Bret Hart will be in FTR’s corner for an upcoming Big Time Wrestling event in June.
The promotion announced a match between FTR and the team of Brock Anderson & Brian Pillman Jr.. Hart will be in FTR’s corner, while Arn Anderson will be in the corner of his son and Pillman. The event will take place in Webster, Massachusetts on June 10. Ticket information can be found here.
“Everyone’s demanding it! Everyone thinks they know where it’s going to happen… well, it’s going to happen only one place and that place is Big Time Wrestling Friday, June 10th at the iconic Webster Town Hall in Webster, MA,” Big Time Wrestling wrote on their Facebook page. “ It’s Old School 2022 when The Hitman Bret Hart leads FTR to battle with Brian Pillman Jr. and Brock Anderson accompanied by The Enforcer Arn Anderson! Plus an all star card!”
FTR, Anderson, and Pillman are all regulars for AEW. Pillman usually teams with Griff Garrison as The Varsity Blonds. Anderson has been teaming with Lee Johnson, most recently defeating Aaron Solo and QT Marshall of The Factory on an episode of AEW Dark: Elevation that aired on March 30.
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Friday News Update
Garrett and I will be doing a show tonight covering the news of the week, such as covering this week’s new issue, AEW announcements, WrestleMania main events and plans and much more. Bryan and I will also be doing a show this weekend.
We’re looking for reports on the WWE house shows tomorrow night in Youngstown, OH and Sunday in Rochester, NY to [email protected]
WWE
Smackdown tonight is from Hershey, PA with a legit sellout crowd, only the second sellout of the year for a WWE show.
NXT level Up has Kushida & Ikemen Jiro vs. Joe Gacy & Harland, Xyon Quinn vs. James Drake and Elektra Lopez vs. Sarray.
An interview with Damien Priest for the upcoming WWE show in Columbus, OH is here. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
AEW
AEW Rampage tonight has Sammy Guevara vs. Andrade El Idolo for the TNT title, Serena Deeb vs. Kayla Sparks, Orange Cassidy vs. Anthony Bowens for a spot in the ladder match at Revolution, Wardlow vs. Nick Comoroto and the Britt Baker-Thunder Rosa title match contract signing.
A documentary produced on the life and career of Brody King is here.
Other Wrestling
Bret Hart is involved in an event on 3/5 in Calgary called Battle at the Dome II. The Calgary Hitmen hockey team and the Prostate Cancer Centre are honoring Bret Hart for a 2 p.m. event that will include five matches form the Prairie Wrestling Alliance. There will be sales of Bret Hart jerseys where all the proceeds go to the Prostate Cancer Centre. Bret Hart is a prostate cancer survivor.
GCW tonight in Los Angeles has Sean Waltman & Joey Janela vs. Brian Myers & Matt Cardona, AJ Gray vs. ACH for the Extreme title, Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Homicide, Blake Christian vs. Nick Wayne, Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Jacob Fatu & Juicy Finau, Mike Bailey vs. Ninja Mack and Chris Dickinson is on the show.
Micro wrestler Gallito announced that he has left CMLL. (thanks to Rene Ochoa)
Jonathan Plombon, who wrote the book on Herb Abrams and the UWF, has delivered a long, involved story on The Renegade Richard Wilson, going back to high school friends, his ex-wife, and those who knew him along the way.
Greg Gagne is teaming with Steve Rosenthal, who did the original Remco Toys AWA figures, on a new line of action figures with tons of names from the past. The first six will be Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Stan Hansen, Magnum T.A., Kerry Von Erich and Ted DiBiase.
Mike Bailey vs. Nick Wayne headlines for West Coast Pro and Prestige Wrestling on 3/11 in South San Francisco at The State Room. The show has already sold out but will air on IWTV.
Warrior Wrestling on 3/12 in Indianapolis, IN at McGowen Hall has announced Thunder Rosa vs. Skye Blue for the women’s title, Jonah vs. Lance Archer, Athena vs. AQA, Trey Miguel & Myron Reed vs Aramis & Arez, Sam Adonis vs. Psycho Clown for the Lucha title, Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Silas Young, Killer Kross vs. Jake Something and Mike Bailey vs. KC Navarro.
Chris Bey, Alex Shelley, Taya Valkyrie, Charlie Haas, Dark Sheik, Reno Scum, Shazza McKenzie and more appear for Prestige Wrestling on 3/13 in Sacramento, CA at the Colonial Theater.
WAR Wrestling on 3/19 in Lima, OH at the Empowered Sports Center is headlined by Aaron Williams vs. Cody Jones.
Wrestler John Pantoya was on Wheel of Fortune on Monday night. He was trained by Harley Race and wrestled in 2006-2007 (thanks to Grant Zwarych)
UFC
UFC has a pure ESPN+ show starting at 4 p.m. Eastern tomorrow from Las Vegas
Victor Altamirano (123) vs. Carlos Hernandez (125)
Ramiz Brahimaj (170.5) vs. Michael Gillmore (170.5)
Alejandro Perez (144.5) vs. Jonathan Martinez (144)
The main event was agreed to be fought at 160 since Green had just fought and cut weight hard two weeks ago. Zhu missed weight by four pounds and will be forfeiting 40 percent of his purse.
A story on Terrance McKinney, who fights on tomorrow’s show, bouncing back from drug issues and fighting in UFC is here. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
Erick Gonzalez pulled out of the 3/5 show due to a foot injury so Devonte Smith now faces Ludovit Klein.
Charles Jourdain vs. Lando Vannata has been added to the 4/23 show.
Brandon Royval vs. Matt Schnell and Journey Newsom vs. Fernie Garcia have been added to the 5/7 show.
Other MMA
Gegard Mousasi destroyed Austin “Mr. VanZant” Vanderford, who has been on AEW television many time in recent months, in 2:00, to retain the Bellator middleweight title in a fight in Dublin, Ireland.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Logan Paul are promoting a World Slap Fighting Championships show on 3/5 at 2 p.m. Eastern. It will stream free on Logan Paul’s YouTube channel, Famino and Facebook.
