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Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including NXT TakeOver: In Your House, thoughts on all the matches and angles and where people go from here, RAW, Wednesday ratings, UFC notes, and so much more.
A packed show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: NXT
37:50: Raw preview
38:40: Edge/Orton taped
40:23: AEW/NXT ratings
44:46: Two corrections
49:00: Conor McGregor “retires”
56:06: Dominic DeNucci
56:50: Mailbag
In an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor said the reason for his third retirement is that he’s not excited about the sport or prospects for any upcoming fights.
He said he watched UFC last weekend and Saturday’s pay-per-view and is “just not excited about the game. I don’t know if it’s no crowd. I don’t know what it is. There’s just no buzz for me.”
The 31-year-old said he’s gone through opponent options and “there’s nothing really there at the minute” while not giving any of the names of those options. He also expressed frustration that he and Justin Gaethje should be fighting for the interim lightweight title and not the unification bout that is planned between Gaethje and current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“They want to throw me up and down weights and offer me stupid fights. I don’t really give a f**k. I’m over it,” he said.
McGregor also told Helwani he had written a draft of the retirement tweet he sent out after Saturday’s show two weeks ago. He tweeted a picture of a retirement cake from his family Sunday.
When asked about the retirement after Saturday’s UFC 250 pay-per-view, UFC president Dana White somewhat dismissed it, saying everyone is going crazy with the world situation right now and that no one has to fight if they don’t want to. White has had to deal with a lot of fighter unrest of late from some of his top-drawing talents including light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Jorge Masvidal, and now McGregor.
As noted, this is the third time the Irish star has retired via social media since 2016 only to return every time. The first instance was March of that year when he refused to travel for a press conference to promote his rematch against Nate Diaz, leading to the fight being canceled. He eventually returned that year to fight and beat Diaz. He also retired in April 2019 but came back in January 2020 to fight and defeat Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Since November 2016 when he defeated Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title, McGregor has only fought twice in the Octagon, losing to Nurmagomedov and beating Cerrone. He also boxed and lost to Floyd Mayweather.
At least for Saturday night at UFC 246, Conor McGregor was the Conor McGregor of old, easily beating Donald Cerrone by TKO at 40 seconds of the first round.
McGregor charged in and missed a big punch, but landed four left shoulder strikes to the face of “Cowboy”, busting up his nose and eye. He followed that up with a left kick to Cerrone’s head that was the beginning of the end. After a few power shots to the grounded Cerrone, Herb Dean wisely called the fight.
Following the fight, McGregor (22-4) took joy in saying he was the first fighter in UFC history to get knockout finishes in three separate weight classes. He didn’t call anyone out specifically, but made veiled references to Jorge Masvidal and Paul Felder. Masvidal was at cageside with his BMF title and has been angling for a big money McGregor fight while Felder was calling the action on the broadcast team. He is scheduled to face Dan Hooker in late-February. Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman was also shown on the screen while McGregor was talking.
This is McGregor’s first UFC victory since November 2016 when he defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden.
Cerrone (36-14-0-1) said after the fight that he wasn’t prepared for the shoulder strikes. The 36-year-old said he plans to keep fighting because that’s what he does. He is riding a three-fight losing streak for the first time since 2017.
In other notable main card action, Holly Holm returned to the winner’s circle with a unanimous decision win over Raquel Pennington in a rematch while Anthony Pettis was upset by Carlos Diego Ferreira by second round submission to open up the PPV main card.
However, the biggest upset of the night was in the final fight of the prelims as Roxanne Modafferi defeated Maycee Barber by unanimous decision. Modafferi was the biggest underdog of the night and was unrelenting in her attack on Barber, cutting her open and taking advantage of what could be a partial MCL tear Barber suffered during the fight.
Be sure to check out the full results from all the action.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy, emanating from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The UFC starts their 2020 year off with the return of the biggest star in mixed martial arts history as former two-division UFC champion “The Notorious” Conor McGregor returns to action against future Hall Of Famer Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the main event.
McGregor fights for the first time since October 2018 and is seeking his first win since November 2016 as he kicks off what he calls his 2020 season where he says is preparing to fight at least three times. Cerrone is looking to end a two-fight losing skid after suffering back-to-back losses to Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.
In the co-main event, former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm will square off in a rematch against former title challenger Raquel Pennington. These two first met in February 2015 at UFC 184 in Holm’s UFC debut, which she won by a close split decision.
Also on the main card is a lightweight bout between former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis and Diego Ferreira.
The prelims on ESPN will be headlined by a women’s flyweight bout between Roxanne Modafferi and highly-touted undefeated prospect Maycee Barber. Also on the prelims is an exciting featherweight bout between Andre Fili and Sodiq Yusuff.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and a worst fight to Dave at [email protected].
ESPN+/UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS | 7 PM ET/4 PM PT
> Sabina Mazo (7-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. JJ Aldrich (8-3, 4-2 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights
Aldrich throwing punches early. Neither landing much in the first minute. Aldrich lands a good combo. Aldrich lands a left hand as Mazo lands a body kick. Both miss on punch attempts. Aldrich with a leg kick. Mazo landing more but Aldrich seems to be landing better. Aldrich with a left hand. Mazo lands a left hook late. 10-9 Mazo.
