Charlie Dempsey will not return to NXT with the AJPW Triple Crown title.
He was defeated by champion Katsuhiko Nakajima on today’s New Year Giant Series show at Korakuen Hall. The match went 20 minutes and headlined the card.
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Charlie Dempsey – 03.01.2024 Could anyone have ever imagined that William Regal son would be performing in All Japan? Very proper in-ring work, reminiscent of the 70s. I think it did the match some good. You always have to start from the basic#ajpw#WWENXTpic.twitter.com/shcY0D9Nl2
#ajpw 's Katsuhiko Nakajima and #WWENXT 's Charlie Dempsey just put on a twenty minutes puroresu style match, strong style in it's purest, Dempsey went one on one against Nakajima without hesitation, but Nakajima connects a Northern Lights Bomb to retainhttps://t.co/M2rnSiOoNM
It was Dempsey’s third match on the tour. He teamed with top up-and-coming rookie Yuma Anzai on December 31 in a win over Tatsumi Fujinami and LEONA in his first match. Dempsey and Anzai then defeated Nakajima and Hideki Suzuki on Tuesday’s show.
Fumi Saito and I are back with another episode of the Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast.
This week, we discuss New Japan Pro Wrestling’s new president Hiroshi Tanahashi, including what he’ll do, his goals, his college background, and the fact that he’s actually the fourth wrestler to carry the title of NJPW president.
Plus, we talk the success of All Japan and why Fumi is not concerned about their new partnership with WWE NXT.
We’re coming up on Wrestle Kingdom next week and we also run down a number of shows running in Tokyo the next several days.
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Tuesday Update
WWE
Mr. Stone talked to PWInsider ahead of his match against Bron Breakker at NXT Halloween Havoc on Tuesday. “So, this you know, when I first heard getting back in the ring, the first thing is excitement,” he said. “You know, I can still do this. I’m still in great shape. I could get it done. But then when reality sets in, I am not going to lie that I’ve had my moments of okay, this is Bron Breakker. He’s, you know, almost half my age. He’s a former NXT world champion. He almost ended my best friend’s career, you know, is this the right guy that I should be going in the ring with? I don’t know but it’s happening. And you know now I’ve gotten to a point where I’m kind of empty minded about it. I’m just, I’m excited about it. I’m going to see what happens and I think I am going to be able to perform at my best. And I think, you know I think I’m gonna shock a lot of people.”
Sports Illustrated interviewed Shotzi about hosting Halloween Havoc. “Halloween means so much to me, I couldn’t miss it,” she said. “I’ve always been drawn to the spookier side of things. I’ve always loved horror movies, and I think I inherited that from my dad. I love this too much not to be involved.”
After leaving Pro Wrestling NOAH, Katsuhiko Nakajima appeared in AJPW and has issued a challenge for the Triple Crown Championship. The match was later made official for November 5 in Sapporo.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up:
Match and performer of the week for both of the past two weeks
The changes in WWE, Vince out of creative, how UFC and WWE are being treated differently
Showtime drops all sports programming and their entire sports department, both how in and of itself its a major story in boxing, MMA and could be in pro wrestling, but even more the trend that it shows
Stations still in the market for sports today
The ominous aspects of NBA current TV negotiations
Why boxing was dropped after such a great PPV year
A look back at the career of Sting after his retirement announcement
A look at his AEW run
His rise to the top in WCW
How his career got started
What person saw the potential in Sting the earliest
The famous 1988 Sting vs. Ric Flair match and how it changed his career trajectory
The multiple times Sting stepped away from wrestling
The TNA run
The WWE run
Power Team USA and Flash Borden
NWA on WB, the keys to this deal
Update on Crown Jewel and who isn’t scheduled right now on the show
The classic matches of 2023 Will Ospreay
New Japan Royal Quest and Power Struggle
Notes on last week’s UFC show
A look back at one of the most traveled enhancement star of the late 60s into the early 80s, Bill Howard
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling shows this past week, including segment-by-segment, competition and comparisons with a year ago
CMLL wrestlers traveling around the world
Two spectacular matches at Friday’s Arena Mexico show
Stardom opens tag tournament
One of AAA’s biggest stars likely not returning
Biggest woman promotion in the world at one time has a nostalgia reunion show coming in January
Chris Hero returns
What pro wrestling star of the 70s never lost a singles match in his entire career
AEW and CMLL relationship notes
Tony Khan’s tweets
Updates on ticket sales to WWE & AEW shows
International TV ratings and streaming numbers
UFC signs huge money international deal
UFC top star taking time off
Main event result in UFC overturned
Pat Miletich returns to fight at 55
Ari Emanuel criticized for working with Dana White, Vince McMahon and Conor McGregor
More on the Vince McMahon documentary
Completely exaggerated PPV claims
What percentage of Logan Paul buyers also buy AEW or WWE shows
WWE sells network rights internationally
Dynamite TV streak ends after two weeks
Notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events this past week
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 Update
We did our week in review show with Garrett Gonzales today with a heavy emphasis on the changing television business, along with doing questions and talking a lot about Sting, surprises, Reigns vs. LA Knight and more. Bryan and I will be back tomorrow which has Impact, UFC and Collision.
