New SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison are set to defend their titles inside of the Elimination Chamber.
During tonight’s SmackDown, it was announced that Miz & Morrison will defend their titles against The New Day, The Usos, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, The Lucha House Party, and Heavy Machinery in an Elimination Chamber match on Sunday, March 8.
The Elimination Chamber pay-per-view is taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
After winning the SmackDown Tag Team titles from The New Day at Super ShowDown, Miz & Morrison appeared on SmackDown tonight. They were interrupted by the Elimination Chamber match announcement and then lost a non-title match against The Usos.
This is the second Elimination Chamber match that’s been confirmed for this year’s Elimination Chamber PPV. Shayna Baszler, Asuka, Natalya, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan will also face off inside of the Elimination Chamber to determine Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch’s challenger for WrestleMania 36.
Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn & Cesaro challenging for Braun Strowman’s Intercontinental title in a three-on-one handicap match has also been announced for the Elimination Chamber PPV.
More than a month after he won his first WWE Intercontinental title, Braun Strowman will defend his title against the man he won it from as well as his two stablemates.
On Friday’s SmackDown during a contract signing segment for a one-on-one Elimination Chamber match between Strowman and former champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Strowman said in passing that he would be fighting all three men anyway. Zayn picked up on that line and forced Strowman’s hand into a three-on-one match.
Strowman agreed and went on the attack, only to be beat down by the trio and eventually suplexed through a table.
Strowman defeated Nakamura for the I-C belt on the Friday, January 31st edition of SmackDown, ending a 201-day run as champion for the Japanese star.
Elimination Chamber will be on Sunday, March 8th from Philadelphia, PA, with the card still taking shape. Thus far, a women’s Chamber match featuring Natalya, Liv Morgan, Shayna Baszler, Asuka, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan will be for a show at Becky Lynch’s Raw title is official with the I-C title match as the only other official match as of now.
We’re looking for dark match reports from Smackdown tonight in Boston as well as reports from ROH in Nashville and NXT in Largo, FL to [email protected]. We have two weekend polls, on WWE Super Showdown and AEW Revolution, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Benavidez vs. Figueiredo was to be for the vacant flyweight title. So if Benavidez wins, he gets the championship. If Figueiredo wins, the title remains vacant since he missed weight. He also has to forfeit 30 percent of his purse to Benavidez. Figueiredo cramped up while cutting weight today. Dawson, who missed weight by 3.5 pounds, also has to forfeit 30 percent of his purse to Minner.
Tonight’s Smackdown in Boston built around the return of John Cena isn’t sold out, but it is one of WWE’s biggest crowds so far this year.
Tomorrow has WWE Raw in College Park, PA, WWE Smackdown in Elmira, NY, NXT in Jacksonville and ROH in St. Charles, MO. We’re looking for reports on those shows to [email protected]
Sunday has Raw in Salisbury, MD and Smackdown in Syracuse, NY. Raw on Monday will be at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Brock Lesnar and Beth Phoenix are on the show. They are locally advertising Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton, Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens and Kabuki Warriors vs. Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch for the tag titles. That doesn’t mean any of those matches are actually happening.
Arena Mexico tonight has both the finals of the Parejas Increibles tournament with Caristico & Forastero vs. Volador Jr. & Cavernario, and the first round of the three-week tournament to crown new Mexican national tag team champions. The show airs at 9:30 p.m. on the CMLL YouTube page.
Combate Americas runs tonight at midnight on Univision and 10 p.m. Eastern on AXS TV from Fresno, CA with Adrian Guzman vs. Alejandro Martinez as the main event.
An update on the WrestleMania card after Super Showdown with 11 currently decided upon matches and five or six others in discussion is covered in the current issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The lead story updates how the coronavirus has affected Japanese pro wrestling as well as Japanese culture. We talk about sports and entertainment cancellations, the shows new Japan Pro Wrestling has canceled, the prospects for this year’s New Japan Cup, an update on Stardom,DDT,Dragon Gate, All Japan, NOAH and other Japanese companies on what shows are on and off. We look at if New Japan can still save the New Japan Cup, history of New Japan Cup winners vs. G-1 winners taking the IWGP title, an a breakdown of the original tournament plans.
