After a short video featuring EC3 ended tonight’s Slammiversary event, it was confirmed that he will appear on Impact this Tuesday.
Slammiversary ended tonight with a short video that showed EC3 throwing a glass into a wall that displayed the roman numeral III. Later on social media, Impact tweeted a picture of the wall and indicated that EC3 will appear on Impact this Tuesday on AXS TV.
EC3 was one of many who were cut by WWE back in April. Once his no-compete ended at midnight EST on July 18, he streamed a video on his YouTube account. The video showed EC3 heading to the ring and attacking another wrestler in what looked like a garage setting. The video ended with EC3 saying “you have been warned”.
A number of talent either made their return or debuted on tonight’s Slammiversary event including Eric Young, The Motor City Machine Guns, The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows), and Heath Slater.
Rich Swann, who was out with a knee injury, also returned tonight, taking part in the main event.
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show with Raw in Pittsburgh and for reports from Detroit where Smackdown takes place We’re looking for the NXT taping results and any dark matches to [email protected]
Smackdown tonight is headlined by Daniel Bryan vs. Miz vs. King Corbin for the Royal Rumble title shot with Bray Wyatt, plus a Moment of Bliss interview segment.
Saturday we’re looking for reports from Raw in Baltimore and Smackdown in Toronto.
BELLATOR SATURDAY NIGHT ON PARAMOUNT AT 10 P.M. EASTERN FROM THE SAITAMA SUPER ARENA
Goiti Yamauchi (24-4) of Bellator vs. Daron Cruickshank (22-12, 1 no contest) of Rizin
Ilara Joanne (9-4) of Bellator vs.; Kana Watanabe (8-0-1) of Rizin
Lorenz Larkin (21-7,1 no contest) of Bellator vs. K-Taro Nakamura (35-10-2, 1 no contest) of Rizin
Michael Venom Page (16-1) of Bellator vs. Shinsho Anzai (11-3) of Rizin
Michael Chandler (19-5) vs. Sidney Outlaw (14-3)
Fedor Emelianenko (38-6, 1 no contest) vs. Rampage Jackson (38-13)
Sunday has Raw in Hershey, PA and Smackdown in Montreal.
Raw on Monday will be from Hartford, CT, while Smackdown has a house show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
F4W NEWSLETTER: Recapping WWE TLC 2019 Joseph Currier gives his thoughts on WWE’s final PPV of the decade.
WWE’s final pay-per-view of the decade took place on Sunday night and exemplified some of the changes we’ve seen over the past 10 years.
TLC 2019 was very much a B-level PPV in the WWE Network era. Not only were the top men’s and women’s singles titles from each brand not defended, there were no singles titles on the line at all. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens and AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton seemed like they were being built up as non-title matches that would help anchor the card, but they didn’t end up getting added. The show even ended with an angle instead of a match. After Asuka & Kairi Sane’s tables, ladders, and chairs match against Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair, a locker room brawl that featured Roman Reigns and Baron Corbin continued. The image that closed the show was Reigns spearing Corbin from an elevated area onto a pile of bodies. It felt like the ending of an episode of Raw or SmackDown instead of a major event.
A look at the industry as a whole as we end 2019 and go into 2020 is the lead story of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We go into the birth of AEW and its numbers thus far, the situation with Impact, ROH, New Japan in the U.S., value of AXS to New Japan, UFC moving to streaming PPV and the key to a value in this not talked about, why the big companies are falling upwards, Bellator numbers, AEW’s interest level peak and PPV demand, the change over the last two years in the non-WWE U.S. business, NXT business, shows with strong advances, ideas for AEW, NXT skewing older, the Wednesday night wars, attempts to make new stars, live viewing on Wednesday and where all the other shows with weekly TV stand at this point.
The issue also covers:
A feature on the career of Mr. Niebla, his death, his troubles, and his biggest matches.
Live event business and how things changed from 2018 to 2019, looking at numbers of big shows, and average attendance for the different groups.
Royal Rumble show and ticket demand.
WWE injuries, a new football league with a name awfully close to XFL, a look at names at WWE tryouts, new events over WrestleMania week, current WWE market value and the most-watched shows on the WWE Network.
WrestleKingdom shows, the controversy over the women’s match on the card, why the match won’t air on New Japan World, the lineups, the main selling points, and the angles on the final show with full coverage of New Japan’s last event of the year.
UFC show in South Korea, the Korean Zombie, with match-by-match coverage.
Career of Rene Goulet, with his highlights, how he faded out, his bitterness over being let go by WWE, his career title history and highlights.
Biggest kickboxing match in years, and the back story that drew one of the largest television ratings for sports ever in Holland. We look at The Baddest vs. The King and what happened.
This past week’s PWG show, including notes showing how the business is changing.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Regarding the change in the AEW women’s title match, there was a communications issue in the sense because AEW runs Wednesdays and normally indies don’t run Wednesdays, they usually book talent without worrying about other dates. And obviously they didn’t know about the other date. Kris Statlander had just started and was booked for both Tuesday and Wednesday this coming week for Bar Wrestling. Based on her contract, they could have done what WWE does when it comes to things like this all the time and just pulled the talent, but Statlander asked for the favor and they were able to work it in a way where they’ll do title matches the next two weeks, with Riho vs. Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose for the title on 1/1, and Statlander getting her shot on 1/8. Statlander is scheduled on New Year’s Eve to face Priscilla Kelly and on 1/1 to face Gisele Shaw for shows in the Los Angeles area.
Taz is on Wednesday’s AEW show to announce with Jim Ross and Excalibur because Tony Schiavone will be announcing the Sugar Bowl game for radio that day. Regarding stories that came out like Taz would be introduced as an authority figure, AEW has no plans for a television authority figure.
Regarding the New Japan/AXS relationship ending one year early, AXS had lost interest in promoting a rival company to the company they own. In this case, ratings weren’t an issue. New Japan runs the same market as Impact. It was the logical conclusion. It’s not good at all for New Japan, but as soon as AXS let go of all the key people who made the New Japan deal, it was a question of when, not if.
I’m doing a Q&A show on 1/4 in Tokyo at Toudoukhan’s Wrestling store at 11 a.m. before the Tokyo Dome show.More details here.
WWE
At last night’s WWE show in Cincinnati, Dash Wilder was off the card and Scott Dawson teamed with Curtis Axel in a three-way title match against the Lucha House Party and champs New Day. The only thing we were told is Wilder was held off for precautionary reasons and was expected to be cleared for television tonight.
Jussier Formiga vs. Brandon Moreno in a match that could determine a flyweight title contender was announced for a 3/14 show in Brasilia, Brazil. Also announced for the show was Enrique Barzola vs. Rani Yahya and Veronica Macedo vs. Bea Malecki.
Added to a 2/22 show in Auckland, New Zealand is Kai Kara France vs. Tyson Nam, Callan Potter vs. Song Kenan and Jamie Mullarkey vs. Jlin Turner.
AEW
A match announced for Wednesday night’s show, airing on Dark, will be Billy Gunn and son Austin as a tag team against Ortiz & Santana.
MISCELLANEOUS
AAW tomorrow night at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, IL and live on FITE TV has Josh Alexander vs. Jacob Fatu for the AAW title, Jessicka Havok vs. Kris Statlander for the AAW women’s title, Paco vs. Hakim Zane for the Heritage title, Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett vs. Sami Callihan & Jake Crist for the tag titles, Jimmy Jacobs vs. Good Brother #3 in a dog collar match, Eddie Kingston & David Starr vs. Curt Stallion & Jake Something in a street fight, Killer Kross vs. Matt Justice and Kimber Lee vs Hyan.