Mazo landing some kicks early to start the second. They’re still feeling each other out for the most part. Neither fighter taking many risks. Aldrich lands a combo. She lands another good combo. Mazo is landing more again in this round but Aldrich doing some damage. They clinch and Mazo lands some hard knees. Mazo is bleeding from her nose. Aldrich lands a hard punch. Mazo with a head kick right at the end. 10-9 Mazo, 20-18 Mazo.
They clinch at the start of the third and Mazo pushes Aldrich against the fence. Mazo with a knee and Aldrich reverses position and they break. Mazo lands some good punches as she backs Aldrich to the fence. Mazo grabs the clinch and lands some hard elbows and then follows with some knees. Mazo roughing Aldrich up in the clinch and now lands some body punches. They are broken up by the referee. Both landing punches and Aldrich just misses a head kick. Mazo gets a quick clinch and lands an elbow. 10-9 Mazo, 30-27 Mazo.
Official Result- Sabina Mazo def. JJ Aldrich by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
> Aleksa Camur (5-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Justin Ledet (9-2 1 NC, 3-2 UFC)
Light Heavyweights
Camur just misses a spin kick right at the start. Camur misses a loaded right hand. Camur throwing wildly and not landing but does land a high kick. Ledet lands a combo. Camur lands a combo as Ledet covers up. They both land as Camur shoots in for a clinch. Camur with a right hand as they break. Camur misses a wheel kick. There is not much going on here. 10-9 Camur.
Camur coming forward and they clinch but break. Ledet lands a right hand but isn’t doing much engaging. They clinch and Ledet with a couple of body punches. Camur with a left hook. Camur lands a right hand. They clinch and Camur with a knee before they break. They trade jabs. Ledet with a left hook and lands some punches against the fence. Camur with a body kick. They clinch and Camur with a knee and lands a combo and then starts landing more knees. Camur with a knee. He lands some punches against the fence. They break late. 10-9 Camur, 20-18 Camur.
Camur with a right hand. Not much happening and they clinch. Ledet looking to land some knees but Camur blocking them as he punches the body. They break. Camur looking tired. Ledet with a right hand. Camur with a body kick. Camur gets a late takedown and finishes on top. 10-9 Camur, 30-27 Camur.
Official Result- Aleksa Camur def. Justin Ledet by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
ESPN PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
> Drew Dober (21-8 1 NC, 7-4 1 NC UFC) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (11-2, 3-1 UFC)
Lightweights
Haqparast lands a good combo early but slips and it allows Dober to reset. Dober lands a combo. Dober with a right hook. Dober drops Haqparast with a left hand and is landing lots of punches and this fight is stopped. Wow, what a showing for Dober. Haqparast took too many extra punches as he was down and out. Big win for Dober.
Official Result- Drew Dober def. Nasrat Haqparast by TKO (punches) at 1:10 of Round 1
> Tim Elliott (#7, 15-9-1, 4-7 UFC) vs. Askar Askarov (#12, 10-0-1, 0-0-1 UFC)
Flyweights
Elliott landing some punches early. Askarov drops Elliott with a left hand and then gets on top. Askarov working in the half-guard trying to pass but Elliott playing good defense on the bottom. Askarov still working from the top and Elliott landing short punches from the bottom. Askarov with a flurry of punches from the top. 10-9 Askarov.
Askarov lands a hard punch and Elliott takes him down but they scramble up and Elliott just avoids a punch attack from Askarov. Askarov lands a left hand. Elliott with a left hand. They trade punches in close range and Elliott gets a brief takedown and Askarov scrambles up. Elliott gets another takedown and is in the full guard. Askarov looking for an armbar but doesn’t get it. They scramble to their feet and Askarov has the back late but time runs out. 10-9 Elliott, 19-19.
They are trading in the third and Elliott keeps coming forward but Askarov is landing the jab. Elliott coming with short punches. Askarov is having to counter. Elliott with some leg kicks and lands a left hand. Askarov lands some punches in close range. Askarov with two right hands and Elliott fires back. Both men just landing punches. Elliott pressing forward. Elliott continues to come forward as both are landing wild punches. Askarov lands a solid right hand. Elliott almost gets a takedown. Elliott is real tired as the fight ends. 10-9 Askarov, 29-28 Askarov.
Official Result- Askar Askarov def. Tim Elliott by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
> Andre Fili (20-6, 8-5 UFC) vs. Sodiq Yusuff (10-1, 3-0 UFC)
Featherweights
They come out swinging. Yusuff lands a right hand and Fili fires right back. Yusuff lands a left hand. Fili with a right hand. Fili tries a takedown as he pushes Yusuff against the fence. They break. Both landing the jab. Fili gets the back and scores a takedown but Yusuff right back to his feet. They trade kicks. Fili gets another takedown but Yusuff right back up again. They trade punches and Fili gets another takedown but again Yusuff pop up. Fili has the back. They roll to the mat and Yusuff has a deep kimura locked in but Fili somehow gets out of it. Yusuff gets on top and lands punches as the round ends. 10-9 Yusuff.
They trade and scramble to the mat and Yusuff ends up in side control and lands from the top. He’s keeping Fili pinned down. Yusuff with some short elbows from the top as he is trying to move to mount. He gets back into Fili’s half-guard. He gets back to side control against the fence. Yusuff finally moves to mount position. Fili able to scramble out and they get to their feet. Fili tries a spin kick but Yusuff ducks. They trade knees in the clinch. 10-9 Yusuff, 20-18 Yusuff.