The new issue also covers:
Plans and background of the coming WrestleMania, as well as Super Showdown coverage with match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
A feature on Manabu Nakanishi’s career and coverage of his retirement show this past week. We look at the difference between Nakanishi and Jushin Liger, Nakanishi’s amateur wrestling days, Nakanishi’s shoot fighting days, Nakanishi in WCW, the Nakanishi heyday and the past decade. We note the major surgery that nearly ended his career ad slowed him down, and some of the all-time greats comment on Nakanishi.
The major matches in the New Japan ring over the past week.
WWE television deals, WWE Network price change, XFL ratings, Samoa Joe suspension, New WWE international signing, WWE injury updates, Canadian TV ratings, Ric Flair’s 71st birthday, how much Raw has fallen in four yeas, Edge’s return,NXT Takeover notes, Evolve news for WrestleMania week with WWE talent, Australia tour, stock value, most-watched shows on the WWE Network as well as a look at every WWE arena event over the past week with business notes and highlights.
A preview of the AEW PPV and full coverage of the UFC show in Auckland, New Zealand.
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].
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
70s star Killer Tim Brooks, 72, who has been battling cancer for years, has entered hospice care. Brooks was a top star in a number of territories and was best known in his native Texas, but headlined pretty much everywhere he worked.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has once again changed the result of the 12/7 Tito Ortiz vs. Alberto El Patron Rodriguez fight. Ortiz is back to having a win. The result of the match was overturned because a drug test revealed Ortiz had failed for a non-PED. Ortiz was furious, stating that he had told the commission ahead of time he was using the substance and it was approved. After the TDLR spoke with Ortiz’s physician who had prescribed the medication to him, the Ortiz win was reinstated. Really, they couldn’t have waited to overturn the decision until after they had spoken with his doctor?
AEW Revolution will begin tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Eastern with Best Friends vs. Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky on the Buy In show and the actual PPV starts at 8 p.m.
Cody announced that on tomorrow’s show they will announce the return of an old school match concept that will upset some people.
There may be as many as four Elimination Chamber matches on 3/8 in Philadelphia as they’ve hinted at a Smackdown women’s Chamber match, plus the arena announced a tag team title match in the chamber with John Morrison & The Miz, New Day, Usos, Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler, vs. Heavy Machinery vs. Lucha House Party.
NHK, one of the major networks in Japan, did this one hour show on New Japan President Harold Meij.
WWE
Variety reported that Image Artist Management has signed a rep deal for Daria Berenato (Sonya Deville). Image Artist Management was launched in July by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.
NXT will be doing a rare Tuesday night television tapings at Full Sail University on 4/7 That would be WrestleMania week, the day after Raw in Tampa.
Sasha Banks was training today at the New England Pro Wrestling school.
The Bella Twins will be on Tuesday’s edition of “The Talk” on CBS promoting their new autobiography.
Weigh-in results from tomorrow’s UFC show in Norfolk, VA. The entire show is on ESPN+ and starts at 5 p.m. Eastern
Ismail Naurdiev (170) vs. Sean Brady (170)
Aalon Cruz (145.5) vs. Spike Carlyle (145.5)
Jordan Griffin (145) vs. TJ Brown (145.5)
Luis Pena (154.5) vs, Steve Garcia (155)
Marcin Tybura (246) vs. Serghei Spivac (234)
Brendan Allen (185.5) vs. Tom Breese (185)
Gabriel Silva (135.5) vs. Kyler Phillips (135.5)
Grant Dawson (149.5) vs. Darrick Minner (145.5)
Megan Anderson (145) vs. NoramDumot Viana (146)
Ion Cutelaba (204.5) vs. Magomed Ankalaev (204.5)
Felicia Spencer (145) vs. Zarah Fairn dos Santos (146)
Joseph Benavidez (124.5) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (127.5)
ESPN 2 will be airing the Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone PPV show on Sunday at 10 p.m., as well as the UFC Countdown for Adesanya vs. Romero (yes these are still on the air at 1 a.m.) late Sunday night.
Marlon Vera vs. Eddie Wineland has been added to the 3/28 show in Columbus, OH.
