Tag: liz carmouche

Daily Update: McGregor/Cerrone, Liz Carmouche, Josh Barnett

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

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

  • Ultimo Dragoncito & Shockercito vs. Pierrothito & Mercurio
  • Los Cancerberos vs Drone & Stigma & Fuego
  • Esfinge & Guerrero Maya Jr. & Rey Cometa vs. Hechicero & Polvora & Vangellys
  • Templario vs. Audaz
  • Angel de Oro & Titan & Valiente vs. Cuatrero & Forastero & Felino
  • Volador Jr. & Diamante Azul & Caristico vs. Gilbert El Boricua & Negro Casas & Ultimo Guerrero

BELLATOR SALUTE TO THE TROOPS TONIGHT AT 10 P.M. EASTERN FROM THE BLAISDELL CENTER ARENA IN HONOLULU ON PARAMOUNT NETWORK

  • Joey Davis (170.3) vs. Chris Cisneros (170.7)
  • Tywan Claxton (145.6) vs. Braydon Akeo (145.6)
  • Alejandra Lara (126.8) vs. Veta Arteaga (125.7)
  • Toby Minsch (141.4) vs. Erik Perez (135.2)
  • Josh Barnett (251.6) vs. Ronny Markes (250)

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+

  • Ryan Benoit (10-5) vs. Heili Alateng (13-7-1)
  • Amanda Lemos (6-1-1) vs. Miranda Gragner (5-0)
  • Said Nurmagomedov (13-1) vs. Raoni Barcleos (14-1)
  • Matt Schenll (14-4) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (21-4)
  • Omar Morales (8-) vs. Dong Hyun Ma (16-10-3)
  • Seungwoo Choi (7-3) vs. Suman Oktaran (8-1)
  • Ciryl Gane (5-0) vs. Tanner Boser (17-5-1)
  • Liu Pingyuan (13-6) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (16-8)
  • Jun Yong Park (10-4) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (11-3
  • Mike Rodriguez (10-4) vs. Da Un Jung (12-2)
  • Charles Jourdain (9-2) vs. Doo Ho Choi (14-3)
  • Aleksander Rakic (12-1) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (16-4)
  • Chan Sung Jung (15-5) vs. Frankie Edgar (23-7-1)

NEW JAPAN FROM TOKYO KORAKUEN HALL EARLY SATURDAY AT 4:30 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Togi Makabe & Tiger Mask & Yuya Uemura vs. Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi & Yota Tsuji
  • Sho & Yoh & Robbie Eagles vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
  • Sanada & Bushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
  • Hirooki Goto & Juice Robinson & David Finlay & Toa Henare vs. KENTA & Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
  • Will Ospreay & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Evil & Hiromu Takahashi
  • Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi vs. Jay White & Chase Owens
  • Jushin Liger & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi & Rocky

BELLATOR SATURDAY NIGHT FROM THE BLAISDELL CENTER ARENA AT 10 P.M. EASTERN ON DAZN

  • Nainoa Dung (155.7) vs. Zach Zane (155.9)
  • Cheyden Leialoha (135.7) vs. Raufeon Shots (135.7)
  • Bruna Ellen (125.8) vs. Julianna Velasquez (125.1)
  • Jason Jackson (170.6) vs. Kiichi Kunimito (170-.1)
  • A.J. McKee (144.6) vs. Derek Campos (144.9) in the featherweight tournament
  • Ilima-lei Macfarlane (124.8) vs. Kate Jackson (124.4) for the flyweight title

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.

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

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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

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..

WWE

  • Adam Copeland (Edge) has said he is still not medically cleared to wrestle.
  • NXT has gotten back on television in France on la chaine L’equipe every Saturday at 9 p.m., or right after Raw and Smackdown.
  • A story on WWE marketing with KFC.
  • What is being billed as the final spoken word tour of William Regal take place on 1/11 in his former home of Blackpool, England, the night before Takeover.  Tickets are on sale now. For more info, check here. 
  • A story on Keith Lee. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
  • A news feature on Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville.