MCW tonight at Perry Hall High School in Baltimore features Rhett Titus defending the MCW title against Kekoa and Brandon Scott, plus Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson vs. Rayo & King McBride, Private Party vs. Joe Keys & Joe Gacy and Renee Michelle vs. Aria Palmer vs. Gia Scott in a triple threat match.
Pro Wrestling Eve on 1/4 in Bethnal, Green, London with champion Rhia O’Reilly vs. Sky Smitson. WrestleQueendom 3 on 1/11 at The Venue on Great Portland Street in London is now sold out, with O’Reilly vs. Laura Di matteo for the title plus Gisele Shaw & Sammii Jayne vs. Woke Queens vs. Medusa Complex in an elimination match for the tag title, Nina Samuels vs. Jinny and Maki Itoh vs Session Moth Martina.
Rob Van Dam was announced for the 2/21 Qatar Pro Wrestling show in Doha, Qatar. Announced for the show thus far are Eric Bischoff, Alberto El Patron, Matt Sydal and nZo vs. Brian Pillman Jr.
CWE on 12/27 in Winnipeg at Rookies SportsBar with The Godfather & ? vs. AJ Sanchez & Kevin O’Doyle vs. Mike Mission & Dragneel, plus Danny Duggan vs. Mentallo.
Defy announced a 1/31 show at Washington Hall in Seattle with Luchasaurus, Marko Stunt, T-Hawk, Cima and Lindaman.
Impact Wrestling co-executive vice president Scott D’Amore, Impact World Champion Brian Cage, and Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie were part of an hour-long conference call Thursday, hitting up a variety of topics on the company’s past and future ahead of their official weekly AXS TV debut this Tuesday.
The whole call can be heard below, but a few highlights:
D’Amore addressed the rumor of the TNA brand returning for one night in April during WrestleMania weekend in Orlando. He said it’s early in the process, but that “we don’t run from our history, we embrace it.”
On Kylie Rae returning to the company, “the door is certainly open if she is interested.”
D’Amore and Valkyrie were asked a lot about intergender matches which D’Amore said they are proud to be at the forefront of. Valkyrie jokingly challenged Cage to a title match and Cage retorted with that it didn’t go well for Valkyrie when they wrestled in another organization.
D’Amore said their rebuilding process is over and that they have spent two years putting out a great product. He talked about restoring trust in the Impact name. He said they had to rebuild that when he and Callis took over two years ago. After a lot of negativity in ’18, he feels they have reclaimed a lot of that trust in ’19, but need to keep at it.”
D’Amore said that other wrestling organizations are competition, but in a good way. “While other companies are competition, they aren’t enemies. For us to success, they don’t have to fail. Competition breeds innovation. We need to answer the challenge,” he said.
Other topics include Joey Ryan’s signing, co-promoting with New Japan Pro Wrestling and WOW, Killer Kross’ status, returning to the UK, some prank calls, and running on Tuesday nights.
Impact Wrestling presented a special episode entitled This Is Impact, a showcase of what Impact will bring to the table on AXS TV, an introduction to the major players of Impact, a rundown of what happened at Bound For Glory, bringing everyone up to speed with the current storylines. Also tonight, we get a couple of taped matches from Bound For Glory.
Twitch stream was hosted by Melissa Santos. She read comments from the chat, did some small commentary of what we were seeing on the show, and hyped up what we have in store for next week.
Show opened with a nostalgic look at TNA/Impact’s history. The obvious references of Sting, Styles, Angle, Gail Kim, Hogan, and a quick look at all the world champions Impact has crowned. It was nice.
Josh Matthews and Scott D’Amore ran the show from an event center. Melissa Santos will be doing interviews throughout the show from Los Angeles. Don Callis was in the set of Ace Austin’s new film, where he is looking to interview him.
Matthews and D’Amore talked about some of the returns and debuts we’ve seen lately, like Rhino, RVD, Madman Fulton, Jordynne Grace, TJP, Willie Mack, Tenille Dashwood, and Ken Shamrock. A good, quick rundown introducing some of the players. They made a special showcase for Michael Elgin.
We got a Michael Elgin video package, focusing on his debut, his run against Brian Cage, and his build towards the Marufuji match. They talked about him as a future World Champion.
Madison Rayne (w/Kiera Hogan) defeated Shotzi Blackheart
Hogan, wearing the most amazing attire, joined commentary. I totally thought Shotzi had already signed with NXT, I take it she will be finishing her booking, let’s hope WWE doesn’t botch her.
Rayne tried to bully Shotzi at the start, telling her she is the Locker Room Leader. Shotzi attacked her and got the better of her sending her for a breather outside the ring. Shotzi went for the chase, got distracted by Hogan, and Madison attacked her from behind.
Back from commercial, Shotzi is working on Madison, ramming her to the turnbuckles, but Madison counters and hits a Northen Lights for a two count. Madison locked in a cravate and came close to choking Shotzi, who is only released after a series of knees to the gut by Rayne.
Shotzi came back with a desperation Enzuigiri to make some space. Shotzi hit a running knee and a Swinging Bulldog, follows with a kick and earns a two count. Shotzi hit a 619, went for a second, but Rayne caught her, and hit a Slingshot onto the ropes. Rayne hit the Rayne Check and pinned Shotzi for the win. Good match, Rayne looked great, Hogan was great on commentary.
Matthews and D’Amore talked about the women’s wrestling revolution, talking about the history of the knockouts and what they’ve been doing for years now. This was a short showcase about some of the female talent from the past.
We got a highlight showcase of Slammiversary XVII’s 4-way Monster’s ball for the Knockout’s Championship. This led to a video package about Taya’s rivalries with Rosemary, Su Yung, and Havok. We got promos by James Mitchell and Taya, the latter just showing how natural she is with her promos. Matthews and D’Amore then talked about Taya’s record breaking title reign.
Don Callis interviewed Ace Austin on the set of Austin’s first feature film. Ace talked about being the man of the hour after winning the X-Division title. A lady came in and talked about looking forward to working with Ace tonight, this gave the vibes that Ace is working a porn movie.
Matthews and D’Amore now talked about the tag team division. D’Amore hyped the team of Swann and Mack and the Desi Hit Squad as to teams that are likely to have good looking futures coming up. The North was put over for being strong champions, but also for being responsible to retiring LAX out of Impact. We got a quick highlight of that match.
We got an interview by The North from the Impact offices. They said that next week, all eyes are going to be on them, and so they plan to be the first out of the curtain to show what Impact is about. Josh Alexander made an open challenge for next week.
At this point, we got highlights of RVD turning heel during Bound For Glory. RVD will talk about this next week. Furthermore, we got highlights from the Shamrock vs Moose match too. We got a backstage promo from Shamrock saying that he is not sure what is next for him in wrestling.
We got an ‘live’ interview with Moose. He is still celebrating his win. Moose said he had zero pity for Ken Shamrock, he got what he had coming for him. He said that he is the best multi-sport athlete in the world, and that he’ll show why he is a legend next week. He has started calling himself The Alpha Male on twitter, so maybe that’s a hint.
Melissa Santos interviewed Taya Valkyrie, the longest reigning Knockout’s Champion of all time. Taya and Melissa ran down all the accolades Taya has achieved this year. They showed clips of Taya defeating Tenille Dashwood at Bound For Glory. Taya said he felt amazing coming out of her win last Sunday, she brought up that Tenille was her first match, and that even if Tenille had been in the biggest stages and fought the biggest starts, she wasn’t prepared for Taya.
We got some footage of John E. Bravo being sent to interview random people about how Taya’s reign has improved people’s lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Some people had no comments, Bravo hit on all the girls he interviewed, and after the video, Taya was irate that Bravo screwed the interviews up.