LFA on 3/11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and live on UFC Fight Pass has a featherweight title fight with Jonas Bilharinho (9-1-1) vs. Rafael Barbosa (14-4) and a welterweight title fight with Gabriel Bonfim (11-0) vs,. Eduardo Garvon (13-3-1).
PFL airs on Fubo TV tonight at 9 p.m. on the Fubo Sports Network. Tonight’s show from Orlando is all welterweights trying to get into the 2022 tournament. Ray Lewis, Tyron Woodley and Jeremy Piven will be in-studio panelists for tonight’s show.
Jarrah Al Silawi vs. Michael Lilly
Dilano Taylor vs. Mark Martin
Carlos Leal vs. Socrates Pierre
Chris Mixan vs. Nathan Pierce
John Morgan is leaving MMA Junkie after 14 years. He’s the guy who gets to ask the first question at almost every press conference. He said that he and management had different ideas for his role going forward. He said he will be joining a new outlet and start with them next 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.
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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Following the attack Liv Morgan last night on Raw by Becky Lynch , WWE announced that Morgan (in storyline) has suffered a deep bone bruise and “a strained radial collateral ligament” in her left arm.
Matches taped for Main Event this week include Veer Mahan vs. Cedric Alexander and T-BAR vs. Apollo Crews.
Charlotte Flair, in an interview with Metro, dismissed the idea of her having a “queen vs. queen” match against Zelina Vega. “I don’t think I need a crown to be called the Queen. I am the Queen. It’s silly to me. [laughs] No offense! I mean, maybe facing Zelina, but to have a match focused around Queen versus Queen? Like, I’m the Queen of them all – without a throne. I don’t see that as – she has a long way to go before that becomes her… I don’t know how you say it? I always wear my invisible crown.”
Sasha Banks was on the red carpet for the world premiere of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” last night.
Tommaso Ciampa is auctioning off 10 event-used items from NXT War Games on eBay, where the proceeds will go to the families of those who were affected by the tragic events at the Waukesha, Wisconsin Christmas Parade via the United for Waukesha Community Fund. More information can be found here.
Bryan Danielson spoke to The Dallas Morning News ahead of his AEW World Championship match. “I’m expecting a fight,” he said. “It’s interesting. Because coming to AEW, there were a lot of unknowns for me because so many of the talent are new and young, and I never met them before going to WWE. I’ve never wrestled ‘Hangman’ Page. I’ve never been in the ring with him other than the last couple weeks where we’ve scrapped for maybe 20 seconds at most, you know what I mean? So, that’s always interesting with somebody completely new. But I expect it to be a fight, and I’m – I don’t know – because I know [his style], right, and I try not to be cocky when I say that [laughs], I like to drag guys into deep waters and see what they’ve got.”
The Briscoes issued comments to FTR following their attack at ROH’s Final Battle event this past weekend.
Hangman Page is the guest on this week’s Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette.
Dante Leon and Ninja Mack vs. Alex Zayne and Blake Christian has been added to GCW’s Til Infinity event on December 31.
The Calgary Sun has an article with comments by Bret Hart on his Walk of Fame induction. “It will always mean a lot when you’re celebrated and honoured amongst your peers and fellow wrestlers,” he said. “The WWE Hall of Fame always meant a lot to me. This is even higher to me in a sense. You’re being lumped in with Canadians – great Canadians and the contributions they’ve made in their fields. It means a lot to me to be honoured by Canadians across the country for my wrestling career.”
Double or Nothing is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer. Match-by-match coverage, star ratings, poll results, surprising PPV numbers and reasons why it happened, the atmosphere, what did and didn’t work and the signing of Mark Henry and the situation with Lio Rush.
Also in this issue:
WWE front office hires, their background, the shift in company strategy an how they fit in, as well as the reasons for the controversy regarding Jamie Horowitz and what happened when he was at FOX.
WWE cutting of Braun Strowman, Lana, Ruby Riott, Aleister Black, Murphy and Santana Garrett, reasons all were let go as well as the future prospects for all of them individually.
WWE schedule going forward, with the shows through September, the exclusive first word on plans for NXT going on the road, and a SummerSlam update.
New Japan/WWE talks, the history of Vince McMahon and booking of WWF talent in Japan when working with the Japanese, next Takeover show, more firings, U.K. and Canadian ratings, next week’s TV show and most-watched WWE videos.
A major feature on the life of 60s and 70s star Tony Marino, from his bodybuilding days to his start in wrestling, his international tours, the Battman gimmick from the Batman TV show, his biggest career shows, being part of setting the all-time indoor pro wrestling gate record for North America in 1970 and more.
More detail on ratings than any other source, how every segment on NXT and AEW did with different age groups and more, all other wrestling shows of the past week, 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.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio, talking Raw, the Bret Hart documentary, Dominion, Mayweather vs. Logan Paul and the rest of the news. You can send questions to the show to [email protected].
The Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Logan Paul fight yesterday ended up being a big success on PPV, at least based on the very weak advance. Based on U.S. television buys,not including international or streaming, the verified number we have based on limited data although covering several million homes was 11.9 times what AEW Double or Nothing did. So that probably falls in the 600,000 to 650,000 range but any number this early with limited data is a very rough estimate. It was a Showtime event and they are a public company so most likely they will announce an estimate (that will include streaming numbers so a number much higher than this) later in the week.
The event ended up getting 11.5 million Google searches, so based on that, there was far more interest in the fight than people who actually wanted to pay to watch it. It was easy money for Mayweather, but whether this gimmick will run its course or not as freak show fights usually do if they are done too often, remains to be seen. But this was still a lot of revenue at $50 a pop.