Georges St-Pierre who was going to come out of retirement for a grappling match on 12/14 in Las Vegas, two days before the final PPV show of the year, said he suffered a shoulder injury and is out of the match. He also said that the match was to be against Nick Diaz, and he said Diaz has a neck injury and had pulled out. St-Pierre said he doesn’t know if he’ll need surgery, and won’t for a few weeks. He said that he won’t be ready for that date but hopes they can do the match at a later date. He said the match agreed to was with Diaz all along, but also mentioned there were talks at different points about him doing a grappling match with Kamaru Usman, Demian Maia or Gilbert Burns.
Katsuhiko Nakajima had his last Korakuen Hall match for NOAH earlier today. Nakajima teamed with Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya to beat Masaaki Mochizuki & Manabu Soya & Daiki Inaba in the main event.
Smackdown tonight in San Antonio has Iyo Sky vs. Charlotte Flair for the WWE women’s title, Montez Ford vs. Santos Escobar, plus Logan Paul is in to shoot an angle for a match with Rey Mysterio over the U.S. title. Roman Reigns is not on tonight’s show. The show sold out in advance and they just added new seats. There will be more than 14,000 in attendance tonight.
The Mistico vs. Rocky Romero battle of Historic world champions in two different weight classes headlines Rampage tonight taped in Rosenberg, TX. The match is two out of three falls although neither championship title is at stake. This has become a very talked about match for both good and extremely bad reasons over the past few days, largely because of the amount of tickets the show drew after the Mistico announcement and people who somehow couldn’t handle this being the case. Hey, I was like this in 1993 when AAA ran at San Jose State University and I figured they’d be lucky to do 500 fans and then there were 5,000 fans there and it was like stepping into a different world where people were insane over every single character on the show. Also tonight is John Silver vs. Kip Sabian vs. Brother Zay–winner faces Orange Cassidy for the International title tomorrow night in Memphis, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs. Exodus Prime & Bryan Keith and Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho. Tony Khan also promised the announcement of a dream match for tomorrow night in Memphis will be made on Rampage tonight. If Memphis had 6,000 or more tickets sold, I’d say cool. But when they have so few sold, I’d think if there really was a dream match that is a difference maker, you’d want that info out ASAP.
Kinya Okada and Yasutaka Yano, who both vanished from NOAH in April, were charged with forcible indecency for inappropriately touching a woman in Sendai on 4/16 at 12:30 a.m. NOAH was on tour and had a show in that city the next day. The two didn’t wrestle on the show and never wrestled with the promotion again. (thanks to Gerard Di Trolio)
We are doing our poll this weekend on Impact Bound for Glory which takes place tomorrow night in Cicero, IL. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
The top matches for Bound for Glory are Alex Shelley vs. Josh Alexander for the Impact title, Trinity vs. Mickie James for the Knockouts title Chris Sabin vs. KENTA for the X title, Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz vs. Chris Bey & Ace Austin for the tag titles, Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly vs. Deonna Purrazzo & Tasha Steelz for the Knockouts tag titles, Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey and Rhino vs. Moose vs. PCO vs. Steve Maclin in a Monster’s Brawl match. There is also a Hall of Fame ceremony for Mike Tenay, Don West and Traci Brooks.
We also looking for reports on these shows:
Smackdown tonight in San Antonio (dark matches and off air notes only)
AEW Collision tomorrow night in Memphis (any matches or things that aren’t on the live show)
WWE house show tomorrow night in Edinburgh, TX
WWE house show Sunday night in Laredo, TX
We’re looking for results, finishes and other highlights to [email protected]
Impact last night did 71,000 viewers and an 0.01 in 18-49 against football and baseball.
UFC 294 is from Abu Dhabi which means the show starts at 10 a.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Pacific. It will air from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on ESPN+, and then the rest on ESPN + PPV:
ESPN + at 10 a.m. Eastern
Bruno Silva (186) vs. Shara Magomedov (186)
Jinh Yu Frey (116) vs. Vikitoriya Dudakova (116.6) – Dudakova missed weight by 0.6 pounds
Nathaniel Wood (146) vs. Muhamad Naimov (145.5)
Mike Breeden (159.5) vs. Anshul Jubli (155.5) – Breeden missed weight by 3.5 pounds
Abu Azaitar (186) vs. Sedriques Dumas (186)
Javid Basharat (136) vs. Victor Henry (136)
Mohammad Yahya (156) vs. Trevor Peek (155.5)
Tim Elliott (126) vs,. Muhammad Mokaev (126)
PPV at 2 p.m. Eastern
Said Nurmagomedov (136) vs. Muin Gafurov (135.5)
Ikram Aliskerov (186) vs. Warrley Alves (185.5)
Magomed Ankalaev (206) vs. Johnny Walker (205)
Kamaru Usman (184.5) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (185.5)
Islam Makhachev (155) vs. Alexander Volkanovski (154.5) for the lightweight title
New Japan Super Juniors tag league starts at 4 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning from Kumagaya:
Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita vs. TJP & Francesco Akira
Kushida & Kevin Knight vs,. Douki & Taka Michinoku
Ryusuke Taguchi & The DKC vs. Desperado & Master Wato
Yoh & Musashi vs Clark Connors & Dan Moloney
Titan & Bushi vs. Sho & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Today would have been the 65th birthday of Scott Hall.
