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Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over the big stories in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Dave and I talked about the following:
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Conor McGregor will not be fighting at UFC 303 after all.
UFC head Dana White revealed the news on X Thursday night that McGregor was injured and immediately moved on to promoting the new main event: reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira defending against former champion Jiri Prochazka with a co-main event of Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes.
The show is set for Saturday, June 29th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as part of International fight Week. Due to the high ticket prices for McGregor’s return, the show already had a company record-breaking $20 million gate in mid-May. Because of the change, they will have to offer fans the ability to get a refund if they so choose due to a policy in Nevada.
Ariel Helwani went deeper into the reasons for McGregor’s fight vs. Michael Chandler to be postponed to later this year with a target of either August or September, reporting that McGregor got hurt a day or so before the UFC’s press conference in Dublin, Ireland, that was canceled. The specific injury has not been reported. He stated that all parties tried to save the fight, but it was pulled internally within the last 48 hours.
All sides were fairly quiet as talk of the fight being off circulated after that press conference cancellation. Helwani said that the new main event was a top choice but had to overcome some hurdles: mainly that the champion is in Australia doing seminars and is recovering from some broken toes.
It was to be McGregor’s first UFC fight since his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 while Chandler (the former Bellator lightweight champion) has been on the shelf since November 2022’s UFC 281 when he also lost to Poirier.
Image: The Covalent TV
Having Rey Fenix wrestle on the same Dynamite show as Volador Jr., Esfinge, Rugido and Magnus on 6/5 in Loveland, CO, was notable because it indicates at least the beginning of some changes.
Previously CMLL would now allow its wrestlers to wrestle on the same television show as other Mexican native wrestlers, whether they were working for AAA (its rival) or not. This policy also affected CMLL’s long-time business partner, New Japan, which co-promotes the Forbidden Door shows. This is why wrestlers like Penta, Rey Fenix, Andrade and Rush were not able to work previous Forbidden Door shows, even though CMLL talent itself wasn’t even on them. The idea is that non-CMLL Mexican talent couldn’t appear on New Japan shows.
While having Fenix on the same show as Volador and the others would indicate breaking down of what Tony Khan called that Forbidden Door, it’s not as cut-and-dried as that.
Other feature stories in this week’s issue includes:
With Bryan Alvarez out being a good dad, myself and “Filthy Tom” Lawlor team up today on Wrestling Observer Live to let you know about all of the news taking place.
We take a look at tonight’s WWE Raw and get you updated on what’s taken place so far in the WWE Draft, AEW injuries, plus, we need to talk about Conor, bare fisticuffs, and so much more.
A fun show as always, so check it out~!
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– Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering all the weekend news, from Tony Khan, Vince McMahon, Raw, Smackdown, Collision, Arena Mexico, and more.
– Conor McGregor was announced last night as the new co-owner of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships. During the show, which included many ex-UFC fighters including Mike Perry over Thiago Alves via quick knockout in the main event, they made an announcement. A video package played with McGregor announcing being a co-owner.
– Darby Allin was hit by a bus over the weekend while in New York. He said he was trying to cross the street. He suffered a broken nose but no other details are available.
– Dwayne Johnson noted that Drew McIntyre had signed his WWE contract that was set to expire. The new deal was confirmed to us as three years. McIntyre will be off the house shows for now due to his hyperextended elbow but will be making TVs.
– AEW will have three hours on Wednesday night from Winnipeg, with Dynamite followed by Rampage this week. Dynamite has announced an appearance by Kenny Omega, plus Mariah May vs. Serena Deeb, Adam Copeland defending the TNT title against a member of the House of Black, and Chris Jericho defending the FTW title against Katsuyori Shibata.
– When it comes to Google trends for the week, the only thing in combat sports all week to make the top 20 was McGregor being announced as co-owner of BKFC, which was No. 12 yesterday. Nothing from Saturday’s UFC show cracked the top 20.
– Logan Paul announced that he and his fiance Nina Agdal would be having a baby girl at a gender reveal party that had a pro wrestling theme.
– We are told the situation with several CMLL wrestlers and their visas is sorting itself out, and for some, it could be as early as this coming week to be sorted out. The key names this impacts are Soberano Jr., Templario, Blue Panther (who Bryan Danielson wanted to wrestle), Dulce Gardenia, Sagrado, Capitan Suicida, Espiritu Negro, Euforia, Fugaz, Robin, Sangre Imperial, and Los Gemelo Diablos.