Francis Ngannou said that it’s amazing that Logan Paul could make $20 million for a boxing exhibition since he vs. Jon Jones could generate more PPV revenue and neither will make anywhere near that, and in fact it’s not even looking like it will happen because UFC isn’t agreeing to Jones’ financial demands.
Even though cable numbers we got indicated a big increase for AEW this week, the actual number by Nielsen for Friday was way down with 462,000 viewers and 0.19 in 18-49. Smackdown had 1,883,000 viewers and 0.50 in 18-49.
New Japan made the call today to go with Shingo Takagi as its new IWGP champion instead of Kazuchika Okada. The Dominion show took place earlier today. We’re looking for your thoughts on the show, including thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]
The New York Post has a detailed story of the Ariel Helwani contract talks with ESPN. As noted yesterday. Helwani is leaving in eight days. The story said they did try and get him to take a pay cut, and there was far too much money out there from new gambling media sites for him to do so, and projected he could make double what he made at ESPN on his own.
Raw tonight has a Battle Royal to determine who gets a tag team title shot on 6/20 against A.J. Styles & Omos, featuring The Viking Raiders,New Day, Randy Orton & Riddle, Mace & Tbar and The Lucha House Party. Shayna Baszler will be in Alexa Bliss’ playground. There will also be a Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre contract signing.
Competition for Raw tonight includes NBA playoffs with the the Bucks vs. Nets at 7:30 p.m. and Nuggets vs. Suns at 10 p.m.plus Winnipeg Jets vs. Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup playoffs at 8 p.m. So the number is likely to be well under usual levels.
The A&E episode last night on Bret Hart was my favorite of the season. I was told it was held to last because the general feeling is it was the strongest episode. It was basically what it had to be given that it is a WWE production so you’re not going hard after Vince McMahon or Paul Levesque on anything. I also heard they wished that they had far more time because there were so many different subjects they all thought was worthy of a documentary, from his growing up in a wrestling family, his ascension to being a headliner, the Montreal screwjob, the death of Owen Hart and the recovery from the stroke. It was really quite the happy ending story. Julie & Allison Hart, Natalya and especially Bret were very strong in the piece.
Stephanie McMahon was on CNBC this morning. She said they are experiencing really significant trends toward increased attendance at live events based on early ticket sales. She claimed the selling of their WWE network content to Peacock is that they don’t want to be in the technology business and they felt they would have difficulty competing with Disney and Amazon, so sold to someone who can. She also noted while the company has done well during the pandemic that traditionally live events add more than $100 million a year more in revenue to the company.
DDT announced its biggest show of the year, Peter Pan, will be 8/21 in Fujitsu Stadium outdoors and feature Atsushi Onita in an explosive barbed wire match.
2K announced today the debut of the Forged card tier and rewards celebrating the upcoming Hell in a Cell PPV event in WWE Supercard.
ICW Fight Club and wXw will both have new events on Peacock/WWE Network on Saturday.
Kay Lee Ray vs. Meiko Satomura for the NXT UK title will be on Thursday’s NXT UK show.
AEW
Dark Elevation tonight has:
Hikaru Shida vs. Diamante
The Acclaimed vs. Alex Reynolds & 5
Evil Uno vs. Danny Limelight
Santana & Ortiz vs. Liam Gray & Adrian Alanis
Kris Statlander vs. Queen Aminata
Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison vs. JD Drake & Ryan Nemeth
Ethan Page vs. Mike Sydal
Jade Cargill vs. Rache Chanel
Brian Cage & Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Trevor Aeon & Kendall Blake
Scorpio Sky vs. Trevor Read
OTHER NEWS
Invicta is doing an added innovation for Friday night’s eight-man 105 pound tournament. None of the fighters know who they will be facing first as they will be doing an online fan vote by visiting the Phoenix Tournament Voting Portal for Invicta and vote for the four first round matches that you want to see. You are allowed to stuff the ballot box and vote over-and-over. For the semifinals, the fighter who wins their first round fight the quickest will get to pick which of the other three winners she wants to face in the semifinal.
A story on Mongopalooza, a concert that will be done as a benefit for medical bills for former WCW and NFL star Steve McMichael, who is battling ALS. I saw that Ric Flair recently visited him.
Deonna Purrazzo will be going to AAA Verano de Escandalo on 7/3 to face Lady Shani.
MLW has released more tickets for its 7/10 show at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, its first with a live audience and first since getting on Vice TV.
ROH has put tickets on sale to its 7/11 Best in the World PPV show in Baltimore at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
Impact airs the 2017 Bound for Glory on Thursday at 3 p.m.
Scheduled for Impact TV on Thursday night has Havok vs. Rosemary and If Havok wins, she’s added to the Saturday Deonna Purrazzo vs. Rosemary title match on Saturday, plus W. Morrissey vs. Willie Mack no DQ and an appearance by Tony Khan regarding Kenny Omega’s match on Saturday’s Against All Odds show.
Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks Entertainment and Flynn Picture Company will be producing a movie called “Emergency Contact” for Warner Brothers.
Corus Entertainment, Canada’s biggest media company, is launching its firs fiction podcast which was released today called “Escaping Denver.” Brady Roberts, a Western Canadian pro wrestler who trained with Lance Storm is one of the lead stars of the show.
New England Fights returns to live fans on 8/21 at the Hampshire Dome in Milford, NH with MMA and kickboxing fights.
With CM Punk and Bret Hart both appearing on the show, WWE Backstage drew the second best ratings its ever done.
Last night’s episode of Backstage averaged 175,000 viewers on FS1, up from the 112,000 that the show averaged the previous week. Aside from two preview shows, the only time Backstage has done more viewers was for the November 19 episode. That drew 180,000 viewers and featured Punk’s debut as an analyst.
The viewership was up slightly from the 173,000 viewers that the May 12 episode of Backstage averaged. That also featured an appearance by Punk, and WrestleMania III aired on FS1 leading into the episode.