Fili just misses a head kick. Yusuff with a leg kick. Neither landing much in the first minute of the third. Yusuff lands a hard right hand. Fili with a body kick. Yusuff with the double jab. They trade punches and Fili shakes his head at Yusuff. Yusuff with a hard right hand. They trade punches. They trade until the end. 10-9 Fili, 29-28 Yusuff.
Official Result- Sodiq Yusuff def. Andre Fili by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
> Roxanne Modafferi (#7, 23-16, 2-4 UFC) vs. Maycee Barber (#9, 8-0, 3-0 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights
Modafferi lands a right hand and they clinch. Modafferi coming forward. Modafferi lands a right hand. She lands another and gets a takedown. Modafferi trying to set up an arm-triangle from the top. Modafferi still on top and now Barber looking for a guillotine from the bottom but Modafferi escapes. Modafferi now gets the back but Barber ends up on top and lands a big elbow before the round ends. 10-9 Modafferi.
Modafferi drops Barber to start the second and gets on top. Barber trying to lock up an arm from the bottom. Modafferi now gets the mount position and is landing from the top. Barber trying to get out. Modafferi with some elbows but Barber reverses and is now on top. Modafferi trying to hold Barber in her guard. Modafferi now reverses to mount. Barber gives up her back. Modafferi landing big shots and Barber is cut open badly. Barber is a bloody mess. Modafferi with body punches from the top. Barber survives the round. 10-8 Modafferi, 20-17 Modafferi.
Barber looks to have blown out her knee. She is limping badly. Modafferi with a hard right hand. Barber is having issues standing. Modafferi with more big punches. Barber can’t put any weight on her leg. Modafferi with a takedown against the fence. Barber does reverse to the top. She’s looking for a kimura but Modafferi fights it off. Barber with a big elbow. They scramble. Modafferi ends up on top and is going to ride this one to the end. 10-9 Modafferi, 30-26 Modafferi.
Official Result- Roxanne Modafferi def. Maycee Barber by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
ESPN+ PPV MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT
> Anthony Pettis (#11, 22-9, 9-8 UFC) vs. Diego Ferreira (16-2, 7-2 UFC)
Lightweights
Pettis with a high kick. Ferreira switching stances. Ferreira with a jab followed by a high kick. Pettis lands a combo in close range. Pettis lands a right hand and circles away. Ferreira shoots for a takedown against the fence but the cage blocks it from completing. Ferreria takes Pettis’ back standing and they roll to the mat. Ferreira working for a choke. Pettis spins out and they get to their feet. Pettis with a high kick and they trade punches. They clinch against the fence. They break and Pettis just misses a big kick. Ferreira with a combo and shoots agin. Ferreira gets a takedown and moves to side control. 10-9 Ferreira.
Ferreira gets a takedown and has the back of Pettis early in the second. Ferreira trying to find the choke. Ferreira gets his arm under the neck and has it locked in and Pettis taps! Huge win for Ferreira.
Official Result- Diego Ferreira def. Anthony Pettis by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:46 of Round 2
> Brian Kelleher (19-10, 3-3 UFC) vs. Ode Osbourne (8-2, 0-0 UFC)
Bantamweights
Osbourne with a flying punch right at the start. They trade punches. Osbourne lands a left hand. Kelleher gets a takedown against the fence. Kelleher working from the top and landing. Kelleher looking for a guillotine and he has one locked in tight. Osbourne taps with his feet! What a submission by Kelleher.
Official Result- Brian Kelleher def. Ode Osbourne by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:49 of Round 1
> Aleksei Oleinik (#12, 54-13-1, 6-4 UFC) vs. Maurice Greene (8-3, 3-1 UFC)
Heavyweights
With this fight, Oleinik becomes the first fighter in MMA history to fight in four decades as he debuted in 1997. Greene misses a high kick and Oleinik grabs the back. Oleinik gets the takedown and is in side control. He moves to Greene’s full guard. They get up and Oleinik takes Greene back down. Oleinik has the mount. He’s working for a choke. He has one locked in. Greene is trying to fight it off with hammerfists from the bottom. Greene survives the round. 10-9 Oleinik.
Greene lands a right hand. Oleinik is missing wild punches. They clinch against the fence. They break and Greene with a knee to the body. Oleinik shoots for a takedown against the fence. He gets it and works in the half-guard. He’s working for a choke once again. Fans are booing this fight. Oleinik now going for an armbar. Greene taps. This is over thankfully.
Official Result- Aleksei Oleinik def. Maurice Greene by submission (armbar) at 4:38 of Round 2
> Holly Holm (#3, 12-5, 5-5 UFC) vs. Raquel Pennington (#5, 10-7, 7-4 UFC)
Women’s Bantamweights
Pennington tries a Superman punch but Holm sticks her with a jab. Pennington lands a right hand. Both women looking to land. Holm with some left hands. Pennington rushes in with some punches and they clinch. Holm has the body lock against the fence. Holm with some short punches against the fence as they battle for position. Pennington reverses position for a brief moment before Holm reverses it back. They battle in the clinch to end the round. Holm had the neck late. 10-9 Holm.