– Mascara Dorada won the Universal champion of champions tournament on Friday night at Arena Mexico in the three-way over Magnua and Titan. Dorada, who submitted Mistico in last week’s qualifying match, scored pins on both Magnus and Titan on Friday. The best match to me was Templario vs Angel de Oro which at this point is still the best match I’ve seen this weekend. Templario is awesome.
– Nic Nemeth won the AAA Mega championship at TripleMania last night in Monterrey beating Alberto El Patron. The title, previously held by El Hijo del Vikingo, was vacant due to Vikingo’s knee surgery.
– CM Punk had been announced as appearing on Smackdown on Friday but he only did a non-taped interview for the live crowd saying he would be back wrestling soon. He’s also advertised locally for Kansas City on Monday for Raw.
– The one match this weekend that’s getting rave reviews across the board is the Mayu Iwatani IWGP women’s title defense against Sareee at yesterday’s Yokohama PPV by Stardom. I’ll be watching this before tonight’s show but haven’t seen it yet.
– Dios Del Infraumundo, who was Drago on Lucha Underground, debuts this coming Sunday 5/6 at the NYC Arena fr House of Glory wrestling.
– Northeast Wrestling from last night in Danbury, CT, featuring the return of La Resistance: Wrecking Ball Legursky won gauntlet over Adam Ace, Erik Chacha, Fly N Noreaga Stephan Azure and Steve Somerset, Brad Baylor b Chris Battle, Rene Deupree & Rob Conway & Sylvan Grenier b DJ Powers & Randy Shawn & TKO Kocenko, Jaylene Brandyn & Traevon Jordan b Dan Maff & Kerr to win tag titles, Brett Ryan Gosselin b RJ Rude, Mustafa Ali b KC Navarro, Megan Bayne & Rebecca Scott b Paris Van Dale & Tiara James, Brian Anthony b Vito in a street fight in what was billed as Anthony’s retirement match.
– Matt Riddle missed the NEW show last night as his girlfriend, Misha Montana, was rushed to the hospital.
– Former WWE announcer Charly Caruso, real name Charly Arnolt, was briefly the first woman ring announcer in UFC history last night. Arnolt was working as a backstage reporter when ring announcer Joe Martinez was briefly ill. When he was ill, she announced a few bouts and then Martinez returned for the Alex Perez vs. Matheus Nicolau main event.
– A&E tonight at 8 p.m. has Steve Austin vs. Booker T as the Rivals segment and Most Wanted Treasures is on The Miz.
– Kerry Morton, the son of Ricky, graduated college yesterday. He got degrees in Marketing and Business Law from King University in Bristol, TN.
– After Rampage went off the air with Daniel Garcia & Katsuyori Shibata beating Lee Moriarty & Shane Taylor, Garcia was doing his dance when Tony Khan came out, in a neck brace, and did the Garcia dance.
– Pro Wrestling Phoenix has its 19th anniversary show on 5/29 at the Waiting Room Lounge in Omaha, NE.
– Announced for the 5/19 Rev ProFantastica Mania afternoon show at York Hall is Mistico & JJ Gale & Ricky Knight Jr. vs. Templario & Gabe Kidd & Magnus.
– Yuya Uemura won the New Japan KOPW title yesterday from Great O’Khan.
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—Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio, talking Raw, Bill Goldberg, Von Wagner and the rest of the news. If you’ve got questions, we should have time for them tonight and you can send to [email protected]
—We’re looking for reports from Raw tonight in Columbus, OH, with the Main Event results and any off-the-air news. We’re still looking for reports from Birmingham and Cardiff on he European tour as well to [email protected]
—Raw had just under 9,000 tickets out earlier today so this isn’t going to be sold out. Montreal wasn’t sold out last week either so the streak has been broken, but the streak of strong crowds continues. There will be a Battle Royal to crown a world’s women’s champion, the belt Rhea Ripley vacated, plus Miz & R-Truthy defend the tag titles against DIY and Ricochet & Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh.
—Due to the NHL playoffs, Raw tonight and Smackdown Friday will air on OLN and not the usual Sportsnet in Canada.