The rating in the 18-49 demo for last night’s Backstage was a 0.06, up from last week’s 0.03. Backstage ranked 110th on cable in the 18-49 demo last night.
Hart appearing on last night’s Backstage tied in with Survivor Series 1996 airing on FS1 leading into the show. Hart defeated Steve Austin in a classic match at that pay-per-view.
WWE on FOX uploaded Renee Young and Punk’s interview with Hart from last night’s show:
An appearance by CM Punk has been added to this week’s episode of WWE Backstage.
WWE on FOX announced that Punk will be on this Tuesday’s Backstage, which will also include an appearance by Bret Hart. “Joining ‘The Best There Is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be’ @BretHart on #WWEBackstage this Tuesday will be ‘THE BEST IN THE WORLD’ @CMPunk!”
Punk was most recently on Backstage when he was part of the panel for the June 2 episode of the show. That episode featured a reunion between Punk and Daniel Bryan, with Bryan appearing as the featured guest that week.
Hart appearing on Backstage ties in with Survivor Series 1996 airing on FS1 this Tuesday. It will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern time and lead into Backstage at 11 p.m. Eastern.
Hart defeated Steve Austin in a number one contender’s match at Survivor Series 1996. The pay-per-view also included Sycho Sid defeating Shawn Michaels to win the WWF title and the debut of The Rock as Rocky Maivia.
Leading into Backstage on Tuesday, Survivor Series 1996 will air on FS1 starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Hart defeated Steve Austin in a number one contender’s match at that pay-per-view.
Survivor Series 1996 also featured Sycho Sid defeating Shawn Michaels to win the WWF title and the debut of The Rock as Rocky Maivia.
WWE Backstage from this past Tuesday was an all-women’s show with Renee Young, Paige, Ember Moon, and Beth Phoenix as the panel and Sonya Deville appearing as a guest. It tied in with WWE’s Evolution PPV from 2018 airing on FS1 prior to Backstage.
A look at the life and career of Shad Gaspard, plus tons of news.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
We will have a new Observer Radio today with an interview with Ross Hart of the Hart family, talking about Owen Hart and the glory days of Stampede Wrestling. We will be doing a weekend poll for Double or Nothing II which takes place at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on PPV and B/R Live in the U.S. and FITE outside the U.S. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
There was a major scare earlier today involving Hana Kimura, one of the top stars of Stardom. She evidently had a severe bout with depression. She is part of the cast of a reality show in Japan that is also popular on Netflix. She lost her temper at one of the male roommates on the show for not taking her ring outfit out of the wash before starting his own wash and her ring costume got ruined and she lost her temper and slapped him. It resulted in her become a big villain to people viewing the show and led to her depression where she posted photos of her cutting her arms and there was an implied suicide threat.
In the incident filmed in early January, one of the housemates named Kai had washed his clothes, and unbeknownst to him, Hana’s wrestling gear was in the washer. He washed it again with his stuff and threw it in the dryer. Then it shrunk and she couldn’t wear it anymore. She was angry and said it was the costume she wore in the Tokyo Dome, and it had many memories, and that her ring gear was her life. Without it she can’t work. This was all on the show.
She confronted the guy and slapped him upside the head to knock his hat off, because he didn’t seem apologetic. Since that episode, Terrace House fans worldwide were sending her nasty messages and telling her to die, etc. “If your costume is your life, why did you leave it in the washing machine” and stuff like that, telling her to leave the show and die.
Newsweek has a story on COVID-19 affecting pro wrestling including interviews with David Starr and Deonna Purrazzo. Purrazzo said: “We were given the option and were told had we said no, it wouldn’t be held against us. I don’t believe that. I feel like a lot of people do feel pressured. It’s a very presumptuous thing to ask people to do right now—to choose to work or not. Especially in the political company that we work in, people don’t believe they’re not going to lose their job or their spot [on the show] if they say no. It’s a really hard choice to ask people to make. It’s just a scary thought because you don’t know who’s been exposed to what. And then we’re touching each other, we’re sweating on each other. I don’t think, no matter what precautions can be taken, that it’s necessarily the safest option.”
Evan Husney, one of the producers and co-creator of Dark Side of the Ring, mentioned on Pat Laprade’s Les Anti-Pod de la Lutte show that they did contact Bret Hart for the episode on Owen Hart. Bret never got back to them. Husney noted that there were no restrictions imposed on who they could contact for the show and they could have asked other members of the Hart family but decided to concentrate on Martha and Owen’s children.
The John Cena hosted Nickelodeon reboot of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader” was nominated for a daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show.
WWE
Smackdown tonight has A.J. Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus in IC title tournament matches, plus Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley in a non-title match and Otis & Mandy Rose vs. Dolph Ziggler & Sonya Deville. They will be doing a 205 Live show, not live, as this was all taped on 5/12 with Isaiah Scott vs, Tyler Breeze.
Corey Graves will be doing a second podcast, called “Bare With Us” about relationships with girlfriend Leah Van Dale (Carmella) which will debut on 6/11.
WrestleMania 34 from Santa Clara, CA in 2015 will be replayed on 6/2 on FS1.
Total Bellas did 533,000 viewers last night, but did a 0.25 in 18-49, a number almost as high as AEW and was No. 8 on cable in the demo.
There are a number of new UFC fights that have been announced over the past 24 hours:
Cortney Casey vs. Gillian Robertson is set for 6/20
Tecia Torres vs. Brianna Van Buren is set for 6/20
Joseph Benavidez vs. Deiveson Figueiredo for the vacant flyweight title is set for 7/18
Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araujo is set for 6/27
Chase Hooper vs. Alex Caceres is set for 6/6
Paige VanZant vs, Amanda Ribas is set for 7/11
Besides Smackdown, there will be an AEW Countdown to Double or Nothing special tonight at 10 p.m. on TNT.