Holm with a side kick and Pennington rushes forward with some punches. They clinch again against the fence. They remain clinched and not much happening and the crowd boos. They break to the center. Holm tries to shoot but they just tie up against the fence again. They remain tied up and Holm has position. They break. Holm with a side kick and Pennington grabs the back and lands some punches as the round ends. The crowd hates this fight. 10-9 Holm, 20-18 Holm.
Holm lands a left hand. Pennington lands a right hand. Holm with a front kick.They clinch but break. Holm with an inside leg kick. Pennington with a right hand. Holm with a head kick. Not a lot is happening again. Holm with the lead side leg kick. Holm lands a left hand. Pennington with a right hand and gets a brief takedown but Holm right back up. They tie up and Holm has position with just over a minute left. They are broken up by the referee. Holm lands a quick combo. They tie up again but separate. They break. Pennington with a left hand. 10-9 Holm, 30-27 Holm.
Official Result- Holly Holm def. Raquel Pennington by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
> Conor McGregor (#4 LW, 21-4, 9-2 UFC) vs. Donald Cerrone (#5 LW, 36-13 1 NC, 23-10 UFC)
Welterweights
They clinch right away and McGregor with shoulder strikes and they break. McGregor with a high kick rocks Cerrone and drops him after a flying knee and left hand. McGregor swarming on Cerrone with punches from the top and Cerrone in real trouble. McGregor with more punches and this fight is stopped. Huge reaction from the crowd. It went less than a minute.
Official Result- Conor McGregor def. Donald Cerrone by TKO (strikes) at :40 of Round 1
This story was updated at 2:30 PM Eastern.
Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone both made weight Friday at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, making their Saturday UFC 246 main event official.
Both men came in at 170 pounds. Cerrone was the first on the scale at 9 AM local time while McGregor weighed in at 9:38 AM local time.
Both looked to be in excellent shape, especially McGregor who didn’t have to cut weight after fighting at lightweight and feathweight for the majority of his career. Cerrone, who has mainly fought at lightweight with a few welterweight bouts, said at Thursday’s media day that he was at 174 pounds, so he had to cut several pounds.
McGregor requested the fight be at 170 pounds during negotiations as he didn’t feel the need for either man to have to cut a lot of weight.
In other news, Alexa Grasso missed weight badly, weighing in at 121.5 pounds, 5.5 pounds over the strawweight limit. After some deliberation, her fight with Claudia Gadelha was canceled due to the weight difference and other health issues.
All other fighters made their contracted weight.
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We’re doing for NXT Takeover Blackpool and Impact Hard to Kill, so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
We’re looking for reports on these shows:
*Non-Raw stuff from Lexington, KY- any dark matches or Main Event results
*NXT Friday night in Pittsburgh
*Dark matches from Smackdown Friday night in Evansville
*NXT Sunday in Buffalo
You can send reports on these shows to [email protected]
Raw is a loaded show on Monday from Lexington, KY with Big Show & Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins & AOP in a fist fight, Bobby Lashley vs. Rusev and Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy and Brock Lesnar is on the show. There will also be a Becky Lynch/Asuka contract signing and Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman appear,.
F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: WWE’s top 10 matches of 2019 Joseph Currier ranks his 10 favorite WWE matches of the year.
Looking back at the year WWE has had, you get a better sense of how much talent is in the company.
Main roster television and storylines have their problems, but narrowing the list of my favorite WWE matches of the year down to 10 was still incredibly difficult. The company produces so much product and has so many great wrestlers spread across Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK. NXT was the standout in what was a transformative year as it moved to airing live on the USA Network, but all four brands were still represented on my list.
Here are my picks for WWE’s 10 best matches of 2019:
Current subscribers click here to continue reading.
WON NEWSLETTER: January 13, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Death of Pampero Firpo, Wrestle Kingdom 14 review
With coverage of WrestleKingdom, pro wrestling in Japan and the death of Pampero Firpo, we’ve got another double issue of the Observer this week.
Our lead story looks at the legacy of Pampero Firpo, one of the top stars of the 60s and 70s. We look at his character, the Randy Savage connection, the start of his career in Argentina, how he got started in the U.S. and was a star in week one, his forgotten world title win, the story behind his getting the Pampero Firpo name and the legendary boxing match it came from, his first run with Vince McMahon Sr. in 1960, his second run in 1972, the angle that turned him babyface in Detroit, and his life after wrestling working at the post office.
The issue also covers:
The wrestling scene in Japan, wrestling around the city, the wrestling stores, the advertising, the business from the Tokyo Dome, doing two WrestleMania in two days, why it worked for New Japan and why such a great first show ended up as a handicap. We look at what got over the biggest, probably why main roster PPVs struggle the day after blow away NXT shows, as well as tickets sold outside of Japan for he two shows and growth of the overseas audience.
New Japan’s expansion into the U.S., original booking plans for 2019, how Jericho and Tanahashi were able to do an angle involving the AEW belt, the political issues between AEW and NJPW, New Japan’s 2020 schedule, and the future of the junior heavyweights.