Matthews and D’Amore announced that someone has accepted Josh Alexander’s open challenge — Naomichi Marufuji!.
We got a video package of Callihan and Cage’s feud.
The World Champion Brian Cage joined Matthews and D’Amore at the Event Center. Cage said he felt really good from defeating Callihan. Cage talked about being disappointed about being injured throughout most of his reign and that he was ready and looking forward to make up for lost time.
Cage was talking about what was next when Sami Callihan interrupted the interview. Callihan demanded a rematch. Callihan talked trash and said that he sent oVe to his house in Los Angeles, while Cage was stuck at New York. We got footage of oVe in Los Angeles waiting for Sami’s green light. Cage gave Callihan his rematch and told him he’ll tear him apart. Without any crazy gimmicky things, Sami Callihan is turning into a Joker level villain. Good angle.
This was a weird thing for Melissa to recap on the Twitch stream with all the chat telling Melissa to hide from oVe who are supposed to be outside.
Back from commercial, Matthews and D’Amore talked about what had just happened with Cage and Callihan. They announced that Cage vs Callihan will take place inside a steel cage.
D’lo Brown joined the Event Center table to analyse the ongoing rivalry between Cage and Callihan. Brown said that if Callihan can stay inside Cage’s head like he just showed, he speculated that it’s only a matter of time before Callihan is the World Champion.
We got a video package for Tessa Blanchard. It was a highlight reel of the huge rise Tessa has achieved this year, from her feud with Gail Kim to her battles with oVe. They talked that after Bound For Glory, Tessa must be boiling over oVe getting in her business and somewhat costing her the X-Division Championship.
Impact Plus Moment of the Week was Tessa Blanchard vs Sami Callihan from this year’s Slammiversary XVII pay-per-view.
We got another video from Ace Austin’s movie being filmed. It’s definitely a porno.
We got a video package telling the crazy story that Eddie Edwards has gone through the last year, from his feud with Callihan, the eye injury, going crazy, feud with Kross, and his marital problems. At this point, Sami Callihan has been part of most of Impact’s biggest stories in the last two years, talk about being a pillar of the company.
They showed highlights of Eddie Edwards winning the Call Your Shot Gauntlet from Bound For Glory. They speculated that Eddie should go for the World Title, but given his feud with Ace Austin and that they have a grudge match coming, there are hints that Eddie could always go for that. Talking about Ace Austin again, we got highlights from Homecoming’s Ultimate X match for the X-Division Championship.
We’re back at Ace Austin’s movie set. Well, this ain’t PG. Maybe he’s renaming the title to the XXX-Division Championship.
Jimmy Jacobs interviewed Johnny Swinger from LA Live. Jacobs tried to ask what was the difference between wrestling in 1993 and now. Swinger said he is taking one of the young lads and taking him under his wing. Jacobs asked his twitter or social media, Swinger only gave out a P.O. Box. This was funny.
The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, & Trey Miguel) defeated Dr. Wagner Jr, Taurus, & Aerostar
The AAA team came out with their official porra ruda, straight out of Arena Naucalpan, with drums and vuvuzelas. Wagner is working with his mask on. This match has Lucha Tag rules.
Match started with the Lucha team jump the Rascalz and single out Dezmond. They hit a couple of tag moves between Taurus and Aerostar. Later on, Trey got in the ring, making him legal, but also fell to the Lucha team when Wagner locked in La Tapatia, while Taurus had a headlock, and Aerostar dropped a footstomp from the top rope.
Back from commercial, the AAA team is still under control of Trey, just for Dezmond to return to the ring and clear it out and going one-on-one with Aerostar. Wentz comes in and hits the Bronco Buster. Taurus tags in, who takes a triple combo by The Rascalz. Wagner comes in and strikes out all men, but ends up taking a superkick and footstomp combo by Wentz for a two count.
Rascalz go for a triple dive, but Xavier and Trey get taken out, leaving Wentz open to take out Wagner. Aerostar hits his dive, followed by Trey’s Asai moonsault. Wagner follows with a tope suicida.
Back in the ring, Wanger vs Xavier takes place. Wagner finally takes off his mask and hits a sit down powerbomb for a two count. Taurus lands a huge German and sets up Aerostar for a plancha only for Trey to break the pin.
Wentz comes in and takes out Taurus, but is taken out by Wagner, who is taken out by Xavier, who is taken out by Aerostar, and so on until Trey hits Cheeky Nandos and the Trey19 on Aerostar, follows with the Meteora and The Hot Fire Flame to take the win. Great match. It was kinda crazy seeing Dr. Wagner wrestle on Impact.
Matthews and D’Amore close the show running down next week’s card. Ace Austin vs Eddie Edwards, Cage vs Callihan in a cage match, Shamrock addressing his future, Josh Alexander vs Naomichi Marufuji, and much more. Packed show next Tuesday!
Final Thoughts —
Perfect show to bring you up to speed to Impact if you’ve missed the Pursuit Era. The show did a great job introducing you to the main players, the main stories, the fallout of Bound For Glory, and two pretty decent matches.
Bayley going through a long-anticipated character change was the latest step in WWE refocusing on the Four Horsewomen.
Bayley & Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross main evented last Monday’s episode of Raw. Sasha Banks ran in and caused a disqualification by attacking Lynch. Banks struck Lynch with a steel chair until Bayley took it away from her. But instead of playing peacemaker between her friends, Bayley smiled and pummeled Lynch with the chair herself.
After beginning her heel turn and reuniting with Banks, Bayley cut a promo explaining her actions the next night on SmackDown. The crowd alternated between cheering and booing her. Bayley told the fans that their reaction was confusing. Instead of going full bore with the heel turn, Bayley spoke about her friendship with Banks and called Banks the one person who has always had her back. Bayley disingenuously talked about being a hero and a role model. She said she was trying to show kids what it means to be loyal and noted that she couldn’t turn her back on Banks just because things got rough. Bayley said that SmackDown deserves a champion that gets the same kind of recognition as Lynch.
In a move that has great ramifications in pro wrestling, Anthem Sport and Entertainment has purchased a majority interest in AXS TV and HDNet Movies and will begin running the two channels.
The deal also includes purchasing the AXS TV library of concerts, pro wrestling and MMA content, which would include U.S. broadcast rights to old ROH, many years of New Japan, WOW, and some defunct MMA promotions as well as countless smaller MMA shows.
Mark Cuban, who founded the stations, and AEG, his partners, will continue to own a minority interest. Part of the purchase team included Anthem, headed by Leonard Asper, and entertainer Steve Harvey, who will enter into a strategic content development agreement.
The company will continue operating from studios in Los Angeles and Denver, as well as use Anthem studios in Toronto, Nashville and Europe. The office in Dallas was closed down.
While not stated in the sales press release, as noted over the months this day has been in play, that if it was to go through, that Impact would move from The Pursuit Channel, where it has been dying on the vine, and move to AXS.
The deal actually first started with an attempt by Anthem to get Impact on AXS when they got word in the latter stages of 2018 that they weren’t going to be renewed by Pop TV. AXS turned down the initial deal, since Impact did not have a good reputation in the wrestling world at the time and AXS had its own wrestling franchise with New Japan.
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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
Just as TNT will be airing a preview show of AEW before its 10/2 debut (current issue covers that), FOX will be airing a one hour special called Smackdown’s Greatest Hits on 9/27 at 8 p.m. the Friday night before the debut.