UFC announced the signing of undefeated bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov (12-0), the cousin of Khabib.
Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araujo for a 6/27 show in Austin, TX.
BetOnline has odds for Revolution:
Jon Moxley -140 vs. Chris Jericho -100
Nyla Rose -200 vs. Kris Statlander +150
Young Bucks -250 vs. Kenny Omega & Adam Page +170
MJF -180 vs. Cody +140
Jake Hager -300 vs. Dustin Rhodes +200
MISCELLANEOUS
With no shows this week, New Japan World will be replacing two long interview segments with Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi on Tuesday and Wednesday.
KSW announced its 3/21 main event from the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland with top draw Mariusz Pudzianowski (13-7) vs Qutentin Domingos (5-1). There will also be a welterweight title fight on that show with Roberto Soldic (17-3) vs. former Dream champion Marius Zaromskis (22-9).
Announced for the 4/2 Mark Hitchcock Memorial Super show by High Spots is Arez vs. Aramis vs. Laredo Kid vs Black Taurus. They will likely tear down the house.
D Sports has announced an Impact Sacrifice show for Impact + that will be taking place in India.
Wrestling Ontario Iron Cup on 4/25 in Burlington, ONT at 664 Spring Gardens Rd.
Britt Baker has been announced for the 6/13 to 6/15 World Series Wrestling tour of Australia (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
SKM on 3/27 in Hagersville, ONT at the Community Centre.
All Star Wrestling tomorrow night in Vancouver, BC at the Maritime Labour Centre with Vance Nevada vs. Thunder.
UCW Pro Wrestling on 3/7 in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Spryfield Loins Rink.
North Pro Canadian Wrestling on 3/14 in Riverview, New Brunswick at the Coverdale Centre featuring Too Cold Scorpio.
North Pro Canadian Wrestling tomorrow night in Sackville, Nova Scotia at the Sackville Heights Community Centre.
Pro Wrestling Unleashed on 3/6 at the Propeller Arcade in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Pro Wrestling Unleashed on 3/15 in Amherst, Nova Scotia at the Amherst Curling Club.
ECPW on 3/28 at the Reserve Mines Fire Hall in Reserve Mines, Nova Scotia.
Crossfire Wrestling on 3/21 for a 4 p.m. show at the Merritton Community Centre.
Thrash Wrestling tomorrow in Merritt, BC at 1701 Coldwater Ave.
All Star Wrestling on 4/24 in Langley, BC at the West Langley Community Hall headlined by Tyson Dux.
Pacific Pro Wrestling on 3/14 in Abbotsford, BC at the Abbotsford Arts Centre headlined by Vance Nevada.
All Star Wrestling on 3/7 in Surrey, BC at Sullivan Hall headlined by Randy Myers vs. Braydon Goss and Nicole Matthews vs. Bambi Hall.
Pro Wrestling Phoenix from last night in Omaha, NE: JC Slater b Omar Pachecco, K-Dos b Mack Riggs, Lars Metzger b Purple, Donnie Peppercricket & Con Artiest b Tony Cortez & Pat Powers-DQ, Paul & Joey Daniels b Set Kobara & Tim Boston in a body bag match, Brett Bishop b Nicky Scent, Jack Darling & Uncle Ricky b Duke Cornell & Moonshine Russell. Next show is 3/26 at the Waiting Room Lounge in Omaha.
WWE has revealed how Becky Lynch’s challenger for WrestleMania 36 will be determined.
It was announced via The Wrap this afternoon that Shayna Baszler, Asuka, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan will be the six participants in next month’s women’s Elimination Chamber match. The winner will challenge Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36.
Baszler is expected to be Lynch’s challenger for WrestleMania. She appeared on Raw last week and took part in an angle where she bit Lynch after Lynch retained her title against Asuka. Lynch refused to get in an ambulance, drove off in it herself, and then returned later in the show. She cut a promo where she told Baszler that she better find Lynch before Lynch finds her.
This year’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view is taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 8. The Wells Fargo Center is also advertising that there will be an Elimination Chamber match to decide who will challenge for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36.
Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida is hosting WrestleMania on April 5.