—Raw has tough competition tonight with three NBA playoff games. Orlando vs Cleveland is at 7 p.m. Eastern on NBA TV, Philadelphia vs. New York Knicks is at 7:30 p.m. on TNT and TruTV and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver is at 10 p.m. on TNT and TruTV. TNT and Tru have single games tomorrow going against NXT and Wednesday against AEW. There are also NHL playoffs with Boston vs. Toronto at 7 on ESPN, Carolina vs .New York Islanders at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN 2, Las Vegas vs. Dallas at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN and Edmonton vs. Los Angeles at 10 p.m. on ESPN 2.
—We’re looking for your thoughts on AEW Dynasty and TNA Rebellion, thumbs up, down or middle, along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
—Smackdown on Friday against more competition than usual did 2,333,000 viewers and a 0.63 in 18-49.
—The most expensive tickets for the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight on 6/29 at the T Mobile Arena are priced at $12,000, which includes in venue hospitality, a post weigh-in reception and VIP entrance. There are also seats at $11,500. With those prices, this will be one of if not the biggest gate in UFC history.
—Lots of Raw talent will be at Smackdown on Friday and Smackdown talent on Raw next week for the draft. The talent for the most part doesn’t know if they’ll be moved to another brand ahead of time. The top talent may know but for most it is kept a secret until the announcement is made. Baron Corbin will be at both shows so there’s a strong chance he’ll wind up back on one of the main rosters
—MLW announced an 8/29 show at the Melrose Ballroom in Long Island City, NY.
—The PFL announced the next show in its European tournament will be on 6/8 in Newcastle. It features the debut of women’s boxing champion Savannah Marshall. The European tournament is like a European developmental league with tournaments with $100,000 first prizes to the winner.
—The MLW tag team titles are vacant due to an angle shot where Tom Lawlor, who held the titles with Davey Boy Smith Jr., was injured in a television angle that aired over the weekend. There will be a match for the vacant titles on the 5/11 show in Chicago.
—Aero Star debuts for House of Glory Wrestling on 5/5 at the NYC Arena in New York.
—The PFL announced the signing of Cedric Doumbe, who will fight on the 5/17 Bellator show in Paris, France. That show airs on MAX in the U.S. and DAZN in the U.K. and France with Doumbe vs. Derek Anderson ad a main event of Patchy Mix defending the bantamweight title against Magomed Magomedov
—CSW on Friday night in Franklin Park, IL had a main event where Kyle Fletcher wrestled against girlfriend Skye Blue will Will Ospeay as referee (thanks to Stanely Joseph).
Conor’s return to the octagon has been officially announced.
Dana White confirmed during the UFC 300 press conference that Conor McGregor will fight Michael Chandler in a welterweight fight at UFC 303 on June 29 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas. This would be McGregor’s first fight in nearly three years, losing to Dustin Poirier back in July of 2021 after suffering a leg injury.
“Officially Official,” Chandler posted on X following the news. “Thank y’all for being on this journey with me. Time to get to work. 77 days! Walk On. See you at the top!”
Officially Official. Thank y'all for being on this journey with me. Time to get to work. 77 days!
–
Walk On.
–
See you at the top!
.
.
.
.@themasters #masters #themasters #ufc303 #UFC #pga #golf #mma #happygilmore pic.twitter.com/YMb8qB1JQc— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) April 14, 2024
A match between McGregor and Chandler had been speculated for months. Back in February, Chandler appeared on an episode of WWE Raw and called out McGregor, showcasing synergy between the two TKO brands.
White announced two other matches for UFC 302 on June 1 in Newark, New Jersey. Islam Makhachev will defend the UFC lightweight title against Dustin Poirier in the main event, while Sean Strickland will face Paulo Costa in the co-main.
Michael Chandler went to the other TKO division to issue a call out.
During Monday’s Raw, announcer Samantha Irvin introduced Chandler as a UFC lightweight star. Chandler then issued a challenge to Conor McGregor.
“You are in the presence of the most entertaining UFC fighter on the planet,” Chandler said. “Now there’s a man in Ireland that’s been making me wait for way too long and there’s one dude on my mind…Conor McGregor, get your candy a** back in the octagon.”
WHOA! 😲😲😲@MikeChandlerMMA just called out @TheNotoriousMMA on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/pUN2dUFW1r
— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2024
Despite speculation that the two may fight at UFC 300 in June, Dana White recently said that he was “hoping for the fall” for a McGregor return. McGregor hasn’t fought since UFC 264 back in July of 2021, where he lost to Dustin Poirier after breaking his tibia.