A documentary on pro wrestling referees called “The Ref Didn’t See It” will be coming out soon. We’ll have more info going forward. Interviewed for the documentary include Earl Hebner, Bill Alfonso, Tommy Dreamer, Kevin Sullivan, Cameron Adamson and Emily Parker.
Combate Global announced its final show of the year will be 12/17 on Univision and Paramount +. Patrick Lehane (5-2) of Ireland faces Roberto Romero (7-2-1) of Mexico in an Ireland vs Mexico battle. The show is called Ireland vs. Mexico and is being sponsored by Conor McGregor’s Irish Stout beverage. It will be a rare Sunday night show for the promotion.
Mansoor is auctioning memorabilia and donating $4,000 for medicine, food and water into blockaded Gaza. He’s selling gear worn in WWE matches with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Middle East Children’s Alliance.
TNT Extreme Wrestling is joining the Demand Progress Plus streaming service. It is the first of what they expect to be many promotions added to the service. It has a nearly full catalogue of Progress shows from the past.
The New York Wrestling Connection runs 10/28 at The Space in Westbury, NY with Tommy Dreamer, Mikey Whipwreck, Tony Mamaluke, Mike Mondo, Alex Reynolds, John Silver, Tracy Williams and more. There will be both a meet and greet and a wrestling show as well as a 6 p.m. Hall of Fame ceremony before the start of the card.
Wrestle Queendom from EVE on 11/19 in Tufnell Park at the Dome in London has shows at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. with Miyu Yamashita vs. Safire Reed for the Eve championship in the main event. They also run 11/10 in Walthamslow, London at The Big Penny Social with Max the Impaler, Masha Slamovich, Konami, Nina Samuels, Emersyn Jayne and Session Moth Martina.
Empire State Wrestling on 11/17 at the Riverworks in Buffalo with Heath and Chris Adonis as the headliners.
A solo edition of The Big Audio Nightmare is back sans Mike Sempervive this week to talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese professional wrestling.
This week’s topics include:
The WWE Abema TV deal and it means, and doesn’t mean, for the future of wrestling in Japan
Thoughts on Katsuhiko Nakajima’s departure from Pro Wrestling NOAH
Where Nakajima may end up and what the best fit would be
A review of Stardom’s 5 Star GP Final PPV
Stardom’s injury bug, how it can be avoided in the future, and how they get through it
It looks like there’s mutual interest between AEW and Katsuhiko Nakajima.
Nakajima, a two-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, announced last week that he’s departing Pro Wrestling NOAH. Nakajima’s final NOAH match will take place in his hometown of Fukuoka on Saturday, October 28.
At AEW’s post-WrestleDream media scrum, Tony Khan was asked about the possibility of bringing Nakajima in. Khan said he’s interested in Nakajima, and he’s heard Nakajima is interested in AEW as well.
“I am interested. And I’ve heard he’s interested too,” Khan responded. “Nakajima – very talented. And I think that would be great. He’d be a great fit here. I’ve heard he’s interested in coming. And we’d be interested in having him. Something to consider.”
In his final NOAH match, Nakajima will team with Go Shiozaki against Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura.
Nakajima is also a former GHC Tag Team Champion, National Champion, and Junior Heavyweight Champion.
In 2016, Nakajima was an entrant in NJPW’s G1 Climax tournament.
Katsuhiko Nakajima, one of the top stars of Pro Wrestling NOAH, is leaving the company.
NOAH announced Nakajima’s departure on Monday night in a press release. His final match in the company will be in October.
“We would like to announce that Katsuhiko Nakajima, a member of Pro Wrestling NOAH, will terminate his contract with the company at the end of September,” the statement says. “Katsuhiko Nakajima will have his last NOAH match on October 20 (Fri.) at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and October 28 (Sat.) at Fukuoka International Center in Fukuoka.”
Nakajima’s last match at Korakuen Hall for NOAH will have him team with Go Shiozaki and Masa Kitamiya against Masaaki Mochizuki, Manabu Soya, and Daiki Inaba. His last match in the company overall on October 28 will have him team with Go Shiozaki against Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura.