Odds for tomorrow’s AEW show from www.BetOnline.ag
Jon Moxley -250 vs. Brodie Lee +170
Nyla Rose -200 vs. Hikaru Shida +150
Lance Archer -150 vs. Cody +110
Inner Circle -180 vs. Elite +140
MJF -150 vs. Jungle Boy +110
Shawn Spears -400 vs. Dustin Rhodes +250
Ladder match: Darby Allin +175 vs. Mystery Guy +275 vs.Rey Fenix +400 vs. Orange Cassidy +700 vs. Colt Cabana +900 vs. Frankie Kazarian +1000 vs. Kip Sabian +1000 vs. Scorpio Sky +1000 vs. Luchasaurus +1200
The premiere of the reality show Labor of Love last night on FOX did 890,000 viewers. Matt Striker is one of the contestants on a show where a woman is attempting to pick a man to impregnate her. Seriously. It only did a 0.2 in 18-49 and was by far the least watched prime time network show. Those are disastrous numbers.
Zachary Wentz of the Rascalz and Kimber Lee were married as both put wedding photos up on their social media.
MLW Anthology tomorrow night at 10 p.m. on Bein Sports and on YouTube at 6:05 p.m. will feature Mance Warner.
ROH is adding a new YouTube show called “ROH Week by Week” which will debut on Monday at 1p.m. Eastern hosted by Quinn McKay. It will air every Monday and cover the news of the week in the promotion.
There will also be an ROH Trivia Night on 5/28 at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Zoom
This week’s ROH TV show will feature Dragon Lee with some of his biggest ROH bouts..
The Fale Dojo in Auckland, New Zealand has opened for public fitness training. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
CWE has announced a live streaming show for 5/29 from Winnipeg. They are asking for donations. This will be the company’s 11th anniversary event. It will air live and free on the CWE Wrestling group discussion Facebook page.
NWA Wildside starts on IWTV on 6/8 and will be airing the promotion’s TV shows starting with the first episode in 1999. More than 300 episodes were produced and featured people like A.J. Styles, Hernandez, Ron Killings, Abyss, New Jack, Matt Sydal, The Briscoes and more.
A new group of New Japan Pro Wrestling action figures has been released, including Los Ingobernables.
The musical “Rockquiem for a Wrestler” loosely based on the life of the late Ivan Koloff is scheduled to live stream from the Triad Theater in New York on 6/27.
An ESPN story on Randy Savage. (thanks to Barry Werner)
Rocky Romero’s new song Someday is out now. He’s interviewed on the newest episode of On The Turnbuckle to promote it.
Shazza McKenzie has launched a new podcast. First episode discusses Becky Lynch’s pregnancy and the CZW story from the perspective of a female performer. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
We’re looking for reports from Tulsa tonight with the dark matches at the WWE Smackdown tapings and NXT in Citrus Springs, FL to [email protected]
We’re also doing polls this weekend for both New Japan shows in Sapporo, thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
No WWE house shows this weekend. It’s the new deal. House shows lose money so they are cutting way back on them.
CMLL TONIGHT AT ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. ON THE CMLL YOU TUBE PAGE
Robin & Arkalis vs. Akuma & Espanto Jr.
Drone & Fuego & Diamond vs. Kawato San & Okumura & Virus
Stuka Jr. & Atlantis Jr. & Star Jr. vs. Negro Casas & Mephisto & Ephesto
Soberano Jr. vs. Templario
Angel de Oro & Titan & Niebla Roja vs. Gilbert el Boricua & Euforia & Gran Guerrero
A look at the current WrestleMania card, as well as what big name is being talked with, what big name is not on the card, as well as the Royal Rumble decision making is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We also have complete Rumble coverage including a table with each participant, how long they were in, eliminations, number of entry and exit and more. We look at Vince McMahon’s change in the winners in the last week, the stories told in the Rumble, why the winners were changed, the return of Edge, his new contract, how he got such a big deal, the WWE injuries, the Andrade drug test failure, those who were not in the Rumble and why, business notes on the way and what are expected to be the biggest wrestling crowds of the year. We also look at viewer interest in the show, the interest as compared to the UFC 246 show, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
The new issue also covers:
The sale of Pro Wrestling NOAH to CyberAgent, more on big companies buying wrestling franchises, plans for NOAH under the new ownership and the relationship with DDT as it stands right now.
UFC 246, with show notes, business notes and match-by-match coverage.
Worlds Collide with match-by-match coverage, star ratings, business notes and what did and didn’t work on the show.
Changes in the WWE house show business and why. We look at both the positive and negative of it. We also look at the behavior of Vince McMahon at the Rocky Johnson funeral, the incident with Brock Lesnar and Matt Riddle, new contracts signed, wrestler asking for her release, WWE Canadian numbers, Charlotte Flair talks Kairi Sane concussion, new WWE signees, the most-watched shows on the WWE Network and house show coverage.
New Year’s Dash from New Japan, the Jushin Liger retirement ceremony, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and the angles coming out of the show.
A bio on Hercules Ayala, one of the biggest stars of the glory days of Puerto Rican wrestling, covering how he started there, his work outside Puerto Rico, how he first got into Stampede Wrestling, his biggest matches on major stadium events including major bouts with Ric Flair and Randy Savage, his heel turn with Carlos Colon, the aftermath of the death of Bruiser Brody and how he was used to try and get the business back.
NWA Hard Times PPV show.
