Tag: mike tyson

AEW Dynamite live results: Trios match, Mike Tyson returns

Posted on by Parker Klyn

Mike Tyson will make his first AEW appearance in nearly a year on tonight’s Dynamite. 

Tyson presented the TNT Championship to Cody Rhodes at last May’s Double or Nothing PPV, then made another appearance on Dynamite where he had a pull-apart with Chris Jericho. 

AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks and Jon Moxley will team against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers on tonight’s show. Don Callis will be in Omega and The Good Brothers’ corner.

The TNT Championship will be on the line as Darby Allin defends the title against JD Drake. 

Jericho and The Inner Circle will make their official return to Dynamite tonight, one week after the group attacked MJF and The Pinnacle in a backstage segment. 

In tag team action, Jurassic Express will face Bear Country. 

Hangman Page will face Max Caster this evening. 

In the women’s division, The Bunny will face Tay Conti.

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

Chris Jericho and the Inner Circle rolled up in luxury vehicles to open the show.

Hangman Page defeated Max Caster (w/ Anthony Bowens)

This was #1 vs. #3 in the men’s singles rankings. Caster rapped before the match as always. Page attacked Bowens before the bell and then beat down Caster in the corner. He dominated the early goings, landing a fallaway slam and a big boot. They brawled on the floor until Page exchanged words with Bowens, allowing Caster to take control with a dropkick.

Page came back right away with a springboard lariat and a plancha to the floor. He dropped Caster over the barricade and hit a jumping lariat. Caster countered the follow-up and sold an injury as Bowens attacked Page on the floor, leading to the heat. 

A spinebuster and an exploder suplex from Page led to his comeback. They exchanged forearms on the apron, where Page dropped Caster onto the ring frame. Page hopped up to the rop rope to go for an Orihara moonsault, but Bowens distracted him. Caster tried to pop up and hit a superplex, but he stumbled on the first try before hitting it. That was an awkward spot.

Caster tried to follow it up with a springboard but was met by a lariat. Page went for the Deadeye, but Bowens tossed the boombox into the ring, distracting the official while he slipped Caster a chain. Caster downed Page with a chain-assisted right hand for a good near fall. He tried to follow it up with the Mic Drop elbow, but Page rolled out of the way.

Bowens tried to stop the Buckshot Lariat, but Page dispatched him with a moonsault and hit the Lariat on Caster for the win. 

**********

Tony Schiavone brought out the Death Triangle for an interview. He announced that PAC & Rey Fénix would get their tag title shot next week.

Best Friends, Orange Cassidy, and Kris Statlander interrupted. Cassidy played clips of their interactions/feuds from early last year. Death Triangle shrugged it off, but PAC said he knew why they’re here. He thinks they want a shot at the next AEW World Tag Team Champions, but they’re far from worthy. 

Trent said they’re the tag team with more wins than anyone in this company. They’re only out there to give the Death Triangle a heads up: the boys are back in town, and they’ve got an alien with them now.

**********

A video of Mike Tyson and Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer chatting played.

**********

Chris Jericho and the Inner Circle came out to speak. He said “We are the Inner Circle, and we are back in black.” The Pinnacle’s beatdown taught them a lot, and it gave them a wakeup call. He apologized to the fans.

Those decisions were the result of MJF (who he called “my jerkoff friend”). Jericho said he’s not that smart, but what he is smart about is the wrestling business. He brought in MJF to keep him down, but he didn’t expect him to outsmart them. he said MJF is trying to grow up too fast, and he’s not as good as he thinks he is. 

Jericho called MJF a “mark.” He’ll never, ever be better than Chris Jericho, and he knows it. Jericho then insulted each of MJF’s followers in the Pinnacle before challenging them to Blood and Guts on May 5. 

**********

Christian Cage was interviewed by Dasha. He said he felt like last week was the culmination of years of scratching and clawing to make it back before saying he loved the match against Kazarian. 

Taz interrupted and talked about their history together. He offered Christian a spot in Team Taz. Christian was about to respond, but Taz told him to sleep on it.

**********

Before this match, there was a wacky Godzilla vs. Kong tie-in video package with Jurassic Express footage interspersed. It was billed as a “Godzilla vs. Kong match.”

Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) defeated Bear Country (Bear Bronson & Bear Boulder)

This was the #2 and the #4 ranked tag team, respectively. Jurassic Express sent both opponents packing right away, with Jungle Boy landing consecutive suicide dives on Boulder. Bear Country caught him on the third, but Luchasaurus took them out with a step-up dive of his own.

Back in the ring, Boulder set up for a powerbomb on Jungle Boy, but Luchasaurus tried to break it up with a crossbody. I think the spot was supposed to be Boulder catching Luchasaurus, but that didn’t happen. Boulder then powerbombed Jungle Boy into the commercial break.

Bear Country isolated Jungle Boy throughout the break with frequent tags. Jungle Boy flipped out of a double team and reached Luchasaurus for the hot tag. Luchasaurus ran wild on everyone, beating down both of Bear Country with a flurry of big moves including a German suplex and a lariat. He went to the top rope but was cut off by Boulder, who hit a superplex.

Jungle Boy dove in to break up the pinfall and hit a springboard DDT on Bronson. Luchasaurus planted Boulder with a slam, but the pinfall was broken up by a Bronson hitting a driver on Jungle Boy. Bear Country hit a double team corner cannonball on Luchasaurus for a near fall. They set up for a big splash, but Jurassic Express cut them off with a boot.

Jurassic Express sent Boulder to the floor before Luchasaurus hit a chokeslam and the Mesozoic Moonsault for the win.

**********

A QT Marshall video played, flanked by his new group. He said he was left dead in the water before he even started, unlike Cody, who knew he would never be a superstar. He’s not worried about other people’s success, so he put over his group members. 

Anthony Ogogo spoke for the first time, saying he punches people for fun. Marshall said this is his f—ing factory, and Nick Comoroto then threw paint on the Nightmare Factory wall. The group appears to be called “The Factory.”

**********

Sting was brought out by Tony Schiavone. He was immediately interrupted by Jake Roberts, who pointed out that this happens every week. Lance Archer came out and demanded that the world, and Sting specifically, pay attention to him. This is Archer’s time.