Nakajima has spent most of his career in NOAH, dating back to 2005. During his time in the company, he’s held the GHC Heavyweight title on two occasions and the GHC Junior Heavyweight title three times.
This week’s two-hour Big Audio Nightmare is back to talk about everything happening in the world of Japanese professional wrestling — dominated this week by the NJPW G1 Climax tournament.
Topics include:
In-depth analysis of each night of the G1 Climax 33 so far
The impact of such a large G1 field on show quality
The utterly fascinating G1 A Block and how each young star has fared
Thoughts on the incredible Kento Miyahara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima in NOAH
A full review of night 1 of Stardom’s 5Star Grand Prix
A new GHC Heavyweight Champion was crowned this morning in Nagoya.
Kazuyuki Fujita defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima to win the championship for the first time, pinning Nakajima after connecting with a soccer kick and a beast bomb. After the match, Masato Tanaka came out and poured beer over Fujita, challenging him for the championship.
This marks the end of Nakajima’s 136 day reign as GHC Heavyweight Champion, defeating Naomichi Marufuji at Grand Square 2021 back on October 10. He had successfully defended the championship twice during that period, defeating Masato Tanaka on October 30 and Masa Kitamiya on January 16.
Also on the card, Daisuke Harada successfully defended the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against Super Crazy. New GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions were crowned, as Atsushi Kotoge and YO-HEY defeated HAYATA and Yuya Susumu.
Hideki Suzuki, who was released from WWE back on January 5, appeared in a video during tonight’s show and announced he would be teaming with Takashi Sugiura in a future GHC Heavyweight Tag Team title tournament.
Katsuhiko Nakajima has recaptured the NOAH GHC Heavyweight title.
Nakajima defeated Naomichi Marufuji this morning at NOAH’s Grand Square event to win the championship for a second time. The finish had both men striking each other inside the ring. Nakajima cut off Marufuji with a death valley driver, then connected with a spike brainbuster to win the championship.
After the bout, Nakajima cut a promo saying that winning the GHC title was not enough. Masato Tanaka came out to challenge him, saying Nakajima hasn’t beaten him up yet. Nakajima accepted the challenge, saying he will “eat him up deliciously”. He ended the promo by saying a new era has taken shape, and that he was NOAH.
Nakajima had won the N1 Victory tournament on October 3, defeating Kenoh in the finals to earn tonight’s GHC Heavyweight title match. Nakajima is the first person to win the N1 Finals back-to-back, defeating Kaito Kiomiya in the finals of last year’s tournament.
WWE’s Extreme Rules show on 9/26 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH was decent. Most of the matches were good, but there was nothing blow away.
The show was built around two bouts, Roman Reigns vs. Demon Finn Balor for the Universal title and Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair for the women’s title. Both had gimmicked finishes.
The Demon match ended with Demon ont the top rope when the top rope suddenly collapsed and he fell into the ring injured, and got pinned by a spear. The bout had been the most exciting on the show, but at one point the idea was that Demon had died. Then his music played and he acted as though he was resurrected, and in fact, that was the verbiage used, and he made a comeback until the rope broke.
In the Smackdown women’s title match, Belair powered out of the disarmer and set up the KOD when Sasha Banks ran into attack Belair for the DQ. Banks also laid out Lynch after the match to set up a three-way program.
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
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking G-1, WWE draft and other news topics. I did a show last night with Gonzalez talking about all the news of the week and the business situation in the U.S. You can send questions to the show tonight to [email protected]
Not a lot of mainstream interest in stuff this week with no major UFC or boxing events. The UFC show yesterday ranked No. 15 in Google searches at 50,000. Kevin Holland earlier today had 20,000 and ranked No. 6. On Wednesday, Manny Pacquiao cracked the list at 50,000 for his filing to run for President of the Philippines. On Tuesday, Jon Jones was No. 13 at 50,000 when more details came out on his arrest. Ronda Rousey was No 15 at 50,000 for her announcing the birth of her first child.
We’re looking for your thoughts on today’s G-1 Climax show at Dolphins Arena in Nagoya, thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]. We’re also looking for reports on tonight’s WWE house show in Lexington, KY.
G-1 tomorrow at 5:30 a.m. from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo has:
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chase Owns
Evil vs. Tama Tonga
Taichi vs. Jeff Cobb
Hirooki Goto vs. Yoshi-Hashi
Kazuchika Okada vs Sanada
The one thing from today’s show everyone is raving about, besides the Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre and Shingo Takagi vs. Kota Ibushi matches is evidently the post-match of Ishii vs. Sabre was something to behold.
Raw tomorrow is the draft. On last night’s show, we talked about possible stuff they could be doing for Raw. The big angle is that Paul Heyman is supposed to manipulate to get the Usos to Smackdown, and if not, Roman Reigns has ordered the Usos to leave him for dead.