The Wells Fargo Center is advertising participants for next month’s Elimination Chamber event.
Earlier this afternoon, a tweet posted by the Wells Fargo Center Twitter account said that the headline match would be Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura, King Corbin, and Robert Roode in an Elimination Chamber match. The winner of the match would go on to face the Universal Champion at WrestleMania. WWE has yet to officially confirm the match.
The current Universal Champion is The Fiend Bray Wyatt. However, he has a title match against Goldberg at Crown Jewel later this month in Saudi Arabia. It is likely that the winner of this match would face the winner of the Elimination Chamber match.
The match would tie a number of feuds together. Braun Strowman defeated Shinsuke Nakamura last week to win the Intercontinental championship on SmackDown. Roman Reigns has been primarily feuding with Baron Corbin over the last several months, though Robert Roode and his tag team partner Dolph Ziggler have also been involved, associating themselves with Corbin.
Elimination Chamber will take place on March 8th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The show didn’t sell out, even in one of WWE’s best markets. The show had more good than bad, with the highlight being the main event, the men’s Chamber match where Daniel Bryan retained and the crowd got so strong behind Kofi Kingston in the Mustafa Ali slot that Vince McMahon changed plans for Fast Lane to put Bryan vs. Kingston on top.
The other highlight was the angle where Becky Lynch, on crutches from a house show angle shot the night before in Alexandria, LA, used the crutches to attack both Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey. Rousey had won a quick match over Ruby Riott. Lynch came in on crutches, and even on crutches and suspended, there was not even a storyline attempt to keep her from getting to the ring. She started attacking Flair with a crutch while Rousey just looked on. Then she attacked Rousey. There was an agreement regarding this angle that Rousey wanted Lynch to hit her as hard as she could, so she did.
While it had become expected leading into the announcement, that doesn’t make Kenny Omega joining All Elite Wrestling any less of a vital move for the start-up company.
Omega signing with AEW was confirmed at last week’s Double or Nothing ticket announcement party in Las Vegas. Omega signed a four-year deal that allows him to still wrestle for New Japan Pro Wrestling if he wants to (and if NJPW will have him). And in addition to his in-ring role, Omega will serve alongside Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks as an executive vice president of the promotion.
I don’t expect more than a few more weeks of this format of Observers.
WWE grossed $930,160,000 and turned a $98,719,000 profit in 2018, both company records. Last year the company set a revenue record of $800,959,000 and turned a $32,116,000 profit.
Pedro Morales, best known for his three-year run as WWWF champion from 1971-73, passed away on 2/12 at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, NJ, where he had been hospitalized for two weeks. He was 78 and had been battling Parkinson’s Disease for several years.
NJPW New Beginnings: As a legit shoot, while NJPW almost always sells out Edion Arena for big shows, they comped less and opened up more seats so this number was the highest since the 2015 show headlined by Hiroshi Tanhashi vs. A.J. Styles.
UFC 234 – Chaos erupted the day of UFC 234, the first UFC pay-per-view offering of 2019, at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, causing dramatic change unheard of when it comes to UFC pay-per-view events.
It is now official that Kenny has signed with AEW.
Mustafa Ali’s eyeball got busted open and really messed up after a Garvin stomp by Randy Orton on SD Tuesday night.
Dwayne Johnson said he was the first choice to host the Oscars this year. But he said he couldn’t make it work due to the timing of shooting the Jumanji sequel.
Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) will be making an appearance on a Nickelodeon series next month.
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
WWE
Kofi Kingston spoke backstage after being the last one eliminated in last night’s WWE title Elimination Chamber match.
Kingston tweeted after the match: “I wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the love and good vibes over the past week. Your support has been just overwhelming. Tonight didn’t go our way, but I believe that we are one step closer…”
Bayley and Sasha Banks also spoke backstage after becoming the new WWE Women’s tag team champions.
The Giant Baba Memorial show, with a main event featuring Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yoshitatsu taking on Kento Miyahara and Daisuke Sekimoto, will air on Samurai TV in Japan tomorrow morning starting at 4:30 a.m. eastern.