In a shocking turn of events, Sting took the microphone and said he agrees with Archer. He told Roberts to help Archer channel that energy into being a main event talent before demanding that Archer make it happen.

**********

A Team Taz video played. Ricky Starks said he wanted to hear from Brian Cage, but Taz told him to stop instigating things. They need to be smart, since they have an offer going out to Christian Cage right now.

**********

TNT Championship: Darby Allin (c) (w/ Sting) defeated JD Drake (w/ Ryan Nemeth & Cezar Bononi)

This was a really good TNT Title match and a breakout showcase for Drake.

Drake dropped Allin with a chop right away, sending him to the floor. Allin whiffed on a dropkick before downing Drake with a dive to the floor. He tried to follow it up with another dive, but Nemeth distracted him, allowing Drake to shrug off the dive. Sting, baseball bat in hand, chased Nemeth out of the arena while Drake continued his beatdown of the champion through a break.

Back from break, we got a cool spot where Drake rebounded Allin off the ropes from the outside and leveled him with a forearm. Allin avoided a cannonball on the floor, sending Drake crashing into the barricade. Allin then took out both Drake and Bononi with a top-rope dive to the floor. 

Drake pushed Allin off the top rope and attacked him in the tree of woe, concluding with another cannonball. A Vader bomb followed for a good near fall. Allin rolled out of the way of a moonsault and went back to the top rope but was cut off by Drake yet again. The two laid in hard strikes on each other before Allin hit an avalanche Code Red and the Coffin Drop for the win.

– After the match, Butcher and Blade attacked Allin, flanked by Matt Hardy and Private Party. Bunny wanted them to put Allin through the announce table, but Sting and the Dark Order ran out and chased them off. Tay Conti attacked Bunny as officials ran out to set up their singles match.

**********

A video package played recapping the storylines leading to tonight’s Kenny Omega & Good Brothers vs. Jon Moxley & Young Bucks main event.

**********

Chris Jericho was interviewed by Alex Marvez but was immediately attacked by the Pinnacle. They brought him out to the ring and beat him down, with MJF choking Jericho with the Burberry scarf. FTR killed him with the spike piledriver. The camera cut backstage to the Inner Circle being locked in their dressing room and having to break down the door.

It appeared as if Jericho was about to be sent through a table, but Mike Tyson interrupted, bludgeoning Shawn Spears with strikes. Tyson took his shirt off and has an amazing physique for his age. Inner Circle finally made it out as they and Tyson stood tall, with Jericho and Tyson shaking hands and burying the hatchet. 

**********

Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Rebel were interviewed by Schiavone. Baker demanded a championship match, but Schiavone brought up she’s only ranked #4. Baker said win/loss records don’t matter because she’s a draw. Either way, she’s going to keep racking up wins to get to a championship shot.

**********

Tay Conti (w/ Dark Order) defeated The Bunny (w/ Hardy Family Offices)

Hikaru Shida was at ringside for this match for some reason.

Bunny attacked early on, but Conti came back with a capture suplex and kicks. Bunny caught a soccer kick, sending Conti into the apron before suplexing Conti on the floor. She sent Conti into the barricade and maintained control through a commercial break.

Conti was making her comeback when Dynamite resumed. She hit judo throws but missed a corner knee, running into a thrust kick from Bunny. Conti laid in forearms, but Hardy tried to distract her. She avoided Bunny trying to take advantage and hit the Tay-KO for two.

Bunny rolled to the floor and downed Shida with a cheap shot before hitting Conti with a kendo stick. Shida popped up and took the kendo stick from Bunny, allowing Conti to hit a superplex and the DD-Tay for the win.

**********

Next week’s Dynamite lineup:

  • TNT Championship: Darby Allin (c) vs. Matt Hardy in a Falls Count Anywhere match
  • AEW World Tag Team Championships: Young Bucks (c) vs. PAC & Rey Fénix
  • Anthony Ogogo making his debut
  • Jade Cargill vs. Red Velvet
  • Chris Jericho (w/ Sammy Guevara) vs. Dax Harwood (w/ Cash Wheeler) with special guest enforcer Mike Tyson — all other Inner Circle & Pinnacle members barred from ringside

**********

Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) (w/ Don Callis) defeated Jon Moxley & The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)

The melodrama isn’t doing it for me. This is a simple rehash of the Young Bucks/Golden Lovers storyline from a few years ago in NJPW.

After some jawing back and forth early on, Callis joined commentary.

Matt and Omega faced off to start the action, with Matt instead opting to tag in his brother. Omega downed Nick with a shoulder tackle, but Nick came back with a hurricanrana, so Omega tagged in Anderson. Nick maintained his advantage, dispatching Anderson and Omega before Moxley helped to send Gallows to the floor. Moxley and the Bucks followed it up with three dives to the floor.

During the commercial break, Omega and the Good Brothers took control by forcing Matt into the corner and beating him down with frequent tags. Matt reached Moxley for the hot tag by flipping out of a suplex. Moxley ran wild with lariats on Anderson before starching him with a slap and a German suplex. More Germans followed for Moxley’s other two opponents.

Anderson countered the sleeper by dropping down to the floor, allowing Gallows to down Moxley with a boot. Moxley came back with a neckbreaker, allowing him to tag in Nick. Nick laid in kicks on Anderson and fought off both Good Brothers, concluding with a diving stomp on Gallows and a backstabber on Anderson. A soccer kick followed on Gallows, but Anderson countered an X-Factor into a spinebuster.

Matt and Omega tagged in, with Matt outwrestling Omega before downing him with a DDT. Omega was on roller skates but Matt couldn’t bring himself to superkick him, so Omega repeatedly slapped him. Matt snapped with a takedown, laying in ground and pound on the champion. We got a parade of big moves, concluded with Omega dropping Matt on his head with two snap dragon suplexes.

Moxley prevented Omega from hitting a V-Trigger with a huge lariat before Matt stuffed Omega with a piledriver for a near fall. The Young Bucks hit More Bang For Your Buck, but Anderson came in to break up the pin. Nick’s escalara dive took out the Good Brothers on the floor. 

Matt wouldn’t keep up the attack on Omega, but Nick set up for the BTE Trigger. Matt wouldn’t hit it, so Moxley came in and demanded they fight. Moxley tagged himself in and hit the Paradigm Shift on Omega, before following it up with a second. He locked in the rear naked choke before setting up for a Gotch piledriver, but the Bucks superkicked Moxley, preventing him from getting the win.