AEW

  • Lance Archer was at the AEW show in Corpus Christi.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • One of the biggest kickboxing matches in years, the Rico Verhoeven (55-10, 16, KOs) Glory heavyweight title defense against Badr Hari (106-13, 92 KOs) takes place tomorrow at the GelreDome in Arnhem, Holland.  The show has sold out with 31,000 tickets sold. It airs on UFC Fight Pass starting at 3 p.m. Eastern time. Verhoeven weighed in at 260.6 pounds and Hari at 244.5 pounds.
  • For those who want to see the Ric Flair vs Jerry Lawler angle which inspired the Jericho vs. Jungle Boy angle, check it here.
  • Today’s New Japan Pro Wrestling show from Korakuen Hall is up for free on New Japan World. 
  • Another pro wrestler is going into MMA next month. German Figueroa, who was better known as El Gran Apolo and Leon Apolo in the WWC and IWA for a generation in Puerto Rico as well as in TNA. He’s 44 years old and will fight on the 1/25 Combate Americas show in San Juan against John Colloway (0-3). The show also features Amanda Serrano, a seven-division world boxing champion, who faces Dahianna Santana, herself a boxer. This will be the first time an MMA show from Puerto Rico will air live in the U.S. in 23 years.
  • Jim Cornette has filed a federal lawsuit against William J. Molnar Jr. and Brandon Graver (G-Raver) for selling T-shirts that contain his image and uses the term “F*** Jim Cornette.”
  • Marty Scurll and Flip Gordon are booked for Northeast Wrestling on 1/25 in Waterbury, CT.
  • Vince McMahon probably isn’t going to like this. The former Lingerie Football League, which had a name change to the Legends Football League, has now changed its name again to the Extreme Football League. Vince only owns the rights to XFL, but not Extreme Football League.  This will be a 7 on 7 all women’s league built around women playing football in fairly skimpy clothing. It’s been around for a while, and a few pro wrestlers have come out of the league, and before she got into pro wrestling, Summer Rae was the most heavily promoted player in that league.  
  • Will Ospreay vs. Dowie James was announced for a 1/11 show in Melbourne, Australia put on by Melbourne City Wrestling.
  • Alberto El Patron returns to defend his Qatar Pro Wrestling championship on 2/21 in Doha, Qatar. Announced for the show are Alberto, Matt Sydal and Eric Bischoff.
  • Generation Championship Wrestling has announced Alex Riley’s return to pro wrestling for a show over WrestleMania week.
  • NFC on 1/25 in Atlanta at District Atlanta.
  • Erick Stevens debuts in MLW on the 1/11 show in Dallas. for the show at the NYTEX Sports Centre.  Alexander Hammerstone vs. Aerostar for the National championship was also announced for that show.
  • Impact has added a show on 1/11 in Arlington, TX, in the same market, although it will be a 1 p.m. start, held at The Backyard.
  • Impact pulled David Sahadi from working the MLW show that night.
  • Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling on 12/28 in East Carondelet, IL.
  • For those going to Japan, the  Pro Wrestling NOAH show on 1/4 at Korakuen Hall, head-to-head with the New Japan show at the Tokyo Dome, is now sold out.
  • WSU has a doubleheader scheduled with shows at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at The Coliseum in Voorhees, NJ. 
  • 11 former WWE wrestlers discuss steroids at this link.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Daily Pro Wrestling History (12/20): TNA Final Resolution

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Daily Update: World Tag League, Liz Carmouche, MSG

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

F4W NEWSLETTER: Rey Mysterio’s US title win Joseph Currier looks at how WWE has started to use the legendary Mysterio to his full potential.

After periods of not being used as well as he should have been, it seems like Rey Mysterio’s legendary career may get the dream final stretch that it deserves.

Mysterio was at the center of a great moment on last week’s post-Survivor Series edition of Raw. With Humberto Carrillo being attacked by The O.C. before his scheduled title shot, Mysterio won two straight matches to become United States Champion. He defeated Ricochet, Randy Orton, and Drew McIntyre in a number one contender’s fatal four-way match and then beat AJ Styles to win the US title.

Mysterio pinned Ricochet to get the immediate title shot against Styles. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson had interfered when Orton had the fatal four-way won, and Orton then helped Mysterio even the odds a bit when The O.C. got involved in the title match. Orton took out Gallows and Anderson, gave Styles an RKO after Mysterio hit the 619, and Mysterio followed up with a frog splash to win the title. Mysterio then celebrated in the ring with his son Dominik.

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

WON NEWSLETTER: December 16, 2019 Observer Newsletter: TLC card mystery, Kelly Klein/ROH issues, more Why TLC doesn’t have a card 10 days before the show, plus tons of news.

At press time, with ten days to go before the WWE TLC PPV show on 12/15 in Minneapolis, they are exactly zero matches officially announced on television.

WWE sent the Target Center three matches several weeks back to start advertising, which were Bobby Lashley vs. Rusev, Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch in a TLC match for the women’s tag team titles, and Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin. At the time, all three matches were actually scheduled for the show as opposed to just matches sent to give the arena something to advertise.

All three matches are still scheduled for the show, but one of the reasons nothing else has been advertised, and directions aren’t even clear from television, is because Vince McMahon hasn’t made final decisions.

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

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

The Observer Hall of Fame issue will be out this coming Thursday. There are ten new members of the Hall of Fame, which is a record I believe. 