A pension fund suing WWE and why, with the story behind it as well as the launch of the XFL and its new rules, we’ve got DVR numbers for AEW & NXT, a wrestler who may be leaving WWE and contract status, crazy stuff some in WWE have been brainwashed on, lots of new lineups in WWE, Punk vs. Miz, Lesnar gets honored by University of Minnesota, new WWE signing, WWE awards, Ryback’s latest issues with WWE, Canadian ratings for all the top U.S. shows, WWE and Russian television plus a rundown of the holiday season house shows.
Complete rundowns of both Dome shows, with match-by-match coverage, poll results and star ratings.
Upcoming major New Japan events.
WWE’s traditional biggest house show of the year, the holiday event in Madison Square Garden.
Compiled lists of the wrestlers with the most great matches from the past year, the past decade and over the course of a career.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, the daily outrage, plus taking questions that you can send to the show via e-mail to [email protected]
The first fight main event with Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe & Big Show vs. AOP & Seth Rollins means no DQ, no pins, no submissions, no count outs and basically the match continues until the referee rules that all three members of the opposite team can no longer continue. So it’s the 70s non-WWE Texas death match rules.
Conor McGregor did a lengthy interview with Ariel Helwani to promote Saturday’s fight with Donald Cerrone. McGregor claimed he would earn $80 million for the fight based on his new contract. Please do not believe that.
There is a lot of storyline stuff in this BTE which includes Jimmy Valiant mentoring Adam Page (who he helped train), teases of Brandon Cutler (the best friend of The Young Bucks) and Michael Nakazawa (best friend of Kenny Omega) joining the Dark Order and Nick Jackson spoofing himself and Matt Jackson spoofing whoever he’s spoofing about people giving booking ideas.
Dave Bautista was announced as a new cast member of the Apple TV+ series “See.”
Daily Pro Wrestling History: TNA Genesis 2013
CONTACT INFORMATION
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We’re looking for reports from the Smackdown tapings in Brooklyn tonight with any dark matches or anything not on the live show as well as reports from PWG in Los Angeles to [email protected]
For tonight, they’ve announced two non-title matches, Bayley vs. Dana Brooke and New Day vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro. There are no 205 Live tapings tonight. The Lio Rush & Keith Lee vs. Damien Priest & Tony Nese match for Wednesday’s NXT show is expected to be taped tonight as well.
It’s a slow weekend, with the major events being two Bellator shows, a UFC show and a huge kickboxing event. WWE is off after tonight until the day after Christmas. UFC has its last show of the year late tonight.
New Japan has its final show of the year later tonight/early tomorrow U.S. time. It is also Jushin Liger’s last match at Korakuen Hall.
CMLL AT ARENA MEXICO TONIGHT AT 9:30 P.M. ON THE CMLL YOUTUBE PAGE
BELLATOR SALUTE TO THE TROOPS TONIGHT AT 10 P.M. EASTERN FROM THE BLAISDELL CENTER ARENA IN HONOLULU ON PARAMOUNT NETWORK
Minsch missed weight by 5.4 pounds and Lara by 0.8 pounds. Both were fined 20 percent of their purse. Prelims are on DAZN starting at 8:45 p.m. Eastern
UFC FROM BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA AT 2 A.M. EASTERN LATE TONIGHT ON ESPN+
NEW JAPAN FROM TOKYO KORAKUEN HALL EARLY SATURDAY AT 4:30 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
BELLATOR SATURDAY NIGHT FROM THE BLAISDELL CENTER ARENA AT 10 P.M. EASTERN ON DAZN
Raw for Monday was taped last Monday in Des Moines.
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.
Current subscribers click here to continue reading.
WON NEWSLETTER: December 23, 2019 Observer Newsletter: TLC and Final Battle reviews, more
We’ve got complete coverage of the last series of major shows held around the world in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer, as well as bios on a number of wrestlers who have passed away in recent weeks.
TLC coverage, focusing on the behind-the-scenes of the Kairi Sane situation, who knew,when did they know, the channels where the ball was dropped and what can and needs to be learned from it. We note the business of the event, the U.S. popularity levels, plus have match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
A look at exactly how AEW was formed, including what match made Tony Khan feel opposition was viable and what conversation with what major person in television made it happen, as well as who was contacted first to be part of it. We also have the story from the market rep who got Bullet Club shirts into Hot Topic.
DVR numbers for pro wrestling shows right now as well as how meaningful they are and what it says about audiences. We also look at how and why the dynamic of how people watch wrestling on Wednesdays has changed over the past several weeks. We also look at wrestling viewership in Canada.
Big names who have signed new WWE deals and a major name who has not, a WWE overseas TV deal, how many people buy WWE video games, pro wrestling offers to Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez’s next WWE show, the story behind Chelsea Green and Deonna Purrazzo on Raw and what it means short and long-term, a reboot of a WWE tag team, new feuds being started in WWE, most-watched shows on the WWE Network, WWE stock value and a look at all the WWE & NXT shows held over the past week with business notes and highlights.
Also have full coverage of UFC 245, with business notes, notes about the fighters who elevated their games, the title picture, plus match-by-match coverage.
ROH as it goes into 2020, who is going, who is staying, what is unknown, what kind of deals are being offered plus Final Battle coverage, with business notes, poll results, match-by-match coverage and star ratings.
A look at AAA Guerra de Titanes, the creation of the new top stable, the debut of Sin Cara, thoughts and problems with the new name he’s using and more.