Eddie Kingston limped out to stop the attack, but the Good Brothers cut him off with a Magic Killer. They hit a Magic Killer on Moxley and dragged Omega on top for the win. 

– After the match, the Good Brothers set up Moxley for superkicks, and the Bucks obliged. 

Mike Tyson to appear on AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Josh Nason

For the first time since a May 2020 brawl that involved Chris Jericho, boxing great Mike Tyson will return to AEW Dynamite this Wednesday.

No reason was given for Tyson’s appearance other than AEW noting in a press release that this would be Tyson’s first appearance in front of a live AEW audience.

“I talk to Mike regularly,” AEW President Tony Khan told Dave Meltzer. “I talked to him often as he was training for [Roy Jones Jr.] and then I caught up with him right after the fight and he’d said he wanted to find a good date to come back to AEW, and I said 100% yes, we’ll find a good date that works for everyone, so I’d kept that in mind. And then when we were catching up a few days ago, I mentioned that it felt like this would be a great date for him to come in if he’d be free, and he said he’d love to come.”

He presented the TNT Title belt to Cody Rhodes after he defeated Lance Archer at last May’s Double or Nothing, followed up by the Dynamite appearance where he and an entourage that included former UFC champions Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort and Henry Cejudo; indie wrestler Mr. Grim, and filmmaker Mickey Gooch confronted Jericho’s Inner Circle which led to a brawl.

Both were held in front of an empty Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida, due to the pandemic.

After the pull-apart, Jericho did an interview with ESPN where he said AEW was looking to do something between the two of them:

“Obviously, the idea is to do something more. That’s the thought process, I think between both parties. What that is at this moment, we’re thinking and discussing. Look, Chris Jericho versus Mike Tyson in a wrestling match, in a street fight, in a boxing match, would be big. I’m not Mike Tyson. I’m not 1/1,000th of Mike Tyson, but I’ve been boxing for six years. I know how to box. I could win fights on my own against people of my skill level. So if that’s what he wants to do, that works too. Whatever he feels comfortable with, I can make it good. That’s what I do for a living. That’s what I’ve been doing for 30 years.”

The two first tangled in a WWE ring in 2010 when Tyson knocked Jericho out during a tag team match against DX on an episode of Raw.

Tyson returned to the boxing ring last November for an exhibition match with fellow great Roy Jones Jr. The two went to a draw in a pay-per-view that did over 1.2 million buys.

Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight could exceed 1.2 million PPV buys

Posted on by Josh Nason

All these years later, Mike Tyson can still draw on pay-per-view.

Boxing Scene’s Dan Rafael reported that Saturday’s Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition match brought in 1.2 million buys on linear/satellite TV and through Fite.TV. MMA Fighting reported that number could end up being even higher — a massive win for Triller, a new social media platform that promoted the show.

The year’s biggest combat sports event in terms of PPV buys is July’s UFC 251, headlined by welterweight champion Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal topping an overall strong main card. The ESPN+ exclusive brought in a reported 1.3 million buys which means the Tyson-Jones Jr. fight is in striking distance of surpassing it.

It also would make it the biggest boxing PPV of the year ahead of Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder II that did in the range of 800,000-850,000 buys.

The fact the 54-year-old Tyson is still a draw decades after he routinely drew over 1 million buys with the likes of Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Frank Bruno, Bruce Seldon, and even Peter McNeeley in his first fight after getting out of prison is impressive. Following the draw with the 51-year-old Jones Jr. Saturday, he promised he would do more exhibitions and has frequently talked about a third fight with Holyfield. It was his first time in the ring since June 2005.

On the pro wrestling front, Tyson appeared to be building toward an AEW match with Chris Jericho as they got into a pull-apart brawl in May. Since then, the angle hasn’t been revived but AEW could be waiting until fans can be in attendance at shows again.

The $50 PPV also featured YouTube star Jake Paul vs. former NBA player Nate Robinson, additional boxing matches, and musical performances by Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa. Paul’s brother, Logan, was also part of a 1 million+ buy boxing pay-per-view when he faced musician KSI in 2018.

Daily Update: Mike Tyson, Khabib, Sakuraba

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

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WON NEWSLETTER: November 30, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Undertaker retirement, Survivor Series, more

We’ve got a heavy-historical double-issue of the Wrestling Observer out this week.  Our lead story looks at the career and final appearance of The Undertaker.  We look at his famous matches, the WrestleMania streak, how long it’s been since he actually worked a full schedule, the dream match that did happen and why, and the one that never happened and why.

Also in this issue:

Survivor Series with match-by-match coverage, star ratings, poll results and interest level of the show.

The $39 million settlement of a lawsuit against WWE, the largest settlement of a lawsuit in pro wrestling history, why it was settled, testimony key witnesses were going to make, who sued, what the judge in the case said, crazy facts about the case, and testimony on what  really happened in Saudi Arabia the day the WWE talent couldn’t get out of the country.

A story on the life of Bob Ryder, the start of TNA, the business numbers behind the start and how it got so deep in debt, what saved the company in 2005 and 2015 and Impact releases a statement on his death.

How Dana White is expecting a packed house for a UFC show sooner than you think and how that ties into what has been booked.

Major front office changes in WWE, and background of the decisions and people who are in and out, Xavier Woods and WWE negotiate a mainstream deal, NXT Takeover lineup notes, Lana documentary, Undertaker talks most  famous matches and how Vince talked him into ending the streak, how WWE & AEW TV shows did this past week as compared to major sorts, U.K. Heritage Cup, former college football star has WWE interest, value of WWE stock right now and top ten most-watched shows on the WWE Network from last week.

Full coverage of UFC 255, details behind the show, match-by-match coverage and poll results.

The induction of Marc Ratner into the UFC Hall of Fame.  We look at his background in boxing,  his connection to pro wrestling, and his role in okaying an angle that literally changed the power structure of pro wrestling where Vince McMahon needed his approval.  We look at why two different proposed dream match involving WWE stars didn’t happen as well as how Floyd Mayweather’s unbeaten streak stayed in tact due to a decision by Ratner as well as his role in making UFC treated as a sport, and how UFC was able to get Ratner to join the promotion.