The first casualty of the Anthem purchase of AXS is the Friday night MMA programming, which, for a long time, was the most popular show on the station. Much of the crew has been let go. Today Ron Kruk, who has been a commentator with the station and with its entire MMA division since 2004, said that tomorrow night he will call his last event for AXS TV.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has a fantastic story on former college football star/pro wrestling superstar Jumping Joe Savoldi, who popularized the sport in the U.S. by utilizing football moves in pro wrestling (yes, the old-timers said it was fake and would kill he business). His story is amazing.
Tickets for the Royal Rumble, which will be at Minute Maid Stadium in Houston, will go on sale on 9/20. They will be available at www.astros.com/rumble or be calling 800-352-0212. There are travel packages already available at RoyalRumbleTravel.com
Scott Coker announced today that double champion Patricio Pitbull Freire will be entering into the Rizin lightweight tournament in Japan. It’s an eight-man tournament with Hiroto Uesaki, Damien Brown, Johnny Case, Freire, Roberto Satoshi Souza, Tatsuya Kawajiri,Tofio Musayev and Luiz Gustavo.
Kambi has come out with the star ratings predictions for Sunday. You can’t bet on over, under or the same:
Drew Gulak vs. Humberto Carrillo vs. Lince Dorado ***
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz **1/2
Braun Strowman & Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode **3/4
Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks ***1/2
Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan ***1/4
Big E & Xavier Woods vs. Revival ***1/4
Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair ***1/4
A.J. Styles vs. Cedric Alexander ***3/4
Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman ***1/2
Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton **3/4
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville**
UFC
Thiago Alves has pulled out of the 9/28 show in Copenhagen, Denmark due to a health issue. Gunner Nelson, who he was scheduled to face, is looking for a new opponent on the show.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik has been added to 11/2 in Madison Square Garden.
ROH Final Battle tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Innovate Wrestlnig on 9/28 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium.
Wrestling & Respect on 10/5 in Lima, OH at the Bradfield Community Center
Vampiro is taking bookings for wrestling matches, autograph signings, photos ops, one men talk shows and seminars through Bill Behrens at [email protected]
KSW welterweight champion Roberto Soldic (16-3) now faces Poland’s Michael Peitrzak (8-3) in a non-title fight at 176 pounds after his title challengers, Patrik Kinel, pulled out of Saturday’s show at SSE Wembley in London due to an injury.
Limitless will be part of the Olympia Weekend Expo in Las Vegas on 9/13 and 9/14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Scheduled as guests are:
Tomorrow:10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Cryme Tyme, David Loiseau
12:30 p.m.. to 1:30 p.m. – Cody Garbrandt
Noon to 2 p.m. – Ken Shamrock
Noon to 2 p.m. – Nick Diaz
1-3 p.m. – Chuck Liddell
2-4 p.m. – Francis Ngannou
3:30-4:30 p.m. – Bill Goldberg
Saturday:10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Cryme Tyme, David Loiseau
Noon to 2 p.m. – Anthony Pettis
1-3 p.m. – Chuck Liddell
1:30-3:30 p.m. – Anderson Silva
2:30-3:30 p.m. – Georges St-Pierre
Superstars of Wrestling fan fest on 10/19 in Rome, GA at the Forum River Center with Road Warrior Animal, Stan Hansen, Tanaka, Bob Orton, J.J. Dillon, Barry Windham, Jimmy Hart, Molly Holly, Disco Inferno Tony Atlas, Missy Hyatt and Raven.
IWA Mid South has the annual Ted Petty Invitational tournament tonight and tomorrow night at 1416 Spring St. in Jeffersonville, IN. Among those appearing are Fed Yehi, Shane Mercer, Jason Kincaid, Monsta Mack, Anthony Henry, Joey Ryan and Kongo Kong.
Premier Championship Wrestling on Saturday in Cleveland at Turners Hall with Wardlow in action.
Valor Bare Knuckle on PPV on 9/21 from New Town, ND promoted by Ken Shamrock has announced these PPV fights:
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Mighty Mo in first round of a one-night heavyweight tournament
Jack May vs Mark Godbeer in the tournament
Ishe Smith vs. Estevan Payan
Mike Richman vs. J.C. Llamas
Pro Wrestling Soul tomorrow at Wimbledon, South London at Merton Arts Space has a one-night women’s tournament with Millie McKenzie,Chakara, Charli Evans, Danni Luna, Bobbi Tyler, Mercedes Blaze, Kanji and Talia Martins.
CWE on 10/25 in Winnipeg at Rookie’s Sports Bar has a show as well as a seminar with Vampiro at 2 p.m.
Shine on 9/21 at Club LaBoom in Woodside, NY with Allysin Kay vs. Shotzi Blackheart, Gabby Gilbert & Luscious Latasha vs. Aja Perera & Big Swole, Mercedes Martinez vs. Ivelisse and the debut of Kris Statlander.
Northeast Wrestling tomorrow night in Waterbury, CT at the PAL with Joey Janela vs. Pentagon Jr. as the main event, plus Private Party, Rey Fenix, Darby Allin, Enzo & Cass appearing.
Progress has a big show Sunday from the Alexandra Palace in London with:
Pete Dunne vs. ?
Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Keith Lee & Matt Riddle
Jordynne Grace vs. Meiko Satomura for the women’s tile
Zack Gibson & James Drake vs. Aussie Open for tag tiles
Walter vs. David Starr for Progress title
30 man Rumble
Combate Americas on 10/11 in Tucson, AZ on Univision.
A story on MLW returning to Orlando in November with a TV taping on 11/9.
In a move that has great ramifications in pro wrestling, Anthem Sport and Entertainment has purchased a majority interest in AXS TV and HDNet Movies and will begin running the two channels.
The deal also includes purchasing the AXS TV library of concerts, pro wrestling and MMA content, which would include U.S. broadcast rights to old ROH, many years of New Japan, WOW, and some defunct MMA promotions as well as countless smaller MMA shows.
Mark Cuban, who founded the stations, and AEG, his partners, will continue to own a minority interest. Part of the purchase team included Anthem, headed by Leonard Asper, and entertainer Steve Harvey, who will enter into a strategic content development agreement.
The company will continue operating from studios in Los Angeles and Denver, as well as use Anthem studios in Toronto, Nashville and Europe. The office in Dallas was closed down.
When AEW debuts on TNT on October 2, they’ll be doing so with Chris Jericho as their champion.
Saturday’s All Out pay-per-view ended with Jericho defeating Hangman Page to become the inaugural AEW World Champion. After Jericho kicked out of the Dead Eye, Page hit a Buckshot Lariat and went for the Dead Eye again. The finish saw Jericho reverse the move and then connect with his Judas Effect elbow strike to win the title.
The match was very good, but it fell short of being the epic main event you’d want to crown your first World Champion with. The dynamic just didn’t work quite as well as AEW wanted. The fans would ideally have been desperate for Page to defeat Jericho and become champion. But people weren’t all that interested in booing Jericho — and Page didn’t have the momentum that he needed going into the match. The way Page won his way into getting the title shot was probably a misstep. It’s understandable that AEW wants to create their own unique match concepts and give them meaning, but Jericho defeating Kenny Omega at Double or Nothing felt like a far bigger deal than Page earning his spot in the title match through winning the Casino Battle Royale. While Page got wins at Fyter Fest and Fight for the Fallen, they weren’t against big enough opponents and they weren’t strong enough victories for people to see him as being one of the top two wrestlers in the company.
Jericho was an obvious choice to become AEW’s first World Champion. He’s an easily recognizable star that lapsed and casual fans will already be familiar with. There will inevitably be criticism over a new company choosing a 48-year-old wrestler as their initial champion, but AEW isn’t at any risk of being seen as a nostalgia promotion. It’s fine to have one wrestler in their late 40s in a top spot. Signing Jericho and pushing him heavily is a no-brainer for any start-up company. Jericho is still wrestling at a high level, helps bring credibility to the promotion for those who aren’t already fans of The Elite, and has protected his image by only working in main event-level matches with great opponents since departing WWE.