In last night’s UFC main event, all three judges gave Thiago Santos rounds 2, 3 and 5 and gave Johnny Walker 1 and 4, so Santos got straight 48-47 scores.
On FOX today stations at different times are airing a WWE special building up the King of the Ring tournament.
Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Kenou to win the N-1 tournament today at Korakuen Hall. People were raving about this match. Nakajima will challenge GHC champion Naomichi Marufuji for the title on 10/10 in Osaka. That show also announced Kaito Kiyomiya & Kenou vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Keiji Muto.
WWE results from San Juan, PR last night:
Dominik Mysterio b Jinder Mahal
Shotzi & Nox b Natalya & Tamina
Keith Lee b Drew Gulak
Finn Balor & Drew McIntyre & Cesaro b Roman Reigns &* Usos
Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo b Mace & T-Bar
Charlotte Flair b Rhea Ripley to keep Raw women’s tile
Damien Priest b Sami Zayn to keep U.S. title
Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio had been advertised as the main event for the Universal title. We don’t have confirmation of why Rey Mysterio wasn’t on the show. (thanks to Ed Luis Valentin)
AEW
AEW for 11/10 in Indianapolis topped what they drew for the 2019 show in the city on the first day tickets were put on sale to the public, topping 4,200. (thanks to William Zdon)
The movie “Queenpins” which stars Paul Walter Hauser, Vince Vaughn and Kristen Bell, will have AEW references. Digital Spy reported that the movie was scripted to have WWE references. Hauser said that when he signed on, he told the people doing the movie that he was friends with Tony Khan and could probably get them a better deal on licensing and images and they agreed to it
OTHER NEWS
UWN from last night on PPV from Commerce, CA with the finals of the UWN title tournament that dates back two years: Juicy Finau won three-way over Vinny Massaro and Honest John, Blake Troop b Jordan Clearwater, David Finlay b Will Allday, Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks & Alex Coughlin b Kevin Martinson & Rust Taylor & Daniel Garcia, Ruby Race b Vita Van, Midnight Heat b Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas, Chris Dickinson b Mike Bennett to win the UWN title.
Nicole Savoy said that she suffered a bruised sternum in her match at the MLW tapings in Philadelphia last night.
The defunct 2CW promotion in upstate New York ran a reunion show last night in Syracuse, NY geared around paying tribute to Jon Huber, who was one of the groups top stars. The show is available free on YouTube and includes Thunder Rosa vs. Mercedes Martinez and Alex Shelley vs Davey Richards. The main event of Nick Ando & Cloudy, who were friends of Huber, against Stu Grayson & Evil Uno. The lights went out and when they came back on, -1 was in the ring to a huge pop and used a low blow and assisted chair shot to help Uno & Grayson win. (thanks to Ross Blair)
WrestleMax from Friday night in Affton, MO: Eli Rossi & ATM b Zay Washington & Aaron Roberts, Darian Bengstron b Rahim de la Suede, Brooke Valentine b Tootie Lynn Ramsey, Edvin Kudic b Moses the Deliverer, Kevin Lee Davidson b Graham Bell, JDX b Kevin Blackwood, Laynie Luck b Blair Onyx, Mike Outlaw b Camaro Jackson, Minoru Suzuki b Calvin Tankman (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Stand Alone Pro Wrestling on 10/9 in Lacey Township, NJ at the High School with a battle for the promotion and BWO name. Alex Hammerstone and Anthony Greene are on the show.
Trey Miguel vs. Jonathan Gresham for the Warrior title and Aramis vs. Rey Horus vs. Gringo Loco for the Lucha title headline for Warrior Wrestling on 10/16. The show features an appearance by Bret Hart and a loaded show with Buddy Mathews, Davey Richards, Moose, Alex Shelley, Josh Alexander and Sam Adonis.
Minoru Fujita has been hospitalized so his challenge for DDT Universal champion Daisuke Sasaki scheduled for 10/12 at Korakuen Hall is being moved back.
Pro Wrestling Epic from last night in Affton, IL: Pisto Balderas b Arrow, Blake Steel b Dallas Taylor, Doug E. Best won Battle Royal, Johnathan Zulu b Fletch Malone, Barackus &* Nasty Juan Sanchez & Santa Chiva b Johny Blade & Chucky Bates & Jesus de la Rosa, Thom Latimer b Kendall Beck, PT Beckham b Tommy Davis, Berserker b Leone Mephisto, Jeff Gant b Benjamin Trust, Kamille won three-way over Allysin Kay and Melanie Cruise (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
A look at the issues involving the firing of Thea Budgen aka Zelina Vega, as well as a number of historical stories regarding issues with talent and management is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We explain why the ending was inevitable based on the circumstances, look at WWE and SAG AFTRA, Andrew Yang, Gabrille Carteris and the different players involved in the story. We look at what wrestlers and fighters earn as compared to other top athletes and why the discrepancy, what the Saudi Arabia flight story showed, what is fair for WWE to do and what isn’t, complaints by talent regarding an exemption, as well as a number of historical stories related to the topic that feature such names as Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Superstar Billy Graham, Ivan Koloff (twice), Johnny Valentine and many others.