DDT wants your match ideas for a DDT Extreme Division Championship match between HARASHIMA and Muscle Sakai by March 10.
UFC/MMA
Nick Diaz made it clear he’s not interested in fighting anytime soon, writing on Instagram: “I’m no role model, I’m 35 years old, but I definitely wouldn’t advise anybody to take a fight for less than their worth or fight for free. Which is practically what I would be doing at this point in taking a fight with some of these guys that are not on my level. Nor would I be within my moral ethics to even do that aside from you not painting me as a role model. If there was an offer I couldn’t refuse, things would be different. Until they are – I’d like to continue to think I’ve been fighting to make the world a better place, but until I can continue to do that: ‘I don’t want to hurt nobody, I just want to party.’”
Audie Attar, Conor McGregor’s manager, has denied a story from Joe Rogan saying that a McGregor/Donald Cerrone fight was a “done deal”.
The Wrap reported that Sexy Star, real name Dulce Maria Garcia, will make her MMA debut for Combate Americas, the promotion backed by Alberto El Patron. She has a undefeated 5-0 record in boxing.
Following his loss last night (and also missing weight), Renan Barao’s coach said that this is his last fight at bantamweight.
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):
Sunday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!
Sasha Banks & Bayley, Finn Balor, and The Usos cut their first promos as new champions following their wins at Elimination Chamber.
Banks & Bayley won an Elimination Chamber match to become WWE’s first Women’s Tag Team Champions of this era. In their post-Elimination Chamber interview, they again stated that this is only the beginning and there’s more fighting for them to do.
Balor defeated Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush in a handicap match, then Lashley laid out Rush after Balor pinned Rush to win the Intercontinental title. The Usos became six-time Tag Team Champions in WWE, defeating Shane McMahon & The Miz to win the SmackDown Tag Team titles.
WWE also uploaded a seven-minute post-show interview with Kofi Kingston after he made it to the final two of the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match, with Kingston saying he got a little bit closer to becoming champion despite Daniel Bryan retaining the title.
The Miz and Maryse are expecting their second child.
Before the start of the SmackDown tag team title match at tonight’s Elimination Chamber event, The Miz introduced Maryse, who made the announcement. She made a similar announcement when she became pregnant for the first time.
Maryse would later gave birth to their first child, Monroe Sky, in March of last year. Although she managed the Miz at one point during his career, she has been mostly off the road since her first pregnancy.
The birth of Monroe Sky, as well as the events leading to it, was featured in the first season of Miz and Maryse’s reality show, Miz and Mrs. Shortly after the first season, which aired last summer, USA Network announced the show would be picked up for a second season that will air sometime this year.
Miz and Shane McMahon went on to lose the tag team titles to the Usos following the announcement, with the Usos becoming six time tag team champions.
In a potential preview of the WrestleMania 35 main event, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch all shared the ring together for an angle at Elimination Chamber.
Lynch appeared after Rousey retained her Raw Women’s Championship against Ruby Riott at the pay-per-view. Charlotte was at ringside for the match, and she got into the ring and went face-to-face with Rousey before Lynch made her way out through the crowd.
Lynch was on crutches after Charlotte targeted her knee during an angle at SmackDown’s house show in Alexandria, Louisiana on Saturday night. At Elimination Chamber, she attacked Charlotte with one of the crutches as Rousey watched on.
Rousey then picked up the other crutch. Lynch said she wanted Rousey to hit Charlotte with it, but Lynch attacked Rousey with her crutch when she went to do so. Lynch hit both with crutches until officials finally got her to stop.
Lynch smiled as security took her away. The side of Rousey’s head was bleeding from being hit by the crutch.
On last week’s Raw, Vince McMahon suspended Lynch for 60 days in storyline and claimed that Charlotte would instead challenge for Rousey’s title at WrestleMania.
Sasha Banks & Bayley are WWE’s first Women’s Tag Team Champions of this era.
Banks & Bayley became champions by winning Sunday night’s Women’s Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match. They started the match with Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville, and they were the two teams left at the end. Banks submitted Deville with the Banks Statement to win.