2019 Business Year in review, with the biggest attendances, biggest PPV numbers, who headlined the most major shows, UFC business, WWE business and what Becky Lynch did in 2019 that no woman in the history of pro wrestling had ever come close to.

An updated list of the biggest drawing cards in pro wrestling history, comparing Jim Londos with Hulk Hogan, who Sam Muchnick said were the biggest draws ever, where Hogan ranked with Austin and Rock, and every annual attendance record from 1931 to the present and what record is likely never to be beaten.

NOAH’s Pro Wrestling Chronicle show and the Go Shiozaki ivs. Katsuhiko Nakajima main event.

A feature on the seven different Triple Crown award winners of the last 40 years, as well as those who came one step from doing so.

Stats for MVP, Most Outstanding, Best on interviews, Best Tag Team and others over the past 40 years as well as who seems to deserve more Hall of Fame consideration.

A feature on European villain Klaus Kauroff, who passed away this past week.

Television business, 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].

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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Alberto Rodriguez, Wednesday ratings, Monday’s Raw, Mike Tyson and more. You can send questions for the show to [email protected]

Raw tonight is billed around a Sudden death match for a title shot at Drew McIntyre with A.J. Styles vs. Keith Lee vs. Riddle, plus they shoot the angle for Randy Orton vs. The Fiend on A Moment of Bliss. I’m not sure how sudden death differs from any other three-way where the first pin wins. Also on the show is Jeff Hardy vs. Elias in a Symphony of Destruction match where all musical instruments are legal and an interview with Drew McIntyre.

Raw will be going against a Seattle Seahawks vs. Philadelphia Eagles game on ESPN that should do pretty solid numbers.

The Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens game originally set for Thanksgiving,and expected to be tomorrow, will be delayed until Wednesday due to COVID spread. However it will not go against AEW and NXT since NBC insisted on a 3:40 p.m. start time and will be airing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in prime time. AEW has its biggest match in Dynamite history, Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega for the AEW title, scheduled as Wednesday’s main event.  NXT has announced Shotzi Blackheart vs. Raquel Gonzalez for the man advantage for Sunday’s War Games match.

Dana White said he would be meeting with Khabib Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi, which would be in January. The meeting in theory would be about whether Nurmagomedov will fight again.

Mike Tyson has indicated he will do another exhibition fight and will be better for the next one. He said he’d like to fight often and stay in shape. Evander Holyfield, mentioned months back as a potential opponent, has said he’s up for it.  Tyson said his team reached out to Holyfield but the sides couldn’t come to an agreement. No PPV numbers are out yet but based on Google trends, the show looks like it did  extremely well. The interest in Saturday’s fight reached far far beyond the boxing audience.

The Best of the Super Juniors tournament continues on Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. Eastern with:

  • Douki vs. Yuya Uemura
  • Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Robbie Eagles
  • Master Wato vs. Bushi
  • Taiji Ishimori vs Desperado
  • Hiromu Takahashi vs. Sho

WWE

  • Tribute to the Troops which will air Sunday for one hour either before or after the NFL on FOX depending on your time zone is being taped on Friday at the Amway Center. No troops will be there live, but the Thunderdome screen will feature troops.
  • With the holiday, this is the ratings schedule.  Smackdown ratings will be released tomorrow afternoon.  UFC ratings for Saturday will be out Wednesday morning.  Raw ratings for tonight will be out Wednesday afternoon.  Wednesday night ratings should be out in their normal time on Thursday.
  • Kimberly Benson(Piper Niven) along with Lee Greig (Jack Jester, who is not with WWE) have joined together to start a charity group called WrestleKind, to help disadvantaged and vulnerable groups through wrestling, starting with a winter fundraiser. They are looking to raise money to purchase socks, underwear, toiletries, jackets and waterproof backpacks for the homeless.
  • Dwayne Johnson and his Northwest ice cream franchise Salt & Straw have announced the launch of their new Dwanta’s Teremana Spiked Eggnog featuring Johnson’s Teremana Small Batch Tequila. (thanks to Eric Krol)

UFC

  • Saturday night’s show will be a benefit for the Stuart Scott Fund for cancer research.
  • Randy Costa vs. Trevin Jones has been added to a show on 3/6.

OTHER NOTES

  • British wrestling historian Tony Earnshaw disputes the story in yesterday’s update that David Prowse ever wrestled professionally. He did note that Prowse did claim that, but said it was not true.
  • Kazushi Sakuraba goes after his first pro wrestling singles title late Saturday night/Sunday morning when he faces Kenou for the GHC National title on a PPV show available with English commentary by longtime reader Mark Pickering and Stuart Fulton.
  • MMA Fighting has the clip from Russia of the weekend fight that got a lot of attention with a main event and promoted fight with a 529-pound male non-fighter facing a real 139-pound female fighter.
  • A story on Ivan Putski today.
  • Low Ki vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. is the main event for Wednesday night’s MLW TV show on YouTube and Fubo.
  • For the fourth year in a row, promoters Maciej Kawulski and Martin Lewandowski of KSW have been listed in the Forbes Magazine list of the most influential people in Polish Sports. They were ranked in the No. 16 spot, up from No. 28 last year. KSW launched the first season of a reality show called “Tylko Jeden” (Only One), similar to Ultimate Fighter or Tough Enough, with competitors fighting for a KSW contract. It was one of the highest rated shows on Polish television.
  • Sydne Watts, the daughter of Erik Watts and granddaughter of Cowboy Bill Watts, made her debut yesterday in Navy’s college basketball loss to George Mason, scoring 12 points and getting six rebounds.  Watts is a true freshman from Canton, GA.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Antonio Inoki wins WWF title

CONTACT INFORMATION

Daily Update: Tyson-Jones Jr., David Prowse, NJPW notes

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

Latest Free YouTube Video: 

Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!

WON NEWSLETTER: November 30, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Undertaker retirement, Survivor Series, more

We’ve got a heavy-historical double-issue of the Wrestling Observer out this week.  Our lead story looks at the career and final appearance of The Undertaker.  We look at his famous matches, the WrestleMania streak, how long it’s been since he actually worked a full schedule, the dream match that did happen and why, and the one that never happened and why.

Also in this issue:

Survivor Series with match-by-match coverage, star ratings, poll results and interest level of the show.