Also in this issue:
Update to the Survivor Series card with changes and injury notes.
WWE’s move to Tropicana Field in a few weeks.
New Japan’s Super Juniors and tag team tournaments, this week’s schedule and updates.
Seth Rollins’ schedule, Alexa Bliss engagement, NXT Takeover notes, lots of WWE injury updates, Undertaker answers retirement questions, Miz talks why he moved to Texas, description of new President Nick Khan, how WWE & AEW did compared to other sports this past week, WWE and AEW ratings in Canada and England, WWE market value and the most-watched shows on the WWE Network for the past week.
Saturday’s UFC show, the background and match-by-match coverage.
Dragon Gate’s Kobe World show, the biggest show of the year from Japan’s second largest company.
Why television networks should be interested in purchasing UFC or WWE outright as far as a long-term investment that will pay off in the long run.
Television business, with ratings breakdowns in every segment for Wednesdays and every category for other shows, looking at stats not available elsewhere to get the deepest read into how shows are doing, what categories are doing well and how shows compare with previous weeks and one year ago.
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.
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Survivor Series, more on UFC, and taking e-mail questions that can be sent to mailbag@wrestlingobserver
Mike Johnson has reported names like Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Edge, Big Show, Dennis Knight, Mark Caterbury, Rikishi, Tim White, Kurt Angle, Glenn “Kane” Jacobs, Savio Vega and Charles “Godfather” Wright are in town tonight for Survivor Series. Whether this is for a private party for Undertaker or whether they will appear on television is not known, but tonight’s show is built around the 30th anniversary and final appearance of The Undertaker. Sami Zayn on Smackdown teased being the one to take a choke slam. One would think some if not all would be part of a larger in-ring ceremony.
Survivor Series is tonight and some thoughts on the show:
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre – On paper this should be a very good match. One would expect a gimmicked finish because I don’t see either losing cleanly right now. The angle on Smackdown with the contract signing was strong because it was more believable than most in that situation. Reigns was a -260 favorite at 5Dimes.
Asuka vs. Sasha Banks – Another strong match on paper. No reason it shouldn’t be great. Carmella getting involved is a possibility giving the angles on Smackdown of late. However Banks is a -150 favorite.
Team Raw of Braun Strowman & A.J. Styles & Sheamus & Keith Lee & Riddle vs. Team Smackdown of Kevin Owens & Jey Uso & King Corbin & Seth Rollins & Otis. The Raw team looks stronger on paper but they’ve been doing dissension angles. The key when you look at this is who would the company want to protect right now. The key would be someone who McIntyre could face next, which would Strowman, Styles or Sheamus. That’s why Team Raw is -185 favorites.
Team Raw of Lana & Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax & Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce vs. Team Smackdown of Bayley & Natalya & Liva Morgan & Ruby Riott & Bianca Belair. The Smackdown team is better but Jax & Baszler are booked strong and the Smackdown team as far as booking strong you’ve got Bayley & Belair. Probably based on even-steven with the two matches Team Smackdown is a -190 favorite.
Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn. A battle of heels. Zayn is a great worker and Lashley can be in a great match, but I could also see Lashley just winning him over. Lashley is a -305 favorite.
New Day vs. Street Profits. This is pretty much a unique match that I don’t expect to see again for a long time. If it’s me, Street Profits go over because it’s even-Steven with Lashley and they are the new team on the rise. Street Profits are slight -130 favorites. I expect a great match here.
Raw vs. Smackdown Battle Royal. Probably like every T-shirt Battle Royal. Not looking good. The favorites are Big E (+140), Lars Sullivan (+175), Daniel Bryan (+625), Ali (+625) and Miz (+850).
There’s enough good going in with Reigns vs. McIntyre, Asuka vs. Banks and New Day vs. Street Profits plus the elimination match with the men is probably going to be strong enough that it looks like a good show at this point. We’re taking polls tonight on this show and last night’s UFC 255, so thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
Also want to mention Bryan Alvarez is doing a fundraiser tonight for Jay Dumont on Twitch right after Survivor Series. Jay is a friend of everyone here and he’s been dealt a bad hand is again one of the reasons I’m such a supporter for health care like in so many other countries.
New Japan runs in Gunma at 4 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning on New Japan World with the junior heavyweight tournament:
Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata & Gabriel Kidd
The Daily Mail has a story on Chris Hemsworth in the Hulk Hogan movie. Bryan Alvarez is quoted in it.
UFC
UFC 255 did 200,000 searches on Google, which is the lowest number for a PPV show in a long time. That makes sense because this show was the weakest in star power and it would be a shock if this wasn’t the lowest number of buys for a UFC PPV show this year. It was the fourth most searched topic yesterday. It was the only thing in combat sports that made the list all week although Survivor Series should do 500,000 or more today.