A full review of AEW All Out, and the saga of Chris Jericho’s stolen belt are the lead topics of discussion in this week’s double issue Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We have complete coverage of All Out from a live perspective, as well as the television version of the show. We talk about what worked, what might not have, and what we can learn about match order when laying out a card. We have the latest on the business of the show, including preliminary pay-per-view numbers.
We have coverage of AEW and WWE running the same markets, and have notes and numbers on how each promotion is doing in selling tickets there. We also have all the details on the Chris Jericho AEW title story.
NJPW Royal Quest is covered as well in the new issue. We have star ratings for the matches, as well as business notes for the show.
The upcoming WWE Clash of Champions show is covered in detail. We have a preliminary card for the show.
We also cover the WWE writing team shake-up that took place this week.
NXT U.K. TakeOver: Cardiff is covered in detail as well, with everything from match reports and star ratings, to attendance and what we can learn from the show.
We have a story on Cris Cyborg signing with Bellator, and talk about potential opponents for her.
The new issue also has a history piece covering Harley Race’s St. Louis wrestling history. A lot can be learned from the piece, thanks to the late Larry Matysik’s Wrestling at the Chase Record book.
We also have Ryan Frederick’s coverage of the 8/31 UFC event in Shenzhen, China.
The passing of Australian wrestling legend, Norman Frederic Charles Lowndes, known as Sir Norman Frederich Charles III, is covered as well. We have notes on his life and career.
We look at AEW’s hype show that aired on TNT, and break down the viewership for the show, and what can be learned from it.
We also have news and notes on all of the top wrestling and MMA promotions in the world.
We have full coverage of all the WWE television shows from the past week.
As always, we have in-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows,the key demos for the WWE shows and what can be learned from them.
We also have the 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.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
by Joseph Currier and Bryan Rose
WWE
WWE is back at Madison Square Garden for tonight’s SmackDown. The Undertaker will appear on the show, and we’ll see how WWE handles Elias being pulled from his King of the Ring semifinal match against Chad Gable. Elias is out of the match due to an ankle injury.
Drew Gulak & Tony Nese vs. Humberto Carrillo & Lince Dorado is set for tonight’s 205 Live. Brian Kendrick & Akira Tozawa facing Jack Gallagher and a partner was also set up for the episode last week.
Steve Austin tweeted about his appearance on Raw at Madison Square Garden: “I had the time of my life! What a blast. Thanks to everybody @TheGarden The Fans and @WWE and everybody who watched at home. There is NOTHING like being in a ring and having fun. Great seeing the present and future superstars!”
NXT referee Eddie Orengo started working full time on the main roster last night. He’ll be a ref on the Raw brand.
Becky Lynch told ESPN’s Marc Raimondi about Ric Flair trying to trademark “The Man”: “All I can say about Ric is, I like Ric. He’s been a good friend to me over the years. We’ll see what happens with that.”
Triple H spoke to Yahoo Sports about AEW going against NXT and being an alternative to WWE: “If you talk about the upstart, what they’re going out and saying is that they’re an alternative. We were that alternative five years ago. We opened the door for being an alternative, we opened the door to show people that it can be done on a bigger level and on a different basis. As far as being the alternative, great, go put on the best show you can put out, and we’ll put out the best one we can put out.”
Anthem Sports & Entertainment has already made moves in the last 24 hours regarding AXS. PWInsider reported this afternoon that AXS’ Dallas office has been shut down. Adam Swift, who was behind getting wrestling on the network dating back to the ROH on HDNet days, has been let go as well as Cindy Ronzoni, who handled PR.
Kazushi Sakuraba, who hasn’t wrestled since 2017, is returning to pro wrestling, this time for Pro Wrestling NOAH. He will team with Hajme Ohara and NOSAWA to take on Yoshinari Ogawa, Kotaro Suzuki and Chris Ridgeway on September 16.
A GoFundMe has launched for Brian Knobbs, who is currently suffering from a serious infection in his knee.
Jeff Cobb will challenge for the ROH World title at ROH’s Honor United show in Bolton, England on October 27. He’ll face the winner of Matt Taven vs. Rush from Death Before Dishonor.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson tweeted that — if he’s able to make it to UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden on April 2 — he’ll put the BMF title around Jorge Masvidal’s waist if Masvidal defeats Nate Diaz: “Doing all I can to make this fight. If I can and you win, I’ll put the belt around your waist at MSG – consider it done. Already shaping up to be one of the biggest and most electrifying fights in @ufc history. Can’t wait.”
When AEW debuts on TNT on October 2, they’ll be doing so with Chris Jericho as their champion.
Saturday’s All Out pay-per-view ended with Jericho defeating Hangman Page to become the inaugural AEW World Champion. After Jericho kicked out of the Dead Eye, Page hit a Buckshot Lariat and went for the Dead Eye again. The finish saw Jericho reverse the move and then connect with his Judas Effect elbow strike to win the title.
The match was very good, but it fell short of being the epic main event you’d want to crown your first World Champion with. The dynamic just didn’t work quite as well as AEW wanted. The fans would ideally have been desperate for Page to defeat Jericho and become champion. But people weren’t all that interested in booing Jericho — and Page didn’t have the momentum that he needed going into the match. The way Page won his way into getting the title shot was probably a misstep. It’s understandable that AEW wants to create their own unique match concepts and give them meaning, but Jericho defeating Kenny Omega at Double or Nothing felt like a far bigger deal than Page earning his spot in the title match through winning the Casino Battle Royale. While Page got wins at Fyter Fest and Fight for the Fallen, they weren’t against big enough opponents and they weren’t strong enough victories for people to see him as being one of the top two wrestlers in the company.
Jericho was an obvious choice to become AEW’s first World Champion. He’s an easily recognizable star that lapsed and casual fans will already be familiar with. There will inevitably be criticism over a new company choosing a 48-year-old wrestler as their initial champion, but AEW isn’t at any risk of being seen as a nostalgia promotion. It’s fine to have one wrestler in their late 40s in a top spot. Signing Jericho and pushing him heavily is a no-brainer for any start-up company. Jericho is still wrestling at a high level, helps bring credibility to the promotion for those who aren’t already fans of The Elite, and has protected his image by only working in main event-level matches with great opponents since departing WWE.
A full review of AEW All Out, and the saga of Chris Jericho’s stolen belt are the lead topics of discussion in this week’s double issue Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We have complete coverage of All Out from a live perspective, as well as the television version of the show. We talk about what worked, what might not have, and what we can learn about match order when laying out a card. We have the latest on the business of the show, including preliminary pay-per-view numbers.
We have coverage of AEW and WWE running the same markets, and have notes and numbers on how each promotion is doing in selling tickets there. We also have all the details on the Chris Jericho AEW title story.
NJPW Royal Quest is covered as well in the new issue. We have star ratings for the matches, as well as business notes for the show.
The upcoming WWE Clash of Champions show is covered in detail. We have a preliminary card for the show.
We also cover the WWE writing team shake-up that took place this week.
NXT U.K. TakeOver: Cardiff is covered in detail as well, with everything from match reports and star ratings, to attendance and what we can learn from the show.
We have a story on Cris Cyborg signing with Bellator, and talk about potential opponents for her.
The new issue also has a history piece covering Harley Race’s St. Louis wrestling history. A lot can be learned from the piece, thanks to the late Larry Matysik’s Wrestling at the Chase Record book.