The $39 million settlement of a lawsuit against WWE, the largest settlement of a lawsuit in pro wrestling history, why it was settled, testimony key witnesses were going to make, who sued, what the judge in the case said, crazy facts about the case, and testimony on what  really happened in Saudi Arabia the day the WWE talent couldn’t get out of the country.

A story on the life of Bob Ryder, the start of TNA, the business numbers behind the start and how it got so deep in debt, what saved the company in 2005 and 2015 and Impact releases a statement on his death.

How Dana White is expecting a packed house for a UFC show sooner than you think and how that ties into what has been booked.

Major front office changes in WWE, and background of the decisions and people who are in and out, Xavier Woods and WWE negotiate a mainstream deal, NXT Takeover lineup notes, Lana documentary, Undertaker talks most  famous matches and how Vince talked him into ending the streak, how WWE & AEW TV shows did this past week as compared to major sorts, U.K. Heritage Cup, former college football star has WWE interest, value of WWE stock right now and top ten most-watched shows on the WWE Network from last week.

Full coverage of UFC 255, details behind the show, match-by-match coverage and poll results.

The induction of Marc Ratner into the UFC Hall of Fame.  We look at his background in boxing,  his connection to pro wrestling, and his role in okaying an angle that literally changed the power structure of pro wrestling where Vince McMahon needed his approval.  We look at why two different proposed dream match involving WWE stars didn’t happen as well as how Floyd Mayweather’s unbeaten streak stayed in tact due to a decision by Ratner as well as his role in making UFC treated as a sport, and how UFC was able to get Ratner to join the promotion.

2019 Business Year in review, with the biggest attendances, biggest PPV numbers, who headlined the most major shows, UFC business, WWE business and what Becky Lynch did in 2019 that no woman in the history of pro wrestling had ever come close to.

An updated list of the biggest drawing cards in pro wrestling history, comparing Jim Londos with Hulk Hogan, who Sam Muchnick said were the biggest draws ever, where Hogan ranked with Austin and Rock, and every annual attendance record from 1931 to the present and what record is likely never to be beaten.

NOAH’s Pro Wrestling Chronicle show and the Go Shiozaki ivs. Katsuhiko Nakajima main event.

A feature on the seven different Triple Crown award winners of the last 40 years, as well as those who came one step from doing so.

Stats for MVP, Most Outstanding, Best on interviews, Best Tag Team and others over the past 40 years as well as who seems to deserve more Hall of Fame consideration.

A feature on European villain Klaus Kauroff, who passed away this past week.

Television business, 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].

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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

Our weekend Observer radio is up on the site talking about last night’s UFC, Smackdown and several other subjects.

The Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition was gigantic mainstream-wise. The fight did 12 million Google searches, and there were another 5 million for Nate Robinson and 100,000 for Badou Jack. No card in a long time has hit numbers like this. The numbers were bigger than Conor McGregor UFC fights and even bigger than Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm was.  It was multiples of WrestleMania.  

Former WWE announcer Mauro Ranallo was doing the Tyson-Jones broadcast last night. Al Bernstein was supposed to be doing the show, but he contracted COVID-19.

The only other combat sport related stuff that made the top 20 this past week was the death of David Prowse, the actor who played the physical character of Darth Vader in Star Wars, at 550,000. And UFC’s show last night, as weak as it was, still charted with 100,000 searches. While not covered in any of the news stories on the death of David Prowse, he was a pro wrestler in the U.K. during the 60s and 70s. Even with his notable size and physique, he was not a major star which is why the connection has rarely been made.

The former girlfriend of Alberto Rodriguez (Alberto El Patron)  has retracted her statements regarding his allegedly beating and sexually assaulting her in May. She offered an apology to the Rodriguez family.  This pretty likely will end the criminal case against him.  There is obviously a lot more to this. Rodriguez was scheduled to go to trial on this case on 1/25.  The woman wrote, “I apologize to the Rodriguez Del Rio family for the damages caused by my errors.”

The New Japan tag team tournament continues at 4:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow from Korakuen Hall:

  • Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuji Nagata
  • Jeff Cobb & Great O’Khan vs. Evil & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano
  • Sanada & Shingo Takagi vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
  • Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay

WWE

  • There is a new book out called “Dwayne The Rock Johnson: The People’s Champion – From WWE to Hollywood” at Amazon and other book outlets.  

UFC

  • Clay Guida vs. Michael Johnson is scheduled for the 2/6 show.
  • Ronaldo Jacare Souza vs. Kevin Holland has been added to the 12/12 PPV show. Holland was scheduled to headline this coming Saturday against Jack Hermansson, but tested positive for COVID-19 and Holland was moved back one week. Hermansson’s new main event opponent is Marvin Vettorl, who was scheduled to face Souza on 12/12 but agreed to take the fight as the main event for 12/5.

OTHER NOTES

  • Lots of people raving about today’s Hiromu Takahashi vs. Robbie Eagles match from Korakuen Hall as part of the Super Junior tournament, as well as Taiji Ishimori vs. Bushi.
  • Regarding last night’s show and Bobby Lee, there are music videos of the first El Santo vs. Bobby Lee match. There is also footage of their mask vs. mask match, which is the most famous of their bouts.
  • A Go Fund Me has been set up for Duane “Gillberg” Gill who suffered a heart attack this past week.
  • A documentary called “Sweet Daddy Siki,” after the 60s and 70s star Reginald Siki, is now playing on Amazon Prime. Siki stars in the movie with Bret Hart, who grew up idolizing him, and Adam “Edge” Copeland. Siki later became a country-western singer. He was a major drawing card in his heyday.
  • CWE is scheduling a tour that will start with a New Year’ Eve show called the Super Jobber Cup in Winnipeg, plus shows 1/2 in Morden, Manitoba, 1/2 in Gladstone, Manitoba, 1/7 in Calgary, 1/8 in Red Deer, Alberta, 1/9 in Grande Prairie, Alberta and 1/10 in St. Albert, Alberta.  Of course off of this is subject to change.
  • Wrestler/reporter Israel Velazquez aka Heavy Boy has a Go Fund Me to cover the costs of surgery to remove one of his kidneys which has a  tumor. He also recently had COVID which has left his lungs badly damaged.  He is a writer for the SuperLuchas magazine.  More info here.
  • Kevin Nash is starring in a movie called “COVID-19 Invasion” according to IMDB that will be filmed in Longview, TX.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Rock ‘n’ Roll Express win SMW Tag titles

CONTACT INFORMATION

Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. boxing exhibition ends in a draw

Posted on by Josh Nason

In an exhibition boxing match Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. went to a draw.