A bio on Carlos Rocha, the Portuguese star who was one of the biggest drawing cards in North America in 1971 and 1972 with his bloodbaths against The Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher. We look at those feuds as well as look back at The Sheik in Toronto during the period when he was one of the biggest single city draws in pro wrestling history, and how his undefeated streak put limits on the Rocha feud. We look at how Sheik vs. Rocha was the biggest drawing Toronto feud of the era, and why he outdrew Andre, Bruno, Bobo Brazil and all the other major Sheik foes in Toronto. We also look at his return to North America and his retirement run in the WWWF.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
There really isn’t a lot more on Vince McMahon’s firing of co-Presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios yesterday. It came out of nowhere. Those in the company have no answers as to why. Stock insiders claim it was due to a disagreement regarding investing money into the company. The profit margin for the fourth quarter and the year is at the low end of projections, and for the year, was down $20 million from the original guidance. WWE said yesterday that annual OIDBA will be around $180 million, at the beginning of the year they projected $200 million. In October they changed that projection to from $180 million to $190 million. Keep in mind the original guidance for the year only had one Saudi show and no NXT television revenue worked in. Both did sell millions of dollars of WWE stock back in July. President of WWE is a tough position because everyone in it gets dumped, and even Vince’s own wife didn’t last in that position. It’s always said when you work too closely with Vince, and are not family, you are going to have a shelf life.
The stock closed today at $48.88 per share, down $13.42 per share from yesterday’s close. It’s an overreaction because the reality is the key TV deals are still in place for years and the company is idiot proof as far as making money for years. That said, Wall Street was stunned and a lot of questions regarding earnings being lower than expected were being asked. And Wall Street doesn’t even know about the house show cutback or the decline in the interest of the Rumble. Another big thing will be the network subscription number on 12/31 which will be announced in six days. It is possible it could fall below 1 million if it stays above 1 million, it will be a sign that putting NXT on television had no real effect on network numbers. But that’s an if.
Analysis have had very divergent views of the stock. Morgan Stanley has just its projected price to $54, Evercore ISI to $50 and Loop Capital to $50. But MKM Partners still lists a projected price of $92.
WWE announced that Frank Riddick III, who will be the interim CFO until they find a permanent person for the spot, will be paid $33,333.33 per week.
Bret Hart announced that he will be having surgery to remove basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
WWE
Roku and FOX are at a negotiations stalemate. Roku’s distribution deal ends tonight. Roku claims they have been unable to reach a new deal with FOX and FOX also declined an extension to the current deal.
UFC
Diego Sanchez was suspended for three months for testing positive for Ostarine and S-23 from a test that came back on 10/26. That means his suspension is already over. Sanchez had one of his supplements tested and both substances showed up and thus his suspension was only three months instead of two years since that indicated inadvertent usage.
Similarly, Ovince Saint Preux tested positive for Ostarine and di-hydroxy-LGD-40-33 and two other drugs in an 11/1 test. He submitted his supplements to be tested and they showed the supplements contained the banned substances. He also was given a three month suspension which is also now over.
Blagoi Ivanov vs. Augusto Sakai has been added to a 5/9 PPV show from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Marion Reneau vs. Ketlen Vieira was also agreed to on the how according to an original report from MMA Junkie.
Cody Stamann vs. Raoni Barcelos is earmarked for the 3/28 show in Columbus, OH.
AEW
Riho and other women from Stardom were on this week’s episode of S.W.A.T. on CBS. The team had to go to Japan to transfer a prisoner who escaped and Riho played the prisoner’s girlfriend. She played a wrestler and there were wrestling scenes in the show.
MISCELLANEOUS
Mistico will be out two to three months after surgery to remove a screw that came loose stemming from a 2014 surgery when he broke his leg. Doctors put a rod in his leg to help heal it and one of the screws became loose. They had been building a Mistico vs. Gran Guerrero big match that will have to be put on hold.
Defy has its third anniversary show tonight in Seattle at Washington Hall with the Jurassic Express from AEW, The Strong Hearts form AEW, Killer Crown, plus Schaff vs. Artemis Spencer in a ladder match and Josef Samael & Jacob Fatu vs. The Amerikan Gunz in a tag team title match.
Impact announced that there will be an Ultimate X match on its 4/3 show in Ybor City, FL.
CWO on 2/9, 2/17 and 3/12 at The Rockpile Bar & Nightclub in Toronto.
All Star Wrestling on 2/29 in Vancouver, BGC at the Maritime Labour Centre.
Combate Americas on 2/21 in Mexicali, Baja California which will air on Univision, Univision Deportes, AXS in the U.S. and Televisa 5 in Mexico. The main event has Rafa Garcia (11-0) vs. Humberto Bandenay (18-7, 1 no contest) for their lightweight title, plus Yasmine Jauregui (4-0) vs. Karen Cadillo (4-1).
River City Wrestling on 2/8 in San Antonio at The Grand Event Center.
559 Fights on 2/8 in Orange Cove, CA at the Community Center will crown a middleweight champion with Jared Velasquez (4-3) of Orange Cove against A.J. Perez (3-1) of Fresno.
In 1996, while contemplating retiring from wrestling, Bret Hart found himself in the middle of a bidding war between WCW and WWF. As the money offers escalated, Hart found himself in a position where he couldn’t reasonably walk away from the business, and recognized that when all was said and done, he’d have more money then he’d ever dreamed and be financially set for life.
Determined to not end up a tragic figure, as he’d seen from far too many wrestlers throughout a lifetime around the business, Hart ended up becoming exactly what he feared most.
While the Hart family always had their foibles and problems, they were generally regarded as a unique family, but largely remembered in the business in both funny and positive ways. Unlike their American counterparts, the Adkissons (Von Erichs), they didn’t succumb to the drug issues and the inability to deal with fame, and losing fame, at a young age.
In a year filled with surprises and some of the most questionable decision making by a major company owner in history, Vince McMahon surprised everyone on 6/20 when it was announced he had hired Vince Russo.
The ramifications of the move were huge, because Russo had little respect among the wrestlers, and was hated by many, and even more so by many front office employees for both personal and professional reasons. It was shocking because while the declining numbers indicate what they are doing isn’t working, it was a public acknowledgement by McMahon that he had no confidence this creative staff, which now is the creative staff he’s left with, is going to be able to turn it around. By the next day, things changed again, as after a meeting with the writing staff and Vince, Russo, originally scheduled to on paper report to Stephanie McMahon, but in reality be in control of creative, was taken off creative completely.