Bio on Randy Colley, best known as Moondog Rex, including his legal issues with WWE, what happened with the fans that ruined what would have been his biggest career break, other gimmicks he had, the birth of the Moondog gimmick and his biggest matches.
The NWA, its YouTube numbers, its television tapings direction for the next several weeks, its net PPV show, as well as coverage of its Into the Fire show with poll results.
2010 cable numbers for the stations that carry pro wrestling and MMA and what they mean.
Notes on the career of Alberto Munoz, who was supposed to become a legend, and what happened in 1973 that ended that dream.
Dragon Gate’s Final Gate show with coverage of the event.
A personal look at how a law that was poorly thought out will affect reporters and web sites that use people from California and how adhering to it will make it nearly impossible for anyone in the state to start out in the field, and for the vast majority who work for publications outside the state, to likely lose their jobs.
Look at the life of Scottish Hall of Fame Andy Robin, and his protege, Hercules the Bear.
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.
We also have full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
Current subscribers click here to continue reading.
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I’m doing a show and a meet and greet at Toudoukan’s in Tokyo at 11 a.m. on 1/4, several hours prior to the first of the two Tokyo Dome shows. I’ll just tell you this, if you are going to Japan, whether you want to see the show or not, you need to go to Touduokan’s. Ticket info can be found here. Jim Valley and I will also be doing a podcast from Toudoukan’s.
A big fight with Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier was announced for the 3/7 UFC PPV show in Las Vegas. The winner will likely get a shot at the middleweight title. Based on process of elimination, that would favor Yoel Romero as the next challenger for champion Israel Adesanya.
Sometimes pro wrestler Josh Barnett has his first MMA fight in several years in tonight’s Bellator main event against Ronny Markes. Earlier this week, at the open workouts, Barnett did a pro wrestling match with training partner Erik Hammer while Ilima-lei Macfarlane, who headlines tomorrow night’s Bellator show with a flyweight title defense against Kate Jackson, did a hula dance. I’ve mentioned this before, but Macfarlane in Honolulu is like watching the biggest hometown pro wrestling star you’ve seen at their peak, plus the last time she was in Hawaii she had one of the best ring entrances in MMA history.
Tickets for the Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone fight went on sale today and just on first day advance it is one of the five biggest gates in Nevada MMA history.
Liz Carmouche has officially signed with Bellator. If Macfarlane wins tomorrow, it will be likely she defends against Carmouche which would be a battle of best friends and training partners..
Daily Pro Wrestling History: Daily Pro Wrestling History (12/20): TNA Final Resolution
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The long-awaited return of former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor is finally in sight.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto via UFC president Dana White, McGregor has signed his contract to face former title contender and fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246 on Saturday, January 18th in Las Vegas, NV. The fight will be at welterweight and not lightweight where the two have spent time during their careers.
White said McGregor has signed and Cerrone “is set to go”.
The 31-year-old McGregor (21-4) hasn’t been in action since losing via submission to rival and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018. Due to his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather and other outside-the-cage factors, he has fought just once in the Octagon since August 2016.
The 36-year-old Cerrone (36-13-0-1) is coming off a two-fight losing streak with finishes at the hands of top contenders Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, respectively. This will be his first fight at welterweight since a first round submission win over Mike Perry in November 2018. He fought 10 times in the UFC at 170 pounds with a 6-4 record.
The two have been angling for this fight for quite some time and had a verbal skirmish back in September 2015 at a UFC press conference that will get played quite a bit in the promotion for this fight.
At a press conference in Moscow Thursday, former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor announced that he will return to action on Saturday, January 18th in Las Vegas, NV.
As far as the opponent, McGregor said he is leaving that up to the UFC as they are “crafty” and might flip it on him. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported that the leading candidates are Justin Gaethje or Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone but that nothing has been signed yet.
While not formally announced by the company, it would be UFC 246.
The Irishman then outlined his “season”: the January 18th return, a challenge to the winner of Nate Diaz-Jorge Masvidal for the BMF title, and a challenge to the winner of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov-Tony Ferguson in Moscow. That fight hasn’t been signed as of now.
Helwani added that McGregor was pushing for a December 14th return against Frankie Edgar but UFC had no interest in that fight and they already had three title fights on the show so it didn’t make financial sense. ESPN and UFC weren’t planning on having a January PPV, but McGregor’s return changed that plan.
McGregor has been out of action since October 2018 when he was submitted by Nurmagomedov in Las Vegas. A series of issues outside the cage has followed him including two sexual assault claims, a resolved problem with a man whose cell phone McGregor broke in Miami, and an unresolved issue where he punched a man at a Dublin bar for refusing a shot of whiskey.
Here's Conor McGregor announcing that he'll return to the Octagon JAN. 18 in Las Vegas – Leading potential opponents are Cerrone and Gaethje per @arielhelwani
📺 | #UFC pic.twitter.com/6mOiqqgagR
— Niall McGrath (@niallmcgrath4) October 24, 2019
As he publicly campaigns for a fight against Frankie Edgar, former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor is being investigated for sexual assault case, the second such accusation he’s faced in the last 12 months.
The story was reported by the New York Times on Saturday.