While the result isn’t official because it was an exhibition, the bout was scored by three former WBC judges (Chad Dawson, Christy Martin, Vinny Pazienza) for entertainment purposes.

The 54-year-old Tyson hadn’t stepped into a ring since June 2005 while the 51-year-old Jones Jr. hadn’t fought since February 2018.

The fight was held over eight two minute rounds with 12 oz. gloves.

Asked afterward if he would entertain fighting in a non-exhibition format if he could get licensed, Tyson didn’t seem interested and would rather do exhibitions like this to raise money for charities and awareness. He did say he would definitely do this again.

Jones Jr. said he would have to talk to his family about whether to embark on another fighting endeavor but Tyson was fully in support of him keeping at it.

All things considered, Tyson looked good at points and was aggressive during the bout while Jones managed to sneak in some shots while showing none of the speed of his heyday. 

The lead-up to the match was somewhat marred by how the California State Athletic Commission was going to handle the fight, laying out strict orders about not going for knockouts and immediate bout stoppages due to blood, causing the fight promoter to have to do damage control to maintain interest.

In the co-main event, YouTube celebrity Jake Paul knocked out former NBA player Nate Robinson cold in the second round in what became a viral moment of sorts. The card also featured other boxing bouts and performances by Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa.

The broadcast team included former WWE/NXT announcer Mauro Ranallo, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, “Sugar” Ray Leonard, and Snoop Dogg himself.

September 1, 2003 Observer Newsletter: SummerSlam review

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

While SummerSlam is generally talked about as WWE’s No. 2 event of the year, behind only Wrestlemania, this year is probably going to be the exception.

If SummerSlam on 8/24 in Phoenix turns out to better than the No. 4 event of this year for business and interest, I think everyone will be celebrating, because that would mean 450,000 buys. As a show, it got mixed reviews, but that would be largely due to the last two minutes of the show. After finally making Bill Goldberg the monster that people wanted him to be, the company had HHH, who should not have been in the ring, pin him to end the show. The logic behind it was that it would lead to more interest in HHH vs. Goldberg when they finally do their singles match on 9/21 in Hershey, PA, at the Unforgiven PPV, where, as things are scheduled right now, and based on the booking that has already transpired they’ve pretty well backed themselves into the corner on this finish, HHH will finally drop the title. Of course, that was also how they were scheduled for June, and again for SummerSlam before HHH suffered a partially torn groin which made the idea of him doing a real match out of the question.

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

Daily Update: Kamala, Geoff Neal, Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr.

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

WON NEWSLETTER: August 10, 2020 Observer: The Rock & Dany Garcia buy XFL, new WWE president, more

The reasons behind Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale buying the XFL in bankruptcy court, the new WWE President and how television viewership of all the major pro wrestling shows has changed since the pandemic started are the lead stories in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer. Newsletter.

We look at the timeline of the XFL purchase, financials behind it, the goals, can the goals be achieved, why Dwayne Johnson is key, what Johnson is trying to do with the league that Vince McMahon couldn’t, and why this is such a difficult time to do so and why the interest level was what it was.

The new issue also covers:

WWE’s hiring of Nick Khan as President and Chief Revenue Officer, where he comes from, his connection with wrsetling, his connections in sports, the value of his contract, and the specific strongest value he brings. 

We go through every wrestling show with notes on viewership overall and in demos, who is losing and at what pace.  We look at what is turning viewers away, what is keeping viewers, and what show actually has increased viewers in an age group and what this says, the key takes from the patterns of gains and losses.

The return of pro wrestling to Mexico City and the restrictions that have been put in place.

The issues with unionizing wrestlers as well as Equity on treatmet of women in U.K. pro wrestling.

Updates on the major U.S. pro wrestling shows over the next month.

The NBA playoffs affecting the AEW schedule in August and September.

Rey Mysterio and contract talks.

Notes on furloughed WWE employees, chaos backstage at WWE tapings, WWE developmental and NXT talent and training, News from the Saudi Arabia lawsuit, behind Raw Underground, update on WWE draft, NXT writers update, Canadian ratings, Ali talks his situation, new WWE sigings, upcoming TV matches, and the most-watched shows on WWE Network.

A feature on Rollerball Mark Rocco, the best U.K. wrestler of his era.

This past week’s UFC show.

The migration of the audience and what days they watch wrestling, and the one demo that is holding firm to Friday in a big way.

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.

MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight taking the death of James “Kamala” Harris, Raw, more business trends and taking your questions that can be sent to [email protected].

UFC fighter Geoff Neal revealed this past week had a major health scare and almost died, and spent a week in the hospital and needed dialysis. He’s home and doing better, but he’s out of his 8/29 scheduled fight with Neil Magny. Robbie Lawler will be facing Magny instead.

The Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition fight and PPV show scheduled for 9/12 and it now looks to be taking place on 11/28 according to a story in MMA Fighting. I wonder how that works out for AEW as they are looking at a late November PPV date.

Not a lot promoted ahead of time for Raw. This show was taped last Monday. Ric Flair is there for the Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens match. Bayley vs. Asuka will face and if Asuka wins, she faces Sasha Banks at SummerSlam. There will be a contract signing opening the show with Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio. And Mickie James returns. She’s been out of action 14 months after knee reconstruction surgery.  She’s been ready for months to return. There will no doubt be a bunch of Redemption fun and Raw Underground as they try to keep the teenager ratings gains from last week.

There has been a GoFundMe set up for funeral expenses and family help for the family of James “Kamala Harrris. For more information you can check out the page here.

The Seadlinnng promotion announced that tomorrow’s show has been canceled. A number of women on the show worked a weekend Pro Wrestling WAVE show in Japan where one of the wrestlers who was on the show later tested positive for COVID.