The next UFC PPV show, on 12/12, isn’t likely to do much better. With Petr Yan pulling out of his welterweight title defense against Aljamain Sterling for reasons not yet revealed, the new main event will put last night’s main event winner, Deiveson Figuieredo defending his flyweight title for the second time in three weeks against Brandon Moreno. Both men took no real damage in scoring first round wins last night.
Anderson Silva is making it very clear he will fight again and said that UFC forced him to retire. He is now a free agent and the question becomes what promotion he will sign with.
OTHER
It took years, but Phil LaFon finally talked about his friendship with Doug Furnas at the 44:00 mark. Furnas & LaFon were one of the best tag teams in history and many feel their Match of the Year winner in 1992 with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Kenta Kobashi is one of the greatest tag team matches ever.
People are raving about today’s Go Shiozaki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima match that headlined NOAH’s big show. FITE TV has the show in English.
Former ROH owner and current ambassador Cary Silkin was interviewed in a story about the final day in the life of John Belushi. (thanks to Denis Gorman)
A look at how WWE & AEW are handling things like the reopening of Florida, and how Texas looks to be the place MMA companies will go to as far as putting fans in buildings is the lead story in the new issue of the Observer.
We look at the current planned date and place for WrestleMania, what sports are now allowed to do as far as live events in Florida, AEW’s current plans going forward and the new regulations in Texas.
The new issue also covers:
The Samantha Tavel lawsuit against WWE, Matt Riddle, Evolve and Gabe Sapolsky. We look at the claims and look at both sides of the story and stories that have changed. We also look at the strategy of involving WWE i the case, WWE responds to the suit, and go through the time lines and how they differ and wording of the suit. We also go through the background of the case.
History of the non-relationship of NJPW and AEW. We look at how it started, why there was heat, how the ouster of Howard Meij could change things, as well as why there were so many mentions of NJPW on this past week’s AEW show. We look at what happened in January 2019 that caused issues between the two sides, the issues with how talent was handled on the way out, and what would be the first sign if relations started opening up.
WWE draft.
G-1 tournament. We go through what style of wrestlers have been helped and hurt by the current no-cheer, no-boo environment, who has been able to get a reaction, the standings, this week’s matches, plans for the rest of the year in New Japan, plus coverage with star ratings and poll results from every show.
NXT Takeover, the show background, match-by-match coverage and poll results on the show.
Updates on the sports rights fees business and where wrestling fits in, Paige’s tweet about unions, Stephanie McMahon gets major praise, new member of WWE Board of Directors, Drew McIntyre vs. Tyson Fury update, one year anniversary of Smackdown on FOX, more on John Cena’s debut in Fast & Furious, new season of Miz & Mrs. and the time slot, Angel Garza injury update, new A&E specials on pro wrestlers coming next year, more WWE injuries, WWE UK direction, wrestling placings in sports ratings and UK rating s for WWE & AEW, Jack Gallagher talks his being released, college heavyweight wants to be managed by Pual Heyman, Miz working on a new television show, WWE new developmental signings, WWE injury updates, WWE market value and the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
This past Saturday’s UFC show.
Bushiroad’s attempt at a major Stardom show this past week.
Rundown of charting the place-winners in the key Observer awards and how it relates to the Hall of Fame.
A feature on the team of Penny Banner & Lorraine Johnson, who were known for decades as being the greatest women’s tag team in pro wrestling with the death this past week of Johnson.
What sports events did the best in viewers per home while talking about AEW setting its company record in that category this week.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Our weekend show covering the WWE draft and G-1 is up on the site right now. We’ve got a ton of inside stuff regarding the draft including some picks that were scheduled as of Friday and why.
Yesterday’s G-1 show in Osaka may have been the best wrestling card of the year. For in-ring quality of matches it was.
The G-1 is back Tuesday in Shizuoka for its final week with an A card show with:
Yuya Uemura vs. Gabriel Kidd
Jeff Cobb vs. Will Ospreay
Kota Ibushi vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi
Minoru Suzuki vs Jay White
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii
After today’s show, Evil and Tetsuya Naito are tied for first in the B block at 5-2, with Hirooki Goto, Sanada and Zack Sabre Jr. at 4-3. We’re taking polls on the Thursday, Saturday and today’s G-1 shows, with thumbs up, down or middle, best & worst match to [email protected]
Also yesterday the Joaquin Buckley knockout of Impa Kasanganay is being talked about as one of the greatest in UFC history. There was another incredible knockout yesterday where 40-year-old Mamed Khalidov won the KSW middleweight title over Scott Ashkam in :36 in a show from Lodz, Poland.
Nothing that happened in combat sports this week had any real mainstream attention. The only thing all week from the Google search list was Buckley at No. 12 this morning but that was 20,000 searches. Yesterday’s UFC show didn’t even make the top 20. Nothing from boxing or pro wrestling did all week.
Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Kaito Kiyomiya today to win the N-1 tournament. This leads to Nakajima getting a shot at GHC champion Go Shiozaki on 11/22 in Yokohama at the Budokan.
Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport at 7 p.m. Eastern tonight on FITE TV:
Jon Moxley vs. Chris Dickinson
Homicide vs. Tom Lawlor
Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Josh Alexander
Simon Grimm vs. Matt Makowski
Alexander James vs. Calvin Tankman
Erk Hammer vs. Grizzly Kal Jak
Allysin Kay vs. Killer Kelly
Lindsay Snow vs. Leyla Hirsch
Chael Sonnen will manage Jak.
WWE
The Fox WWE year-in-review special (yes, we’re in October but they are doing a season-to-season thing where the year ends at the end of September) that aired today on FOX around NFL broadcasts, meaning it will get a giant rating, will be replayed Wednesday at 4 a.m. on FS1.
MISCELLANEOUS
All Japan announced these teams for the tag team tournament that starts 11/18
Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama
Zeus & Shigehiro Irie
Jake Lee & Koji Iwamoto
Shotaro Ashino& Kuma Arashi
Ryoji Sai & Yoshitatsu
Masato Tanaka & Tajiri
Daisuke Sekimoto & Abdullah Kobayashi
Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi
Freelance Wrestling from yesterday in Indianapolis: Isaias Velasquez b Lee Moriarity, Danhausen & Warhorse b Ruffo & Yabbo-DQ, Robert Anthony b Effy to win the Legacy title, Blake Christian won over Storm Grayson, Elayna Black, Alex Zayne, August Matthews and Davey Bang, Laynie Luck b Faye Jackson, Shane Mercer won three-way over Ethan Page and Colby Corino, Kylie Rae b Josh Alexander to retain the Freelance title.
Joey Janela’s Spring Break from yesterday in Indianapolis: Rickey Shane Page b Marcus Mathers, Orange Cassidy b Rickey Shane Page, KTB & Shane Mercer b Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz, Jonathan Gresham b Lee Moriarty, Chris Dickinson & Ortiz & Santana b Jordan Oliver & Alex Zayne & Blake Christian, Tony Deppen b Alex Shelley, Lio Rush b ACH, Ricky Morton b Joey Janela, Nate Webb won the Cluster, Alex Colon b Matt Tremont in a death match
Effy’s Big Gay Brunch from yesterday: Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo b AC Mack & Ashton Starr, Still Life b Dark Starr, Manders & Levi Everett & Mance Warrner & Matthew Justice b Billy Dixon & MV Young & Josh Wavra & O’Shay Edwards, Jamie Senegal b Allie Kat, Devon Monroe won Twins gauntlet, Marko Stunt b Effy, Cassandro b Sonny Kiss
Game Changer Wrestling from yesterday in Indianapolis: Mike Outlaw won four-way over Timmy Lou Retton, Hoodfood and Zay Washington, JTG b Trey Miguel, PB Smooth & Tre Lamar won over Christian Casanova & Tasha Steelz and Angel Dorado & Air Wolf, Trish Adora b Suge D, Calvin Tankman b O’Shay Edwards, Willow Nightingale won over Marti Belle, Devon Monroe and Faye Jackson, AJ Gray b Dezmond Xavier, Lee Moriarty b ACH, AR Fox b 2 Cold Scorpio
AIW from yesterday in Indianapolis: Daniel Rockingham over Zack Thomas, Derek Dillinger and Pretty Boy Smooth, Danhausen b Mordecai, Erick Stevens b Dominic Garrini, Eric Taylor & Mikey Montgomery b Allie Kat & Levi Everett, Tre Lamar won over Lee Moriarty and Alex Shelley, Mance Warner b Mr. Brickster, Tom Lawlor b Ethan Page, Philly Collins & Marino Tenaglia b Colin Delaney & Cheech 2/3 falls to win tag titles, Joshua Bishop b Matthew Justice in a no rope barbed wire match for Absolute & Intense titles
Jarochita & Lluvia won the B block in the Mexican national women’s tag title tournament and will face Amapola & Metalica in the tournament finals on Friday night at Arena Mexico. The planned Volador Jr. vs. Bandido NWA welterweight title match from the anniversary show that was postponed when Bandido tested positive for COVID, takes place on Friday as well.
CWE announced that its 11/4 event in Oak Lake,Manitoba has been canceled due to the local health inspector not allowing the show, saying that he didn’t believe wrestling fans would follow the guidelines and ordered the promotion to hire government officials to make sure guidelines were kept that weren’t within the budget. The next show is 10/17 in Gladstone, Manitoba and they have a 10/22 show in Calgary and 10/23 event in Red Deer, Alberta. The Calgary main event is Johnny Devine vs Cody Mac.