The second allegation stems from an incident last week outside a pub in Dublin, Ireland, where a woman in her 20s claims she was sexually assaulted in car. McGregor has not been charged and hasn’t been interviewed about the claim.
In a statement to the Times, McGregor’s publicist said, “Conor McGregor is frequently the subject of rumors. He emphatically denies any report accusing him of sexual assault.”
McGregor’s tumultuous life outside the cage has been a story for the majority of the year:
– He remains under investigation for a sexual assault claim from December 2018.
– He was charged with assault in October following his punching of a man that refused to drink a shot of whiskey he gave him. He will have a hearing next month.
– He was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor after an incident with a man outside a Miami nightclub in which McGregor destroyed his cell phone. Charges were later dropped.
McGregor has said he wants to return to action soon and was pushing for a December fight with the former UFC lightweight champion Edgar, but Dana White said there’s no interest in doing that fight. He has been out of action for a year.
Nearly two months after TMZ released a video showing Conor McGregor punching a man in a bar for refusing whiskey, the former UFC two-division champion will have to answer for it.
McGregor was served a summons from Dublin, Ireland, police and is due in court next Friday to answer for the charges. He faces a maximum of six months in prison, a fine of several thousand dollars, or both.
The incident took place in April but the video wasn’t released until mid-August. In the silent footage from Dublin’s Marble Arch pub, McGregor begins doling out shots of his Proper Twelve whiskey to patrons. An older man refuses the shot twice and McGregor becomes agitated, eventually throwing a left handed punch at the man’s head. The man, said to be in his 50s, remained seated even after the punch and didn’t appear to be arguing with McGregor prior to the incident.
In an August interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, McGregor said he was sorry for the incident and had no excuses for his actions, saying he would take responsibility for whatever happened next.
The 31-year-old doesn’t have a fight booked and his last UFC appearance was last October in a submission loss to Khabib McGregor.
For the first time in 10 months, former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor talked to a media member, conducting a lengthy televised interview Thursday night with Ariel Helwani that aired on ESPN2.
McGregor, who did the interview via satellite from Dublin, Ireland, was more subdued than in the past, showing little bravado or any of the over the top character that endeared himself to so many while also making him reviled by some.
The big takeaway: he wants to return to fighting and is looking forward to his “triumphant return”.
Some of the highlights:
– Helwani led off with questions about the recent TMZ video released from April showing McGregor punching a man in a Dublin bar for refusing a shot of his whiskey. McGregor said, “I was in the wrong. I must take accountability and responsibility.” Helwani said the video was grainy and asked if he indeed punched that man which McGregor dodged, instead reiterating that he is trying to get back on the right path. “I have to wait and see what happens and will face it head on. What happens, I will face.”
– Helwani asked about the cell phone issue outside the Miami, FL, nightclub and McGregor said the issue was resolved but he was in the wrong.
– McGregor referenced comebacks by Nate Diaz, Stipe Miocic, and Urijah Faber as fuel for his eventual comeback which would be “the greatest one of them all”.
– McGregor did show some fire when asked about his retirement tweet. He said how much he’s fought through injuries in his career and referenced how he broke his left hand sparring in May while preparing for a July fight at MSG. Without the injury, he said he would have fought for sure. The opponent? “It was leaning toward Justin Gaethje at the time.”
– He said he has a great business relationship with the UFC while admitting the discussion about a co-main event against Donald Cerrone was a bump in the road.
– He said he loves watching MMA from the prelims through the main event which is why he tweets so much about fights. “It’s my game. I love it dearly.”
– He said he’d welcome the third fight with Nate Diaz, but doesn’t blame Diaz if he doesn’t want it because of the damage both men took in the first two fights.
– When talking about who he wants to return against, he said, “I want my world title back. The camp (for Khabib Nurmagomedov) wasn’t correct. He ran away that first round.” He said his training sessions were too serious and when he left, he would leave it all behind. “You can’t be half in.” He also said his foot was a “balloon” in that fight, reiterating the foot injury he’s claimed he had.
– He then added he’ll fight anyone in his return, naming Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier if he beats Khabib, Gaethje, Jose Aldo, and others.
– When asked true/false if he fights this year, McGregor said “true” and hopefully at the end of the year, saying he’s been cleared for grappling.
– He said John Kavanaugh will be in his corner when he fights again, admitting he was taken aback when Kavanaugh said he hadn’t watched the fight back.
– Helwani asked him about Holloway’s visit to Dublin and some of his posts on social media. McGregor said he would welcome that fight again, adding that he could feel himself almost taking the bait. In the same breath, he mentioned how much he likes and respects Frankie Edgar.
McGregor last fought in October 2018 in a fourth round submission loss to UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov.
Former UFC champion Conor McGregor may not be throwing punches in the Octagon anytime soon, but he still continues to get into altercations outside of it.
Early Thursday morning, TMZ released a video from April 6th with no sound showing McGregor giving out whiskey shots at Dublin’s Marble Arch Pub when a man sitting at the bar refused it twice. McGregor became agitated and punched the man with a left hand before being escorted out. The man didn’t appear to be bleeding and remained sitting on the stool after the punch.
As of this writing, no charges have been filed and Irish police are said to still be investigating the incident despite it happening four months ago. TMZ didn’t explain why the video was released now, nor the name of the victim, only describing him as ‘elderly’.
