the title. This is Thunder Rosa’s all-women’s promotion and lots of the talent from here works AEW. (thanks to wrestlingwithdemons.com)
On a new Pacific Rim, Fumi Saito talks with me about the Stardom All-Star Dream Cinderella card at Nippon Budokan, the false rumor that Antonio Inoki passed away and the famous wrestler who confirmed Inoki is still alive.
Additionally, we go over the recent news of the merger of the IWGP and Intercontinental titles in New Japan, Muto as GHC Champion, and much more.
It’s time for match 22 in round 1 of the Greatest Kayfabe Tournament, a fun way to do some pro wrestling biographies.
On this edition, we have a very close match-up: Antonio Inoki vs. Harley Race. Inoki was the ace (and founder) for New Japan Pro Wrestling for many years. In storyline, he also was the World Martial Arts Champion, defeating not just every major pro wrestler of the day but several other combat sports athletes including Muhammad Ali in their famous draw.
Then, there’s Race, the eight-time NWA World Champion and, by reputation, the toughest barroom brawler around.
Enjoy this GKT edition of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show and check out previous editions of the tourney in the archives.
Do you know the significance of September 30th in Japanese wrestling history? You will after listening to this episode of the Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast with myself and wrestling journalist and historian Fumi Saito.
Also on the show:
– We cover the Japanese career and history of the late Rick Bognar.
– We talk about New Japan’s recently completely East Coast tour.
– We discuss The Rock’n’ Roll Express, Tanahashi, Tiger Hattori, Dragon Lee, RUSH, and New Year’s Dash.
– Plus we answer your #AskFumi questions about the famous 1995 Antonio Inoki shows in North Korea, an update and the potential return of Hiromu Takahashi, the possibility of a multi-promotion super show in Japan, Fumi’s favorite up and coming young wrestler, thoughts on the DDT promotion, Joey Ryan in Japan and much more.
Want to ask a question for next week’s podcast? Tweet to Fumi and I using #AskFumi.