We also have Ryan Frederick’s coverage of the 8/31 UFC event in Shenzhen, China.
The passing of Australian wrestling legend, Norman Frederic Charles Lowndes, known as Sir Norman Frederich Charles III, is covered as well. We have notes on his life and career.
We look at AEW’s hype show that aired on TNT, and break down the viewership for the show, and what can be learned from it.
We also have news and notes on all of the top wrestling and MMA promotions in the world.
We have full coverage of all the WWE television shows from the past week.
As always, we have in-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows,the key demos for the WWE shows and what can be learned from them.
We also have the 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 talking the Anthem purchase of HD-Net, the 2019 Hall of Fame, Raw, AEW PPV, Raw and the rest of the news. You can send questions to the show to [email protected]
Regarding the Anthem purchase of HD-Net, right now everything is up in the air. There is nothing definitive past the expectation is that Impact moves to AXS which had been in talks as part of this deal for months. Regarding the other wrestling content (NJPW and WOW), for now nothing is different but it is all to be determined.
Some changes in the WWE major PPV policy. For the Royal Rumble in January, there are no longer going to be four shows in the same arena. The plan for Rumble week is the Friday night Smackdown show is being moved to Dallas. Saturday night will not be NXT Takeover, but there will be a live WWE Network special called World’s Collide at the Toyota Center. It is believed that show will have NXT, NXT U.K. and 205 Live talent combined although that is still in the formative changes. Royal Rumble will be at Minute Maid Park. Raw that Monday will be in San Antonio.There still will be NXT Takeover shows but that schedule is being changed as well and will be released in the near future.
As of a few hours ago, Steve Austin was only listed for the contract signing segment on Raw tonight. The show is loaded tonight and expected to be a big one for a number of reasons, including it being the first TV in MSG in a decade, it going against the first night of Monday Night Football (Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos) and it being the go-home show for Clash of the Champions. We had been told an A.J. Styles U.S. title match was scheduled for Clash, but it hasn’t materialized yet. So if it’s still happening, the angle would have to be shot tonight.
The AEW talent that works indies are doing farewell shows across the country this month. This would not include the guys who are under contract to MLW, that will continue to work for MLW and AEW.
WWE
Ronda Rousey has a new gig, as Executive Producer of a new ESPN+ show called “Why We Fight.” There will be a seven episode second season that will be hosted by Cat Zingano.The first four episodes will be available later this month. Season one of the show aired on Verizon Go90 and was not hosted by Zingano.
Pat McAfee’s podcast debuted today on DAZN. This was a different move for a station that been all about live event coverage and baseball game highlights. The feeling was there are only a few singular talents not tied to ESPN or FOX with the reach and audience he can deliver (thanks to John Wallstreet’s newsletter)
Ric Flair has a signing and meet and greet at the Atlanta Walker Stalker Con, which is mostly Walking Dead celebrities from 10/18 to 10/20. Ricky Steamboat was originally announced but pulled out. The convention draws bout 100,000 people annually and this is the first time a pro wrestler has been booked (thanks to Ross Blair)
Dwayne Johnson was on the Kelly Clarkson show today.
Gabriel Iglesias is the guest on Straight Up Steve Austin that airs after Raw tonight.
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa will be doing a seminar/tryout together on 9/20 before the Evolve show in Brooklyn. The seminar os open to wrestlers, mnagers, referees and prospective announcers.
MISCELLANEOUS
Dylan Postl’s (Hornswoggle) autobiography “Life Is Short and So Am I” comes out tomorrow through ECW Press. Ross Owen Williams, who did the very underrated Bob Holly book, is the co-author.
GOUGE from Saturday night in Raleigh, NC: Encore & Ryan Miller b Waylon Maze & Seymour Snott to keep the tag titles, Roni Nicole b Natalina Corvino, Jimmy Jack Funk Jr. b Blaqtus Jack, Jimmy Jack Funk Jr. b Bobby Shane, Snooty Fox b Bobby Wohlfert. Next show is 9/21 in Raleigh, NC at American Brewmasters.
I Believe in Wrestling on 10/4 at the Team Vision Dojo in Orlando with Larry Zbyszko as a guest.
Hoosier Pro Wrestling from Saturday night in Columbus, IN: Duke the Nuke b Kovus, Omega D b David Dawson, Scarecrow b Bubba James, Cooter b Scarecrow, Drax O’Brien b Lightning Bolt-COR, Guy Lombardo b Dodo Brown, Dynamite Dillen & Buck Sexton b Tank & Fireball-DQ, Butcher Manson won three-way over Tim Lutz and The heat. Next show is 10/5 with Jimmy Valiant returning.
Smash Wrestling is running two shows a day at the Western Fairgrounds in London, ONT from 9/7 to 9/15, running 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. weekends and 5 p.m. and 8 pm. weekdays in the Progress Building.
Smash also runs 9/20 in London, ONT at Fanshawe College.
A correction from yesterday’s update. The show listed as being in Chatsworth, GA was in Chatsworth, CA. They run every Friday night in Chatsworth. This coming week’s main event is Diego Vallens vs. Luchasaurus for their title (thanks to Robb Block)
House of Hardcore runs 11/23 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
Kelly Klein faces Angelina Love for the WOH title on the 9/27 Death Before Dishonor PPV show from ROH.
After a lack of interest heading into the pay-per-view, Stomping Grounds was a show that exceeded expectations.
Given that there weren’t really any surprises at the PPV, that’s probably mostly due to expectations being set too low. Nothing on the show was dramatically better than it should have been. The PPV succeeded where most good WWE shows do. Even if the build was underwhelming, a talented roster was able to go out to the ring and have good matches throughout much of the card.
A look at the WWE’s move to bring in Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff is the lead story in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The story talks about what led to the moves, the questions about the moves that aren’t answered, the Heyman-McMahon history, the Bischoff decision, and how Wall Street and AEW fit into this equation.
We also look at the end of the political career of Antonio Inoki, a look at plans for Extreme Rules, business notes on ticket sales for the summer’s biggest events, the business this past week of WWE, the reaction to Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin, full coverage of Stomping Grounds with match-by-match rundowns, star ratings and poll results.
We also look at the retirement of Riki Choshu, a look back at his heyday, his awards, his as a headliner and booker and as a creator as well as his retirement mach.
We also look at the July 13 night of wrestling that will be loaded as far as different offerings go, with ESPN+, AXS, WWE Network and B/R Live all offering shows at the same time. We look at how and why this happened.
We also look at changes to WWE television, why the Rollins vs. Bryan match went like it did, and what the internal feeling is about the changes. We also look at the rounds system, 24/7 title news, declines in Raw viewership over the past year in different demos, new WWE signings, WWE injury updates, Noam Dar talks Adrian McCallum, Lio Rush update, WWE canceling shows and why, television industry exec talks wrestling and television landscape and how the mentality of TV has changed, WWE name changes, first Smackdown on FOX news updates and the market value of WWE.
We also look at all the NXT and WWE main roster events over the past week with match results, highlights and other business notes.
We’ve got full coverage of this past week’s UFC show with business notes.
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 covering Raw and the latest pro wrestling and MMA news. You can send e-mail questions for the show to [email protected]
Some notes regarding the new roles of Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff in WWE. There is more Heyman influence in tonight’s Raw, but he’s had influence for some time. It is not his complete show. Bischoff is starting very soon (likely his fingerprints will be on things starting after the PPV) and will be at the show on Tuesday since the ad went out and they feel they need to have him there, but this week’s Smackdown is not his show. Heyman will continue as a TV character in the role of the advocate for Brock Lesnar and not in an authority position, feeling the authority position is played out. Bischoff’s situation is not confirmed past he was not hired to be a television performer. We’ll have a lot more on the whys this happened in the new issue but the basic stuff talked about in the current issue is accurate as what caused the move and why these were the two guys picked. Both will have influence in long-term booking with their ideas, but it is still Vince McMahon’s show.