McGregor was last seen in the UFC in October 2018 in a fourth round submission loss to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
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F4W NEWSLETTER: First Raw of the Paul Heyman Era
Before this week’s return to the norm, Joseph Currier looked at Heyman’s promising start in his new role.
Though it was only the beginning of him easing into the role, the first Raw of the Paul Heyman era showed promising signs for his future as executive director.
It was surprising that — during the build to a pay-per-view where the top of the card has already been announced — Heyman’s presence was so obvious. Even if WWE didn’t announce his executive director role, it still would have been easy to tell that something was different about the episode.
It started with a literal bang that doubled as a statement of intent. Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley’s falls count anywhere match kicked off the show and ended in a no contest. Strowman charged at Lashley, with explosions going off as they crashed through the stage. The angle was treated with complete seriousness. Corey Graves even let out an uncensored “holy sh*t” on commentary.
WON NEWSLETTER: July 15, 2019 Observer Newsletter: Death of Paco Alonso, G1 Opening, more
A look at Paco Alonso and his role in running the most traditional of all pro wrestling promotions, and what happens next with CMLL, is the lead story i the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at Alonso’s death, an update on who will be running the company, how things will stay the same, what could change, the 2008 Hall of Fame election, and the career of Alonso as a promoter including the wrestlings wars he was in and the boom periods he presided over. We also look at where things stand and why Alonso is the only promoter with so much tenure in the business who has never lost money promoting wrestling.
We look at the first show of the G-1 Climax tournament, including unique aspects of the crowd, the business notes and what was good and bad about the crowd, this week’s G-1 bouts, Dallas coverage with star ratings and poll results and will AEW and NJPW promote together any time soon.
We also look at a Saturday with five major shows, running down all of them and the story behind the change in WWE policy.
We also look at Dwayne Johnson and Conor McGregor earnings, Reigns winning award, new signings, Reigns talks why AEW isn’t competition, WWE’s latest network strategy, ideas that were nixed of late that were pitched, Eric Bischoff update, Stock price notes, new WWE television show, most-watched shows of the week on WWE Network as well as a rundown of all the arena events of the past week with results, highlights and business notes.
We’ve got full coverage of UFC 239, with all the different stories that came out of the show, the judging of Jones vs Santos, the future of several fighters, all of the business notes regarding the show as well as match-by-match coverage, fighter pay, and poll results.
We also look at the changes in All Japan Pro Wrestling and what it means going forward.
We also have coverage of the Impact PPV show, where Impact stands, how the PPV did, the crossover in buyers of Impact with other companies as well as match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
We also run down the ratings of all the major TV shows, along with detailed demo info for the WWE shows.
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.
WWE’s next investors call is 7/25, which is when they will announce all the second quarter numbers. The numbers are probably going to be looked at closer this quarter than most after the first quarter was such a disappointment when it came to the core business.
Jorge Masvidal, who is one of the hottest fighters in UFC coming off his win over Ben Askren, was on Dan LeBatard today and said that he wants to fight Conor McGregor and said it would be an easy paycheck for him. He said that McGregor backs down and taps when he gets in trouble.
Weigh-ins for Bellator tomorrow night on both the Paramount Network and DAZN from Thackerville, OK:
At the latest booking meeting the decision was not to add any new matches to Sunday’s Extreme Rules show. There were a number of bouts built up, but they’ve already got ten bouts announced and that is more than enough.
There are limited tickets available for Saturday night’s Evolve 10th anniversary show at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia which airs live on the WWE Network. A dark match has been added with John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. Milk Chocolate at 7:40 p.m. This bout won’t be televised. Shotzi Blackheart vs. Brandi Lauren has been added to the network broadcast. Evolve also runs Sunday at 7 p.m. from the Melrose, MA Memorial Hall at www.WWNlive.com with Matt Riddle vs Curt Stallion, Austin Theory & Arturo Ruas vs. Josh Briggs & Orange Cassidy, JD Drake vs. AR Fox, Joe Gacy vs. Babatunde and more.
Daily Pro Wrestling History:Daily Pro Wrestling History (07/11): Lex Luger wins NWA United States title
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Former two-division UFC champion and sometimes retired Conor McGregor has one fewer legal issue to deal with as charges stemming from an incident with a cell phone outside a MIami nightclub were dropped Monday.
In late-March, 22-year-old Ahmed Abdirzak allegedly had his cell phone destroyed and stolen by McGregor as he exited the Fountainbleau in the early morning hours. Abdirzak brought a civil suit against McGregor for than $15,000 in damages stemming from the incident, but dropped the suit in April.
Florida assistant state attorney Khalil Madani said Abdirzak’s attorney told his office he had “been made whole” by McGregor, and concluded that Abdirzak had “credibility issues” due to him changing his sworn testimony:
“Based on the witness’s credibility issues, his unwillingness to respond to a subpoena and the inability of the witnesses to testify as to his subjective mindset, the State of Florida cannot prove the charges against Mr. McGregor beyond a reasonable doubt.”
McGregor had been facing one charge of felony robbery and one charge of misdemeanor criminal mischief.
Despite retiring on Twitter earlier this year, UFC president Dana White expects McGregor to fight again but with many of his options booked up or soon to be booked up with fights, there’s no realistic timetable for his return.