WWE held Raw tonight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California as part of a new five-year live event partnership with OCVIBE that will see both UFC and WWE hold events at the arena through 2028. UFC 298 took place this past Saturday at the same arena, with Ilia Topuria defeating Alexander Volkanovski in the main event to win the UFC featherweight title.
With the UFC calendar ready to kick into gear this weekend, I wrap up my annual MMA year in review series with a look back at October through December 2023, joined by Paul Fontaine.
Some of the highlights in our 80-minute conversation:
If you missed any of the series, check out the archives.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the Rock and Roman Reigns, line-ups for AEW, NXT, the Tokyo Dome, Smackdown and more, ratings, the return of Conor McGregor, RAW from Monday night which was quite newsworthy, and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: The Rock’s promo from Raw on Monday
8:34: Lineups for this week’s shows
17:03: Kento Miyahara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima thoughts, AJPW turmoil
21:30: Ratings notes
24:57: Conor McGregor announces return fight
30:26: Day 1 edition of Raw
52:33: Fallout from AEW Worlds End
Conor McGregor has announced his return to the octagon.
On Sunday, the 35-year-old posted a video revealing that he’ll fight Michael Chandler in Las Vegas on June 29 as part of International Fight Week. The bout will be contested at 185lbs.
McGregor said:
Ladies and gentlemen, a happy New Year to you all. I would like to announce the return date for myself, ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor. The greatest comeback of all time will take place in Las Vegas for International Fight Week on June 29th.
And the opponent, Michael Chander. And the weight, Mr. Chandler, is 185lbs.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 31, 2023
“I always said I wanted you at your biggest, your baddest and your best. 185 would look good on me,” Chandler responded to McGregor shortly after the video was posted.
McGregor hasn’t fought since back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier in 2021. Chandler also lost to Poirier in his last fight, which took place at UFC 281 on November 12, 2022. Both fighters have lost three of their last four bouts.
USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) will no longer be involved with UFC’s Anti-Doping Program starting this January in a situation the former called “untenable” due to UFC’s stance on Conor McGregor
The company went into detail in a statement Wednesday explaining why it would no longer be associated with the program beginning on January 1, 2024, ending a sometimes controversial partnership to oversee the company’s anti-doping program that began in 2015.
After confirming that McGregor had re-entered the UFC drug testing pool on October 8th, USADA claimed that despite a positive contract renewal meeting in May, UFC did “an about-face” and informed them they would not be renewing their contract with USADA this past Monday with the UFC saying they would be going in “a different direction.”
As of now, it’s unclear what the direction will be.
USADA also stated that the relationship between itself and UFC had become “untenable” given comments made by “UFC leaders and others” questioning “USADA’s principled stance that McGregor not be allowed to fight without being in the testing pool for at least six months.”
McGregor has not fought in the UFC since a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 where he broke his tibia in the fight. He coached this past season of The Ultimate Fighter against Michael Chandler with the hope both men would fight this year. However, there is no clear timeline for when the fight will happen.
The full statement can be read below:
“We can confirm that Conor McGregor has re-entered the USADA testing pool as of Sunday, October 8, 2023. We have been clear and firm with the UFC that there should be no exception given by the UFC for McGregor to fight until he has returned two negative tests and been in the pool for at least six months. The rules also allow USADA to keep someone in the testing pool longer before competing based on their declarations upon entry in the pool and testing results.
Unfortunately, we do not currently know whether the UFC will ultimately honor the six-month or longer requirement because, as of January 1, 2024, USADA will no longer be involved with the UFC Anti-Doping Program. Despite a positive and productive meeting about a contract renewal in May 2023, the UFC did an about-face and informed USADA on Monday, October 9, that it was going in a different direction.
We are disappointed for UFC athletes, who are independent contractors who rely on our independent, gold-standard global program to protect their rights to a clean, safe, and fair Octagon. The UFC’s move imperils the immense progress made within the sport under USADA’s leadership.
The relationship between USADA and UFC became untenable given the statements made by UFC leaders and others questioning USADA’s principled stance that McGregor not be allowed to fight without being in the testing pool for at least six months. One UFC commentator echoed this, recently declaring that USADA should not oversee the UFC program since we held firm to the six-month rule involving McGregor, and since we do not allow fighters without an approved medical basis to use performance-enhancing drugs like experimental, unapproved peptides or testosterone for healing or injuries simply to get back in the Octagon.