Hart introduced Hangman Page, who became one of the top two challengers to the title by winning the Casino Battle Royale on the Double or Nothing pre-show. Page last eliminated MJF to win the battle royal.
Before the title was unveiled, MJF came out and insulted Hart and Page. The segment led to Jungle Boy and Jimmy Havoc stopping MJF as he tried to leave. MJF tried to punch Jungle Boy, but Jungle Boy blocked it. Jungle Boy and Havoc both struck MJF. Page then threw MJF into the crowd, and Jungle Boy and Havoc followed him.
Page will face Chris Jericho at a later date to decide the first AEW World Champion, though when that match will be taking place hasn’t been announced.
After years of speculation and myth, tonight we finally got to look at the match that people have been talking about for decades.
Holy Grail: The Search for WWE’s Most Infamous Lost Match aired tonight following Raw. It was a 30-minute documentary looking at the story behind the match between Tom Magee and Bret Hart, featuring interviews from the likes of Hart, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Tyson Kidd, Kassius Ohno, Sam Roberts, X-Pac and the man himself, Tom Magee. And of course, the match itself was aired as well.
It was all based on a match that took place on October 7, 1986 before a Wrestling Challenge taping in Rochester, New York. In the documentary, they put over Magee’s gymnastic and powerlifting accolades and also noted his impressive 6’5 size. He was absolutely green, however, and thus couldn’t be put on television.
Bret in the documentary said he told Magee that he wanted to hear his three moves, and that as long as he paid attention to him, he’d get signed to WWE. After the match, Bret said that Vince McMahon said that his was our next world champion. In 1986, at the peak of Hulkamania, he could potentially be the next Hogan.
But of course, that didn’t happen. Magee worked for WWE for several years after that, but never caught on or progressed enough to WWE’s liking. X-Pac mentioned that he also worked a match with Ted DiBiase, and stated that there weren’t a lot of DiBiases or Harts in the WWE at the time and if he worked with those two more, he could have been something. Magee left the company in 1989 and did a few other dates before retiring the next year.
Talk of Magee and the match continued long after his career ended. Both Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Tyson Kidd recalled that was it was brought up one day at a barbecue at Bret’s house, and Bret said the next time they came over, they could watch it. But every time they came over, Bret said he needed to find it, dashing their hopes of ever watching it.
Kidd also added that while those under developmental contract could watch whatever they wanted from the WWE tape library, the company didn’t have this match readily available. Sam Roberts, who I guess represented tape traders in the documentary, also said he was never able to find it.
Eventually, the match was discovered last month by Mary Kate Anthony, a longtime fan and photographer. Bret Hart’s assistant gave her tapes to convert digitally. When she obliged, the assistant said that sending the tapes back would be tough, and that she could keep them. One of the tapes (erroneously labeled 9/19/89, which brought initial skepticism) did in fact contain the fabled match, and thus was the beginning of the end to the mystery,
After a segment where people openly brought up whatever happened to Tom Magee, the man himself was in fact brought in for an interview. He said that those in the company never let him hear that he could potentially be the next Hulk Hogan. He was happy with how the match went, and everything was in sync that night. He thanked Bret for having a great match and his father for the opportunity to train with him.
Then, we finally get the match, joined in progress. Jimmy Hart was in Bret’s corner.
Magee does a cartwheel and arm drags Hart, holding him in a armlock. Bret escaped, but Magee did a leapfrog then arm dragged him back to the floor. Bret got up and whipped him into the corner but Magree hopped to the top rope and leaped over him then followed up with a dropkick, sending Bret out of the ring.
Bret gained control back inside and worked him over, including choking him on the ropes. Magee came alive with a leapfrog and rolled him up, but Bret raked the eyes and followed with the backbreaker and the fist off the ropes.
Magee came back, whipping Bret into the ropes, with Bret taking a hard bump into the corner. Magee connected with a silly-looking elbow and hit a small package for a nearfall. Another attempt at a cover has Bret grabbing the ropes. Bret blocked a dropkick and sent Magee to the floor. Bret grabbed Magee off the apron and went for a suplex, but Magee floated over and rolled him up for the pin.
So after being lost for 32 years, I can finally say this: Bret Hart did an excellent job carrying Magee and they had a pretty good match, especially for that era in the WWE. Magee had three moves and he looked great doing those moves, and Bret Hart did a great job of carrying that match to the best of his ability. It’s a true testament to how great Hart was as a worker, not so much about how much potential Magee had.
This was a good documentary that did a great job of explaining the story behind the match and the myth of not only Magee, but the match itself. It also summed up the story nicely: Vince McMahon thought that Magee would be the future of the WWE after that match, but in the end it was Bret Hart who became one of the biggest stars in WWE’s history.
Bret Hart and Tom Magee’s long-lost match is finally being made available to the public.
WWE has announced that Hart vs. Magee will air on the WWE Network after Monday’s episode of Raw. It will be accompanied by a documentary explaining the relevance of the match, how the tape was discovered, and what happened to Magee.
The special is called “The Holy Grail: The Search for WWE’s Most Infamous Lost Match.”
Hart vs. Magee was a dark match that took place at a WWF Wrestling Challenge television taping in Rochester, New York on October 7, 1986. Dave Meltzer noted that both Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson thought Magee would be the eventual replacement for Hulk Hogan after the match, but Magee never lived up to that hype in the ring and his career ended in 1990.
The VHS tape of Hart vs. Magee was found by Mary-Kate Anthony in March from tapes Hart’s assistant, Marcy Engelstein, had her convert to DVD years ago.
Hart and Magee will be discussing the match together at Starrcast II in Las Vegas on May 25.