Regarding the Impact to AXS story that Voices of Wrestling broke, neither side has commented on it. What we do know is that these talks have been going on for months and we don’t know exactly where they stand past it doesn’t appear a deal is final at this point. Those at Impact have talked about upgrading their television situation, which they have to do, at some point this year, but nothing was said past that.
A correction from yesterday’s report. It was Charlie Morgan who announced at yesterday’s Eve show that she was retiring. She also came out in he speech. We had reported it as Charli Evans.
Highspots will be releasing a new DVD on Championship Wrestling from Florida, directed by Michael Elliot, who did the great video of Bruiser Brody.
Garrett Gonzalez and myself have an interview with Lance Archer going up on the site tomorrow night.
WWE
Paul Heyman on Inside the Ropes (transcript via Fightful) said this about wanting to do a show without authority figures. “The role of the General Manager is played out. I don’t want to do it because its been going on for 20 years and whether you’re the hero General Manager, the villain General Manager… I don’t know how many people really turn on WWE or any form of sports-entertainment to see how a match is made. The show has become too much of, ‘Here’s the story behind the show that you’re watching’, and I think sometimes, people just want to see the show.” He said. “I think people just want to understand who the characters are and see the characters pitted against each other in compelling situations or riveting storylines that have nothing to do with the corporate structure that orders the match because the General Manager needs to sign the contract.”
Roman Reigns is in a Brisk Ice Tea ad from the new movie Hobbs & Shaw where he plays his character Mateo, a brother of Hobbs, who is Dwayne Johnson’s character in the movie.
A story on R-Truth’s segment being the biggest in WWE on YouTube. (thanks to Christopher Cruise)
Mike Mooneyham talks about the Jarrett Parsons Roku channel that airs old wrestling. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
Rise from yesterday in Chicago: D.J. Summers b Regina Honey Badger, Ray Lyn b Sophie King, Miranda Alize b Candy Lee, Kimber Lee b AQA, Neveah & Jessicka Havok won three-way over Zoey Skye & Courtney Rush (Rosemary from Impact) and Ashley Vox and Delmi Exo, Joey Ryan d Dementia D’Rose (this was a comedy match built around Ryan’s super powers penis and D’Rose’s super power butt, at one point the lights went off and it was like they were each touching the other and they had earthquake sound effects go off), Jake Atlas won doors elimination match over Elayna Black, Devon Monroe, Big Mama, Jamie Senegal an Priscilla Kelly, Shotzi Blackheart b Effy-DQ, Cassandro (the Mexican exotico) b Mercedes Martinez,. Lots of talk about Pride month. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wretlingwithdemons.net)
Pro Wrestling Eve Wrestle Queendom from yesterday at York Hall in London: Yuu b NightShade, Kagetsu d Mayu Iwatani, Laura Di Matteo b Jordynne Grace, Jetta & Erin Angel won three-way to become the first Eve tag champs over Charli Evans & Millie McKenzie and Liivii Grace & Jinny, Su Yung b Session Moth Martina in a hardcore mach, Aria Hoshiki b Roxxy, Jamie Hayter won three-way elimination match to win the Eve International championship over champion Utami Hayashishita and Nina Samuels, Viper b Kay Lee Ray to win the Eve title in what was billed as both women’s last match with the promotion and they’re both with WWE, Rhia O’Reilly b Viper to win title in an impromptu match.
Rockin Ricky Gibson suffered a broken orbital bone and a hematoma on his head and will need surgery after taking a spinning heel kick to the face in a match with Prestige Wrestling on Saturday night (thanks to Frank Culbertson)
Does anyone have any contact info on 70s and 80s wrestler George Welles?
ONE has announced its 100th show for 10/13 at Tokyo Sumo Hall.
Lucha Libre Promotions ran at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds yesterday in conjunction with the Super World Con, which announced all kinds of giant names with a ton of them canceling in the last two weeks because this was a gigantic mess. The wrestling show drew 70 fans for a four-match show that had Mecha Wolf vs. local Payaso de Rodeo, when Puma King had travel issues so they said, and Juventud Guerrera beat Drago in the main event. (thanks to Roy Lucier)
Heather Bandenburg, aka Heather Honeybadger/Rana Venenoa has a book coming out “Unladylike: A Grrl’s Guide to Wrestling” that comes out on 7/11 in the U.K. She talks about how pro wrestling helped her overcome depression and find a path in life.
Pro Wrestling Phoenix had three more shows yesterday at the Omaha Comic Con
Morning: Pat Powers b Purple, El Bigote b Austin Ames, Brett Bishop b Jon West, Con Artiest b Joey Daniels
Afternoon: Branden Juarez b Pat Powers, Joey Daniels b El Bigote, Brett Bishop & Purple & Jon West b Zac James & Xander McIntosh & Austin Ames, Preston Maxwell b Con Artiest
Evening show: Con Artiest b Purple, Branden Juarez b Austin Ames, Mad Dog McDowell & Jon West b Joey Daniels & Xander McIntosh, Brett Bishop b Preston Maxwell
CWE tonight in CFB Shilo, Manitba at the Community Centre Annex at 7:30 p.m. as a free show with Lanny Poffo & Brian Rich vs. Tommy Lee Curtis & Kevin Cannon in the main event. It also includes live brand, a beer garden and fireworks for Canada Day.
Defy has announced Defyance Forever on 8/23 in Tacoma at the Temple Theater. There will be New Japan talent on the show. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10 a.m., more info can be found on Defy’s website.
The Alabama Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame inducts its 2019 class on Saturday in Oxford, AL. This year’s inductees are Arn Anderson, who spent his early career in Alabama, and will be in attendance. Other inductees include “Action” Mike Jackson, Joshua O’Hagan, and Veronica Fairchild. The event will be followed by the Frank “The Flame” Barnhill memorial wrestling show. Tickets to an exclusive pre-show meet and greet with the new Hall of Famers are $25, while the wrestling show by itself is free. For details, visit here.
The top matches from NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 show at the Tokyo Dome will air on a same-day tape delay on AXS TV on January 4.
AXS has confirmed what had been expected in some form. This will be the first time AXS has had same-day coverage of a pro wrestling show from Japan.
In addition, with Jim Ross and Josh Barnett finishing up with New Japan commitments at the end of the year, the Tokyo Dome matches will use the New Japan World commentary team of Kevin Kelly and Don Callis. Kelly will be full-time on the AXS commentary team going forward.
Both the Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi IWGP Heavyweight Championship match and the Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito IWGP Intercontinental title match will air on January 4, on a two-hour show from 8 to 10 p.m. Eastern time.
The rest of the Dome show will air with a two-hour show on January 11 in the same time slot, and a one-hour show on January 18.
“Same-day coverage of NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 ushers in a new era of NJPW on AXS TV,” said AXS TV Fights CEO Andrew Simon. “Based on the tremendous growth of NJPW on AXS TV, we are making changes to reward wrestling fans by offering NJPW in prime time on Friday nights as close to when it takes place as possible.”
The company also announced that the new Beginning in Sapporo show will air in three one-hour installments on February 8, February 15, and February 22.
New Year’s Dash, the show that takes place on January 5 and features the angles that start the new year, will air on AXS on January 25 and February 1.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s next show in the United States will be airing on AXS TV a few days after taking place.