Fighters long-term health and safety – in addition to a fair and level playing field – are more important to USADA than short-term profits at the expense of clean athletes. USADA is proud of the work we’ve done over the past eight years to clean up the UFC, and we will continue to provide our unparalleled service to UFC athletes through the remainder of our current contract, which ends December 31, 2023. As always, we will continue to uphold the rights and voices of clean athletes in all sport.”
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Garrett Gonzales and I will have a show up today covering the news of the week and this week’s issue. Bryan and I will be doing a weekend show as well.
A video was released on TMZ regarding the Conor McGregor claim of a sexual assault at the Kayseya Arena on Friday night after the Nuggets-Heat game. The clip was brief and showed McGregor and the woman, whose face was not shown, and them going into the bathroom. Barbara Llanes, the attorney for McGregor, made a statement to TSN saying, “After the video was released by TMZ, the claimant’s lawyer now has charged her story. McGregor welcomes the investigation, which he firmly believes will show the claims against him are false. After not responding t the demand for money made by the claimant’s counsel, she turned to the media to apply pressure. This is no more than a shakedown.” The key aspect of the case looks to be the clothes that the alleged victim gave to police which she claimed would have DNA evidence. Obviously if it doesn’t, her case falls apart from likely a legal standpoint. If it does, then things are different.
Regarding Collision airing in Canada, tomorrow’s show will air live on the TSN app and then air on TSN 2 on replay at midnight-2 a.m. Eastern. In week two, which is the show from Toronto, it will air live at 8 p.m. Eastern on TSN 5. Going forward it will be a week-to-week thing as no decision has been made. TSN has the rights to Collision in Canada and will make its decision each week depending on other sports whether to air it live, later that night, or only streaming live. There is not a regular time slot nor specific station for the show at this point.
Smackdown tonight has Roman Reigns appearing, Jey Uso making his choice, the Grayson Waller Effect with Charlotte Flair, A.J. Styles & Michin vs. Karrion Kross & Scarlett, Iyo Sky vs. Zelina Vega and a gauntlet match for a shot at the tag titles held by Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn with the Street Profits, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro, Sheamus & Ridge Holland, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows and Pretty Deadly. There were 9,300 tickets out as of earlier today. They did TV in the arena in January and drew 5,500.
Rampage tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on TNT has:
The first and last match were said to be really good. The Briscoe match got over good in the building as the gimmick of Edwards vs. Karen and Papa Briscoe wrestling.
We’re looking for reports on these weekend events:
Kevin Kelly, who was announced as the host of Collision starting tomorrow night with Nigel McGuiness and Jim Ross, did note that he will be missing a number of shows next month because of his prior commitments to do the G-1 Climax tournament live in Japan.
Anderson Silva told MMA Fighting today that he’s in talks with a group in Japan about a final MMA fight in that country. Silva had become a star in Pride in Japan before going to UFC and becoming one of the greatest fighters in the history of the organization.
Nick Jackson on Instagram posted a clip of with a photo of Adam Page saying “Not only is he good at wrestling but he’s an even better human being” which is obviously a response to C.M. Punk’s quotes about Page in Marc Raimondi’s ESPN article earlier today.
I spoke on the show with Garrett Gonzales on the article as the actual interview caused a lot of controversy although I don’t know that the article as it came out did. I’ve obviously known Raimondi for years when we worked together at MMA Fighting, and if you’ve ever heard me talk about him which I have many times, I have the highest respect for his work. I never once expected anything but an attempt to be as fair and as accurate as possible as far as the finished article was concerned.
Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov was announced as the main event of an 8/5 UFC show in Nashville. That show will go head-to-head with SummerSlam.
Max Holloway did an interview this past week talking about wanting to face Chan Sung Jung, the Korean Zombie, next. UFC announced yesterday it would headline an 8/26 show in Singapore.
UFC runs tomorrow at the Apex in Las Vegas. The show will air 7-10 p.m. only on ESPN+ and from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. it will air on both ESPN and ESPN+:
ESPN+ fights:
ESPN at 10 p.m. Eastern:
Cyril Gane vs. Serghei Spivak will headlined the 9/2 UFC show in Paris, France, over Labor Day weekend.
BetOnline odds for G-1 list Sanada as the -500 favorite in Block A with Kaito Kiyomiya second, Kazuchika Okada as the -200 favorite in block B with Will Ospreay second, David Finlay as the -300 favorite in block C with Shingo Takagi second and Zack Sabre Jr. as the -130 favorite in Block D with Tetsuya Naito second.