WWE

  • NXT on Wednesday has Karrion Kross vs. Danny Burch, and Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes vs. ? with the winner going to the North American title ladder match at Takeover and the person who doesn’t get pinned going into a singles match the following Wednesday for another spot in the five-man ladder match.
  • FS1 will be airing the 2019 SummerSlam show with Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton, Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens, Becky Lynch vs. Natalya, A.J. Styles vs. Ricochet, Bayley vs. Ember Moon, Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt, Bill Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler and Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus.
  • The WWE Network has added Kamala content from a number of different promotions including WWF, Mid South, Mid Atlantic, Mid Atlantic, World Class and other promotions.
  • Bret Hart will be on The Bump this week.

UFC

  • Zabit Magomedsharipov, who was scheduled to headline the 8/29 show against Yair Rodriguez, is now off the show.  Rodriguez pulled out due to a injury and Magomedsharipov has returned to Russia.  By returning, he won’t be able to come back for a fight by that date.
  • Bryan Barbarena vs. Anthony Ivy has been added to the 9/12 show in Las Vegas. 
  • Tomorrow night’s Dana White Contenders Series lineup.  The show airs at 8 p.m. Eastern every Tuesday night on ESPN+
    Dustin Stoltzfus vs. Joe Pyfer – middleweight
    Adrian Yanez vs. Brady Huang – bantamweight
    Vanessa Demopoulos vs Cory McKenna – strawweight
    TJ Laramie vs. Daniel Swain – featherweight
    Anthony Adams vs. Impa Kasanganay – middleweights 

AEW

  • The AEW women’s tag team tournament has two matches tonight as Dasha Kuret (Dasha Gonzalez) & Rachael Ellering face Ivelisse & Diamante plus one other match.
  • It will also be interesting to gauge the ratings this week on Wednesday. AEW did its best mark since March last week and beat both Raw and Smackdown in 18-34, the first time it beat either show in the same week let alone both, which is more amazing because of the huge edge Smackdown has been having on a network. 
  • This week’s show has Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy as the likely main event, plus Kenny Omega & Adam Page defend the tag titles against Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy,Young Bucks vs. Stu Grayson & Evil Uno, the FTR tag team celebration with Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, and Cody vs. Scorpio Sky for the TV title.
  • Dark for tomorrow night:
    Private Party vs. Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison
    Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Butcher & Blade
    Alex Chamberlain vs. Shawn Spears
    Rey Fenix vs. Lee Johnson
    Michael Stevens. vs. Kip Sabian
    Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus & Marko Stunt vs. Aaron Solow & Pineapple Pete & Corey Hollis
    Austin & Billy Gunn vs. M-BAdu & Shawn Dean
    Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall vs. Jack Evans & Angelico

MISCELLANEOUS

  •  Abema.TV has a special free airing of today’s NOAH 20th anniversary show that featured a 60:00 draw with Go Shiozaki vs. Kenou in a title vs. title match plus Keiji Muto vs. Kaito Kiyomiya.  (thanks to Jose Gonzalez)
  • While not a pro wrestling story, Peter Nelson is out as President of HBO Sports in another major change in a week for many in the sports industry.
  • RevPro has the first major show back in the U.K. scheduled for 8/23 at 8 p.m. BST on FITE TV with a women’s main event of Gisele Shaw vs. Jamie Hayter for the British women’s title plus Will Ospreay & Michael Oku vs. Ricky Knight Jr.(who has great potential) & Kyle Fletcher.
  • The final episode of this season of Titan Games with Dwayne Johnson airs tonight at 8 p.m. on NBC.
  • The documentary “You Cannot Kill David Arquette” is being released on 8/28. The movie is about Arquette’s recent return to pro wrestling doing independent shows around the country. He will be doing media this month to promote the release.  
  • Dave Bautista was on Friday night’s episode of Room 104 on HBO playing a troubled retired pro wrestler (thanks to Joe Puccio)
  • A story on Bill Goldberg and a restaurant that he frequents helping out area veterans. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
  • Very interesting story on the former Mad Maxine, Jeannie Mjoseth, and her new book which is a novel about pro wrestling based on her career, and her thoughts on Fabulous Moolah, her trainer. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Hollywood Hogan wins WCW World title

CONTACT INFORMATION

Mike Tyson to fight Roy Jones Jr. in September exhibition match

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

It appears the expected AEW in-ring debut of Mike Tyson won’t be happening prior to Labor Day as as the boxing great and mainstream sports star will instead be returning to the ring against another former great.

Yahoo’s Kevin Iole reported Thursday that the 54-year-old will return to action after retiring in 2005 against multi-division champion Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition match set for September 12th at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

The TV distribution platform is unknown at this time, but is likely set for pay-per-view given the names involved. 

Iole said he heard some MMA vs. boxing fights will be on the undercard but James Toney vs. Tito Ortiz is not one of them as Ortiz told California athletic commissioner Andy Foster there’s no truth to that rumor. 

Foster said both men will likely wear 12 oz. gloves and won’t be looking to “take each other’s heads off.” 

Rumors of a Tyson return started earlier this year when clips of an in-shape Tyson training surfaced on social media. In doing media for an event earlier this year, UFC president Dana White said he heard Tyson was definitely coming back against a big name even though he wished he would stay retired.

After back-to-back losses to Evander Holyfield, including one where he infamously bit par of Holyfield’s ear off, Tyson’s final six years of his career were a bizarre mix of wins, losses, and no contests to no names and a eighth round knockout defeat at the hands of Lennox Lewis. Tyson ended on a two fight losing streak to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride.

The 51-year-old Jones Jr. hasn’t fought in two years after racking up a 66-9 career record with much of the last decade against no names.

Tyson had appeared at AEW Double or Nothing this May, presenting the first-ever TNT title to Cody Rhodes. The Wednesday afterward on Dynamite, he and an entourage got in a pull apart brawl with Chris Jericho and the Inner Circle which was expected to lead to a singles match at some point.

Chris Jericho: Mike Tyson deal being worked out, open for boxing match

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW/Lee South

Former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho talked with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi about the Mike Tyson angle from Wednesday’s Dynamite and what the future looks like for a program between the two.

“Obviously, the idea is to do something more. That’s the thought process, I think between both parties. What that is at this moment, we’re thinking and discussing. Look, Chris Jericho versus Mike Tyson in a wrestling match, in a street fight, in a boxing match, would be big. I’m not Mike Tyson. I’m not 1/1,000th of Mike Tyson, but I’ve been boxing for six years. I know how to box. I could win fights on my own against people of my skill level. So if that’s what he wants to do, that works too. Whatever he feels comfortable with, I can make it good. That’s what I do for a living. That’s what I’ve been doing for 30 years,” he said.