Charly Caruso interviewed Banks and Bayley in the ring after the match. The crowd chanted “You deserve it,” and Banks and Bayley said they were lost for words. Banks mentioned that no one knows how hard they fought to get the titles. She said they don’t just fight for themselves and the fans, they do it for everyone in the back and in the women’s division.
The Women’s Tag Team title match started off the Elimination Chamber main card. Naomi & Carmella were the first team to be eliminated, followed by Peyton Royce & Billie Kay, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan, Nia Jax & Tamina, and Rose & Deville.
While it had become expected leading into the announcement, that doesn’t make Kenny Omega joining All Elite Wrestling any less of a vital move for the start-up company.
Omega signing with AEW was confirmed at last week’s Double or Nothing ticket announcement party in Las Vegas. Omega signed a four-year deal that allows him to still wrestle for New Japan Pro Wrestling if he wants to (and if NJPW will have him). And in addition to his in-ring role, Omega will serve alongside Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks as an executive vice president of the promotion.
I don’t expect more than a few more weeks of this format of Observers.
WWE grossed $930,160,000 and turned a $98,719,000 profit in 2018, both company records. Last year the company set a revenue record of $800,959,000 and turned a $32,116,000 profit.
Pedro Morales, best known for his three-year run as WWWF champion from 1971-73, passed away on 2/12 at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, NJ, where he had been hospitalized for two weeks. He was 78 and had been battling Parkinson’s Disease for several years.
NJPW New Beginnings: As a legit shoot, while NJPW almost always sells out Edion Arena for big shows, they comped less and opened up more seats so this number was the highest since the 2015 show headlined by Hiroshi Tanhashi vs. A.J. Styles.
UFC 234 – Chaos erupted the day of UFC 234, the first UFC pay-per-view offering of 2019, at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, causing dramatic change unheard of when it comes to UFC pay-per-view events.
It is now official that Kenny has signed with AEW.
Mustafa Ali’s eyeball got busted open and really messed up after a Garvin stomp by Randy Orton on SD Tuesday night.
Dwayne Johnson said he was the first choice to host the Oscars this year. But he said he couldn’t make it work due to the timing of shooting the Jumanji sequel.
Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) will be making an appearance on a Nickelodeon series next month.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
WWE Elimination Chamber takes place tonight at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The card is as follows:
Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe vs. Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston in a Elimination Chamber match for the WWE title
Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville, The IIconics, Bayley & Sasha Banks and Naomi and Carmella in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Women’s tag team titles.
Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor in a handicap match for the WWE Intercontinental title
Ronda Rousey vs. Ruby Riott for the Raw women’s title
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin in a No DQ match
Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa for the WWE Cruiserweight title (pre-show)
Becky Lynch on Twitter went after the McMahons, writing “The McMahons are killing everything I’ve built, and they’re doing it week by week, and show by show. And even though I have NEVER ENDING knee issues, I will figure out a way to stay alive in all of this.”
A Mark Henry documentary will be streaming following WWE Elimination Chamber.
Shooting has wrapped for The Rock’s next movie, Hobbs & Shaw.
Pro Wrestling
Impact will wrap up tapings in Las Vegas tonight. According to PWInsider, former NXT star Sawyer Fulton was backstage during the last two days of taping. Luchasaurus also made his debut during the tapings.
This week’s MLW Fusion episode is now available on YouTube. It features Teddy Hart vs. MJF for the Middleweight title, Alexander Hammerstone vs. Ariel Dominguez, and Rich Swann vs. Ace Austin.
CZW has been adding names to their Best of the Best tournament on 3/2, which now include Anthony Greene and Gary Jay.
UFC/MMA
Jessica Penne, who was scheduled to fight Jodie Esquibel on tonight’s UFC show in Phoenix, is off the card following an injury. According to Ariel Helwani, she severely sprained her ankle this morning while warming up, and there will be no replacement fight.
This would make the 5,000th match in UFC history, barring any other change, Cynthia Calvillo vs. Courtney Casey.
If Kron Gracie were to get a win tonight, it would be the first Gracie win in the UFC since Royce defeated Dan Severn in 1994.
John Anik and Dominick Cruz will be commentating tonight’s UFC event.
Maurice Greene will replace Daniel Spitz, taking on Jeff Hughes at UFC Wichita on 3/9.