For WWE Money in the Bank, these are the odds:
Men’s MITB:
Apple Original Films and ARV announced the release of the movie Argyle on February 2, 2024. John Cena is a part of the cast of the movie.
For next Saturday’s Collision show in Toronto, they’ve lowered prices and have a new deal that if you buy four tickets, you can get them for $16.50 per ticket. Since dropping prices and announcing C.M. Punk, tickets have moved to above 2,500.
Other Notes
Jon Moxley returns to Defy on 7/29 at Washington Hall in Seattle.
Raven (Scott Levy) will be undergoing shoulder surgery next week and has pulled out of appearing at The Gathering in Charlotte, NC.
Combate Global runs Sunday on Paramount+ at 10 p.m. Eastern with Cristian Perez vs. Bruno Cannetti in the main event.
The LFA has announced an 8/18 show in Santa Cruz, CA at the Kaiser Permanente Arena.
The NWA and Boca Raton Championship Wrestling have a combined show on 7/19 at the Boca Black Box with Thom Latimer vs Noah Kekoa for the NWA TV title and Kerry Morton vs. Alan Martinez for the NWA Jr. title.
The next AAW show will be 7/15 in Berwyn, IL at the Eagles Club.
Combate Global’s Claire Lopez (8-4) will challenge Seika Izawa (10-0) for the Rizin super atomweight title on 7/30 at the Saitama Super Arena. Izawa is a former judo champion and former wrestler with five submission wins.
House of Glory Wrestling tomorrow night at the NYC Arena is headlined by Matt Cardona vs. Carlito for the heavyweight title and Charles Mason defends the Crown Jewel title against El Hijo del Vikingo, Alex Shelley vs. Mighty Mante, Mike Baily vs. Nolo Kitano and tag champs Amazing Red & Brian XL also appear. The show will stream live on the Premier Streaming Network.
There are a lot of balls in play regarding television rights and changes, which are the lifeblood of the industry right now.
AEW debuts Collision on 6/17 on TNT in the 8 p.m. Saturday night time slot, running live every week with the exception of a 6/29 show in Hamilton being taped for 7/1.
It’s a major milestone for the promotion in the U.S. It gets C.M. Punk back in the mix and the attempt is to make it a game-changer for a company that has slid in popularity over the past year.
Whether the slide is due to the ascension of WWE’s popularity, which is probably the biggest reason, or if the biggest reason was losing Punk, who was its top draw prior to two major injuries, or just less excitement around the brand itself, most will become clear very shortly. If it’s the middle reason, then there should be a major comeback. But wrestling history always shows when the major brand in a specific market or nationally is on an upswing, the leading competitor usually goes on a downswing.
Conor McGregor is being accused of a violent sexual assault.
The former UFC champion is denying allegations he assaulted a woman in the bathroom of the Kaseya Center during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday, June 9.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, a woman is alleging that arena security staff forced her into a bathroom where McGregor and his security guard were present. It is then alleged that “security refused to let [the woman] exit or allow anyone else, including her friend, inside the bathroom.” McGregor is then said to have emerged from a handicap stall “and shoved his tongue in the victim’s mouth and aggressively kissed her.”
TMZ’s report continues:
According to the letters, the woman was able to get McGregor off of her by telling him she had to urinate … but then McGregor allegedly forced her to have oral sex with him.
McGregor, 34, is then accused of grabbing the woman and pinning her against the wall … before attempting to sodomize her.
The woman is then said to have escaped after repeatedly elbowing McGregor. She left her purse behind as she fled and security staff were reportedly reluctant to return it to her.
The woman is being represented by attorney Ariel Mitchell, who has sent letters to McGregor, the Miami Heat, and the NBA regarding the incident. Mitchells state their client is “seeking settlements with the NBA, the Heat, and McGregor in lieu of litigation.”
UFC issued a statement to ESPN’s Mark Raimondi:
“The organization is aware of the recent allegations regarding Conor McGregor and will continue to gather additional details regarding the incident. UFC will allow the legal process to play out before making any additional statements.”
The Miami Police Department issued the following statement to TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter:
“At this time all we can confirm is that MPD’s Special Victims Unit is investigating a report that was filed Sunday, June 11, 2023. This is an open investigation so no additional information can be released at this time.”
Representatives for McGregor stated to TMZ that “the allegations are false” and added, “Mr. McGregor will not be intimidated.”
The Miami Heat posted a statement on its social media accounts:
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) June 15, 2023