In the New Japan tag team tournament, Evil & Sanada are 13-1, while Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa  and Juice Robinson & David Finlay are 12-2. Tonga & Loa face Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi. If they lose, they are eliminated.  If it’s a draw they are eliminated. If they win, it gets confusing. Evil & Sanada face Robinson & Finlay. If Robinson & Finlay win and Tonga & Loa win, all three teams are tied and they will also be 1-1 against the other two which means a playoff.  That also means it probably won’t happen. If Evil & Sanada win they are 14-1, go to the Tokyo Dome to face Tonga & Loa, who they beat in the tournament. 

In the classless move of the day award, Liz Carmouche was doing promotional work for tomorrow night’s show in Washington, DC with her military background, and while there, got word that she was being released. Her last fight was a flyweight title loss to Valentina Shevchenko. The fight was really bad and all, but she’s a key part of UFC history with all the promotional work she did to lead to the great success of UFC’s first-ever women’s fight, a PPV headliner no less, with Ronda Rousey, that proved women could draw on PPV in a main event position.

The annual CMLL Legends show takes place tonight at Arena Mexico. The legends matches, featuring a number of stars in their 60s, are likely to be very slow. Bandido is on the show in the semi after leaving AAA.

Regarding the note in the Observer about Saraya Knight noting she had to cancel her Australia tour because of her husband being in the hospital, Paige wrote that her father was okay and he partied too much which led to complications with his diabetes.

WWE

  • Sky in the UK has moved Smackdown to the Sky Sports Mix channel until the contract expires at the end of the month.
  • La Presse, a Montreal newspaper, is doing a readers poll for the best Quebec athlete of the last decade.  Of the 16 choices, one was Kevin Owens. The favorite is likely Georges St-Pierre.  
  • This is the latest from the 12/26 holiday show in Madison Square Garden
    Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
    Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair in a cage match for the tag titles
    Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade for the U.S. title
    Randy Orton vs. A.J. Styles
    Rusev vs. Bobby Lashley No holds barred
  • Shawn Michaels won a Best Supporting Actor award at the NE Film Festival for his role as Jimmy Divine.
  • WWE is pushing Jessica Carr’s debut tonight on Smackdown as the first female referee on the main roster. Actually the first was Rita Chatterton about 35 years ago.

UFC

  • Diego Sanchez vs. Michel Pereira has been added to the 2/15 UFC show in Rio Rancho, NM.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • WWN is offering a first month free deal for Club WWN which would start with tonight’s show in Livonia, MI.
  • AXS TV has a one-hour long preview of the Tito Ortiz vs. Alberto El Patron fight at 10 p.m. Eastern tonight. The two headline a PPV tomorrow night from McAllen, TX.
  • Tenshin Nasukawa, the undefeated kickboxing superstar in Japan, will face Ru Ebata in a 123 pound fight as one of the main events on the Rizin New Year’s Eve show from the Saitama Super Arena.  Nasukawa was knocked out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match this past New Year’s Eve. That fight caused people to lose their minds in multiple ways.  
  • A number of wrestlers are filming a movie called The Replaceables.  Among those in the movie are Larry Zbyszko, Stan Hansen, Glacier, Ernest Miller, Tonga, Diamond Dallas Page, Ron Reis and former boxing champion Pinklon Thomas.  They will be filming a scene at a pro wrestling show on 12/13 in Orlando at the Englewood Community Center with Glacier & Toga & Luther Biggs in a six-man tag match.
  • Kurt Angle, Will Ospreay, Minoru Suzuki, Drago and Aero Star appear in Chicago on 12/13 at Marian Catholic High School. There will be a VIP Fan Fest at 5 p.m. and matches at 7 p.m. 
  • Bar Wrestling from Thursday night in Los Angeles:  Ryan Taylor b Lucas Riley, Ray Rosas & Uptown Andy Brown b Yuma & Watts, Taya Valkyrie b Miranda Alize, Joey Ryan & Heather Monroe & Laura James d Anthony Greene & Angel Sinclair & Ava Everett with a double pin, Brian Cage b Chris Bey, Phoenix Star & Zokre b Jake Atlas & Dom Kubrick (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemons.net)
  • Blitzkrieg Pro Wrestling tomorrow in Enfield, CT for a Toys for Tots benefit show featuring Raven and Little Guido.
  • House of Glory Wrestling runs Club Amazura in Queens, NY tomorrow night with tag team champions Pentagon Jr.& Re Fenix vs. Private Party, plus Low Ki vs.Masada and TJP vs Ken Broadway vs. JT Dunn vs. Evander James.
  • KSW announced one of the biggest fights in its history with Mamed Khalidov coming out of retirement to challenge middleweight champion Scott Askham in a non-title match.  There is also a battle of Olympic medalists as Szymona Kolecki, who took a gold and a silver in weightlifting, faces Damian Janikowski,who took a bronze in wrestling.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Jushin Liger wins IWGP Junior Heavyweight title on WCW Nitro

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