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):
Sunday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!
There are no real surprises when it comes to odds for Sunday’s Elimination Chamber matches.
Daniel Bryan is favored to retain the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber, while Sasha Banks & Bayley are favored to become the first WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions in nearly 30 years.
Based on betting odds, Kambi is looking at this as being a so-so show with only one great match, that being the men’s Chamber match.
The Miz & Shane McMahon vs. The Usos SmackDown Tag Team title match that was taken off the boards yesterday because of Jimmy Uso’s arrest is available again. Kambi has Miz & McMahon at -1000 favorites, while Sky Bet has them at -1600 and Paddy Power at -800. They are only -400 at 5 Dimes.
The current 5Dimes odds for other matches are —
WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match:
Bryan -505
AJ Styles +1150
Randy Orton +1250
Samoa Joe +1350
Kofi Kingston +1900
Jeff Hardy +2000
Women’s Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match:
Banks & Bayley -270
Nia Jax & Tamina +460
The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) +800
Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville +850
The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) +1300
Naomi & Carmella +2300
Ronda Rousey vs. Ruby Riott for the Raw Women’s Championship:
Rousey -4500
Riott +1500
Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor for the Intercontinental title:
Balor -140
Lashley & Rush +100
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin no DQ match:
Strowman -600
Corbin +400
Cruiserweight title match (pre-show):
Buddy Murphy -750
Akira Tozawa +450
Kambi’s over/under betting line for star ratings:
Murphy vs. Tozawa ***1/2
Strowman vs. Corbin **1/4
Lashley & Rush vs. Balor ***
Rousey vs. Riott ***1/4
Miz & McMahon vs. Usos ***1/4
Women’s Chamber **3/4
Men’s Chamber ****1/4
In picking for best match, the men’s Chamber is -400 and every other match is +250.
The Cruiserweight Championship will be on the line on Sunday’s Elimination Chamber pre-show.
WWE confirmed today that Buddy Murphy’s Cruiserweight title defense against Akira Tozawa will air on the Elimination Chamber pre-show. Murphy vs. Tozawa was announced earlier this month after Tozawa defeated Cedric Alexander, Humberto Carrillo, and Lio Rush in a number one contender’s fatal four-way elimination match on 205 Live.
Murphy also defended his title on the Royal Rumble and TLC pre-shows. He defeated Mustafa Ali on the Survivor Series main card prior to that.
Here’s the card for Elimination Chamber:
WWE Champion Daniel Bryan defending against AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton in an Elimination Chamber match
Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Peyton Royce & Billie Kay vs. Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan vs. Naomi & Carmella in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles
Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey defending against Ruby Riott
Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush defending against Finn Balor in a handicap match (Balor can win the title by pinning either Lashley or Rush)
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Shane McMahon & The Miz defending against The Usos
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin in a no DQ match
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy defending against Akira Tozawa (pre-show)
WWE has added a stipulation to one of the already announced matches for Elimination Chamber.
It was announced tonight that Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin at Sunday’s pay-per-view will now be a no disqualification match. WWE.com noted that the stipulation is “per the McMahon family.”
Strowman, Finn Balor & Kurt Angle defeated Corbin, Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre in a six-man tag match on Monday’s Raw, with Strowman hitting a powerslam on Lashley, tagging in Balor, and Balor hitting the Coup de Grace for the win. Balor will challenge for Lashley’s Intercontinental title in a handicap match on Sunday.
Strowman slammed Corbin and McIntyre on the steel steps after a match on the February 4 episode of Raw, which was the response to an angle where they had done the same thing to Strowman the previous week.
The Toyota Center in Houston, Texas is hosting Elimination Chamber on Sunday. Here’s the updated card:
WWE Champion Daniel Bryan defending against AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton in an Elimination Chamber match
Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Peyton Royce & Billie Kay vs. Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan vs. Naomi & Carmella in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles
Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey defending against Ruby Riott
Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush defending against Finn Balor in a handicap match (Balor can win the title by pinning either Lashley or Rush)
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Shane McMahon & The Miz defending against The Usos
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin in a no DQ match
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy defending against Akira Tozawa