AXS announced today that Fighting Spirit Unleashed, which will be held at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California on September 30, will be premiering on the channel at 8 p.m. Eastern time on October 5. The show is taking place on a Sunday and then airing on AXS on Friday.
Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly will be the broadcast team for the event, with Kelly filling in for Josh Barnett due to Barnett having a scheduling conflict.
“I had a conflicting event with one of my fighters in Japan,” Barnett said, “otherwise I’d be there to call this event and have my partner Jim Ross’ back, as always. I’ll be back next time!”
“While I will miss working with my normal broadcast partner Josh Barnett, I am excited for the opportunity to work again with Kevin Kelly, whom I broadcast with for the first time 20 years ago,” Ross said. “Kevin has great knowledge from working on NJPW World, so he’ll bring another perspective to the broadcast and, as we all know, anything can and usually does happen. It should be a heck of a night.”
Cody Rhodes challenging for Juice Robinson’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, The Young Bucks defending their IWGP Tag Team titles against Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa, and Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight title tournament semifinal match have been announced for Fighting Spirit Unleashed.
KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI is the other semifinal match in the eight-man tournament, with them facing off at Destruction in Kobe on September 23. The finals are scheduled for King of Pro Wrestling on October 8.
AXS TV officially announced today that Jim Ross and Josh Barnett have signed new contracts and will continue to host New Japan Pro Wrestling on the station.
“I’m excited to be returning to AXS TV, and with my partner, Josh Barnett, we look forward to another exciting year with AXS TV and their NJPW programming,” Ross said. “NJPW has some of the finest athletes in the world performing for them and it’s an honor to be able to add a narrative to their bouts.”
It was noted in the Observer earlier this month that Ross and AXS had verbally agreed on a new contract, with WWE not standing in the way of the deal. Ross’ agreement with WWE allows him to continue doing his existing work.
“Together, Jim Ross and Josh Barnett form one of the strongest and most unique commentary teams in pro wrestling,” AXS Fights CEO Andrew Simon said. “J.R.’s experience is second to none and his iconic voice provides a captivating soundtrack for NJPW, while Josh’s career in both pro wrestling and combat sports allows him to add compelling depth and a combatant’s perspective to the action.”
This will be the fourth season of NJPW on AXS and will feature more up-to-date programming than ever before, notably the January 4th Tokyo Dome show in which the top three hours of the show will be edited and broadcast on January 6th, just two days after it takes place.
On Sunday, AXS TV will officially announce a three-hour Wrestle Kingdom 12 special to air on Saturday, January 6th, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time, the main focus of 11 straight hours of New Japan programming starting at noon that day.
All of the top main card matches — IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito, US Champion Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho, and IC Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White — will be on the special.
The marathon will feature many of the biggest matches in New Japan from the last six months, including Omega’s matches with Tomohiro Ishii in Long Beach where he won the tournament to be crowned the US Champion, Omega vs. Naito in the G1 Climax final, and Omega vs. Juice Robinson for the US title.
From 5-8 p.m., they will replay the recent King of Pro Wrestling special from Sumo Hall in Tokyo that featured Okada vs. EVIL and Naito vs. Ishii.
They will be airing matches from Wrestle Kingdom 12 starting January 12th through February 9th, broken down into five one hour programs in their regular Friday night timeslot.
“While NJPW has delivered some of the greatest matches in wrestling history over the past year, we’ve seen viewership growth on AXS TV thanks to New Japan’s expansion in the U.S. and our commitment to air matches closer to when they take place,” said Andrew Simon, the CEO of AXS TV Fights.
“With Wrestle Kingdom as their marquee annual event, we thank NJPW and TV Asahi for their support and are proud to kick off 2018 with this historical prime time Saturday night special featuring the dream match-up Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho.”
On Tuesday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Live, Jim Ross broke the news that New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 11 will begin to air on AXS TV just one week after it happens, broken up into four weeks.
Additionally, Ross announced that the weekly show has been renewed for 50+ episodes in 2017 and will move to 8 PM EST on Fridays. He will continue to work alongside Josh Barnett.
WK11 will begin on Friday, January 13th, with the IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega match, and a week later, they will air Tanahashi vs. I-C Champion Naito. Broadcast matches for the subsequent two weeks have yet to be announced.
Ross first announced NJPW action just over two years ago at Wrestle Kingdom 9 that aired live on PPV. He began working for AXS TV earlier this year as the lead voice on NJPW’s weekly Friday show, taking over for the WWE-bound Mauro Ranallo.
This week’s episode is the first part of the WrestleKingdom 10 show, held at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th, 2016.
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated AJ Styles to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
The announcers put over that both Nakamura and Styles would be heading to WWE shortly after this match. It’s bizarre to think that both of these guys were in New Japan as late as early this year; it feels like ages since they made the jump, and they’ve already accomplished so much in WWE, it’s kind of amazing.
This was a great match from start to finish. It had a typical start as the guys felt out one another. Nakamura targeted Styles’ back, which kept him out of action for most of December. Great spots followed, including a great triangle into a Styles Clash counter by Styles. They shaved a few minutes from this match, and it wasn’t the highlighted match since they aren’t on the roster anymore, but this was still very fun to watch. Totally check it out in full on New Japan World. Nakamura won the match with the Bomaye, retaining the title.
In a post-match interview, Nakamura said the AJ Styles he met in the ring was far better than he imagined. Given the timing, it was amazing to fight him in the Tokyo Dome. They asked him what his goal is for the future. He said that the world is his next stage, that is what he wants to live for.
KUSHIDA was interviewed for the main event. He had seen the battle between NJPW and UWF back in the mid 1990s. He knew what those matches meant, and now he finally got a singles match at the Tokyo Dome. Omega has the power; he’s close to being a perfect wrestler.
He brought up the Bullet Club situation and talked about how they interfere while the referee isn’t watching. In order to change the heavyweight/junior heavyweight philosophy of booking, they need to prove that they are not cheaters.
KUSHIDA defeated Kenny Omega to win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Again, what is funny here is that Omega towers over KUSHIDA throughout this match, plus they put over his power. I didn’t think of it at the time, but it seems totally obvious Omega was always meant to be a heavyweight rather than a junior. Pretty glad they made the transition as Omega wouldn’t be as high profile as he is today without making the transition
KUSHIDA did a great senton to the outside. KUSHIDA spent a lot of time working on one of Omega’s arms. KUSHIDA got in the hoverlock but the Young Bucks interfered and Taguchi (who was dressed up as Doc Brown from the Back to the Future films…because) kept them at bay with a trash can. Omega struck KUSHIDA with two knees and went for the One Winged Angel but KUSHIDA countered with the small package and got the win and the title.
KUSHIDA said no more interventions in matches. It is a fresh start, the year 2016 starts now. Hopes and infinite possibilities are in the future.
KUSHIDA talked about how it is too big and hard to capture the atmosphere, but there was much of it that night. He wanted to thank his “supporter” (they never mention it’s Taguchi), saying that he feels he owes him for keeping The Young Bucks away.
He mentioned that he (the supporter) is a star and that this was a rare occasion. He was happy to win; once he excels in the junior heavyweight division he will be big enough to challenge Okada and Tanahashi. His height didn’t meet the requirement to be in New Japan, so he has to work hard to become a heavyweight.
Final thoughts: Really good show overall. Both matches were great when they first aired, and they got plenty of time in the hour to be showcased. KUSHIDA’s goal of pushing the juniors to a higher level is an interesting one (these post-show interviews are always great), and the announcers did a great job of taking us back to January and reminding us of the storylines/injuries involving the wrestlers. NJPW on AXS continues to be one of the more well polished shows on any station, consistently providing insight and great action.