Meltzer and Colt Cabana discussed the story of Hart vs. Magee on an episode of Cabana’s Pro Wrestling Fringe podcast:
The Montreal Screwjob is as famous (or infamous) a story as there has ever been in pro wrestling. It has also turned into one of the more exhausting stories in pro wrestling to keep talking about.
In the nearly 22 years since it happened, we has seen nearly every rock uncovered, nearly every question asked, rehashed, and asked again, and every participant/non-participant interviewed about what happened that cold Canadian November night. If you know the story, you have a take on it.
That meant the Viceland ‘Dark Side of the Ring’ filmmakers had a hell of a task on their hands with “The Montreal Screwjob” which debuted Wednesday night. While the documentary talks to many of the key players and has its moments in its near-50 minute runtime, it still struggles to overcome a fatal flaw: this story has been talked to death.
What’s In This Thing?
If you enjoy hearing from lots of wrestling luminaries, you get them here and then some. Several players from the Randy Savage/Elizabeth doc (Eric Bischoff, Scott Hall, Bruce Prichard) are back for “Screwjob” although Prichard and Bischoff come off as less charming and less trustworthy as in the Savage doc. Yes, I realize the ridiculousness of that statement as I type it.
But they are offset by the appearances of Bret Hart himself and Jim Cornette, a creative team member at the time. And then, there’s two surprise appearances but we’ll get to them in a few paragraphs.
After a breeze through Hart’s background and how he got to the WWF, we focus on the time after Hart defeated Ric Flair for his first WWF world title. Cornette and Prichard are strong here in explaining about what becoming a world champion means and help get over the significance of that honor historically. Prichard adds a foreboding quote about Hart: “You’ve got to remember that someone made you champion. You didn’t really beat anybody.” The look on his face and the manner in which he says this beg for a follow-up, but that is best saved for a deeper dive on a podcast.
We eventually get into the meat of “Screwjob”: the real-life feud between Hart and Shawn Michaels. Hart, Cornette, and Prichard recall their backstage brawl in Hartford that saw Hart rip out clumps of Michaels’ hair (“We were like two prostitutes fighting downtown or something,” Hart jokes), the backstory of Michaels’ “sunny days” comment, and the eventual financial decision McMahon has to make to let Hart out of his contract.
Likely the most talked about portion of the doc will be the discussion on how Hart was going to lose the title before leaving. We hear Hart explain how he didn’t want to drop the belt to Michaels, but we don’t get to hear his explanation of an alternate plan on how he wanted to go out.
Hart tells a story of how Michaels brushed him off when Hart said he would be professional in their Survivor Series match and to not worry about anything. I really wanted to hear Michaels’ side of the story as it makes him look terrible, But, it’s understandable why he didn’t participate in talking about all of this again.
Hart grows suspicious of how McMahon is going to screw him over at SS despite his creative control in the last 60 days of his contract. We then get our first interview with Earl Hebner, a sympathetic figure who calls the last 15 years post-Montreal “the sh*ts”. His inclusion is welcome and a key part of rounding out the tale sans Michaels.
Then, the screwjob happens with plenty of supporting footage from “Wrestling With Shadows” and WWE (listen to my interview with series co-creator Evan Husney for an interesting/serendipitous story on the sound man they used for the project).
But we need to move on because there’s some Vince Russo to get to.
Yep, the former WWF creative lead and lightning rod for controversy gives his side of the story, especially important and to where the idea to doublecross Hart came from. Cornette takes credit (if you can call it that), citing creative frustration and a challenge from McMahon to come up with an idea after they had exhausted all options. He used the original Montreal screwjob as an example, “The Battle of The Bite” that involved Ed ‘Strangler’ Lewis. Russo said he suggested the doublecross and didn’t hear it come from Cornette “unless I was in the bathroom when he said it.”
The final act focuses on what happened after the bell rang. Again, this is pretty much everything any wrestling fan knows about from Hart punching Vince to Michaels denying he had any involvement (no one believes it) to the controversy eventually creating the Mr. McMahon character which, strangely, might have been the biggest positive out of any of this, especially financially.
Perhaps the most head-scratching theory is from Hall who thinks the whole thing was a work, pointing to how the directors didn’t pull away from either Hart spitting on McMahon to Hart spelling out WCW with his hands. Like Michaels’ non-involvement, it’s an opinion not shared by anyone else with Cornette questioning how Hall claims he never talked to Michaels about what happened.
What’s Missing and What Should Be Missing?
Sit-downs with Michaels and McMahon would have been tremendous icing on the Montreal cake, but given they are beholden to the WWE Universe, I’m not surprised at their omission. Although, Michaels did talk to ESPN for a 20th anniversary story about Montreal. This is where it would have been great to see a pull quote or something from that interview given they have a narrator in Dutch Mantell that could have read it.
While the Cornette-Russo discussion is interesting, the doc focuses on their mutual hatred a little too much, especially considering they close the documentary with it. It does provide a memorable Cornette quote vowing he would “live to piss on (Russo’s) grave. Hate is a hell of a motivator.” But to close with that in a documentary focused on Hart vs. Michaels was a misfire.
There’s also several minutes committed to the infamous curtain call jammed in that doesn’t really fit in the context of the story and trends toward being a little too insider for a general audience.
Is It Worth Watching?
Even though I don’t need to hear about the Montreal screwjob ever again which includes the afterlife, I can live with this being the last longform content I watch, read, or listen to on the subject. Having Hart, Cornette, Russo, and Prichard walk us through the various stages of Montreal is a plus while Bischoff’s inclusion felt unnecessary.
Compared to the Savage and Bruiser Brody documentaries in the series, “The Montreal Screwjob” is a bit dense in spots without a lot of space to take in the ridiculousness of the situation being laid out. I would be interested to hear what non-wrestling fans think of it, especially with some of the perceived insider focus I mentioned above.
At the end of the day, though, even the most burned out wrestling fans will enjoy “The Montreal Screwjob” but plenty of those fans can and will find ways to pick some of the lack of details and specifics apart.