Jericho made it sound like there isn’t a deal set in place, later saying they just need to come to “some sort of a deal or…acceptance.” He is not concerned about Tyson’s lack of in-ring experience, saying the build and storyline would be the most entertaining part and whatever conclusion is “the easy part” and his job to figure out.

He said he had no idea that former UFC champions Henry Cejudo, Rashad Evans, and Vitor Belfort were going to come out with Tyson, going on to say he assumes there weren’t there just to hang around and “want to be part of the business.”

He also bristled at any criticism that this is just a WWE angle or ripoff, saying this is “a Chris Jericho angle. That’s ludicrous. Anybody criticizing that this was a WWE angle and we brought it over here — this is my life. It’s my story.”

He also discussed the Stadium Stampede and that they filmed from 9 PM to 6 AM from Friday to Saturday with three hours of time to edit.

AEW Dynamite video highlights: Tyson confronts Jericho, FTR debut

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Playing off a forgotten angle from Monday Night Raw more than a decade ago, Mike Tyson and Chris Jericho were involved in a pull-apart angle on last night’s AEW Dynamite. 

Jericho called an end to The Inner Circle’s pep rally and demanded Tyson’s head be delivered to him on a platter. Tyson then entered with an entourage. 

Dynamite was also notable for the long-awaited AEW debut of FTR. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler saved The Young Bucks from an attack at the hands of The Butcher and The Blade. 

The next challenger for Jon Moxley’s AEW World Championship made his Dynamite debut as Brian Cage defeated Lee Johnson. Taz then called out Moxley in a strong promo segment. 

Jungle Boy won a number one contender’s battle royal for a shot at the TNT Championship. Earlier on the show, Cody cut a promo discussing the importance of the TNT title and issued a weekly open challenge for the championship. 

In the women’s division, new AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida had her first match since winning the title, while Britt Baker addressed her injury status and her recovery timetable. 

For the rest of what you missed, including Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian vs. SCU, scroll below.

More coverage from last night —

AEW Dynamite video highlights —

FTR make their AEW debut

Brian Cage’s Dynamite debut

Britt Baker’s conspiracy theory

New AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida in action

Cody vows to issue an open challenge for the TNT title every week

Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian earn a Tag Team title shot

Jungle Boy wins a battle royal, will be Cody’s first TNT title challenger

Inner Circle pep rally

Mike Tyson and Chris Jericho pull-apart

Mike Tyson, Chris Jericho get in pull-apart brawl on AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Josh Nason

Mike Tyson’s time in AEW apparently isn’t over just yet.

The former boxing star and former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho got into a pull apart brawl to close out AEW Dynamite Wednesday, nodding toward a possible match between the two down the line. Tyson was part of Saturday’s Double or Nothing show, presenting Cody with the TNT title.

Tyson, flanked by former UFC champions Henry Cejudo, Rashad Evans, and Vitor Belfort, indie wrestler Mr. Grim, filmmaker Mickey Gooch (black face paint) and another unnamed man, came out as The Inner Circle were having their pep rally.

Jericho said he had been “waiting for this moment for ten years”. While WWE and the situation wasn’t referenced, Tyson knocked him out and turned on him when they teamed up in a 2010 WWE Raw match against then-tag team champions D-Generation X. Tyson was the guest host for the night.

After Tyson said something about how Jericho “stole the title,” Jericho demanded an apology and Tyson awkwardly ripped his shirt off, flexing in front of Jericho instead. The two then shoved each other and both entourages, plus the majority of the locker room, spilled out to break things up. Tyson then charged out of the back and tried to get at Jericho again before being escorted to the back.

Tyson told AEW cameras backstage that he was coming back and Jericho was going to “get his ass kicked.”

It’s unclear why the former UFC fighters were there, but Belfort was and American Top Team founder Dan Lambert were in attendance at Double or Nothing. Belfort is signed with ONE, the Asian-based MMA organization Belfort is signed with that also has a deal with TNT/BR Live.

When asked Saturday why he was there, Belfort didn’t directly answer, telling ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, “Always a reason. Life without a reason means you are dead. I am full of life. The phenom is ready.”

.@IAmJericho wanted @MikeTyson. He got him AND @vitorbelfort AND @HenryCejudo AND A WHOLE LOTTA TROUBLE #AEWDynamitepic.twitter.com/iqvEnqx9Nb

— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) May 28, 2020

Mike Tyson to appear on AEW Dynamite this week

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Mike Tyson is returning to AEW programming this Wednesday.

AEW confirmed on their social media this afternoon that Mike Tyson will appear on Dynamite this Wednesday. It wasn’t made clear what his role will be.

Tyson was a part of AEW Double or Nothing on Saturday, where he was set to present the winner of the Cody/Lance Archer TNT title match with the new championship. He sat at ringside while the two fought in the finals of a tournament to crown the first ever champion.

Towards the end of the match, Cody’s coach Arn Anderson got involved, causing Lance Archer to crotch himself on the top turnbuckle. This caused a second referee to come to ringside and tell the first referee about what Anderson did. Anderson was ejected from the match, allowing Archer’s manager Jake Roberts to come out with a snake.

Once Tyson saw what Roberts was doing, however, he ripped off his shirt and confronted Roberts. This allowed Cody to pick up the win and the championship.

Mike Tyson to present TNT title at AEW Double or Nothing

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Mike Tyson will be a part of Double or Nothing later this month.

It was announced tonight that Mike Tyson will be presenting the TNT championship at AEW Double or Nothing on May 23. Tyson’s name has been mentioned in recent weeks in pro wrestling circles, but not for AEW. Court Bauer recently sent out an invite to Mike Tyson to participate in a wrestling match, with proceeds going to charities. 

The finals of the TNT title tournament will take place at Double or Nothing. Cody and Lance Archer, the two finalists, confronted one another tonight on Dynamite. The feud has gotten personal over the course of the last few weeks, with Roberts putting a snake on Brandi after she was laid out by Britt Baker on last week’s Dynamite.

Cody came out in a truck to open tonight’s show, leading to a confrontation between Archer and Cody. Archer laid out Cody, but was eventually stopped by Roberts.

Tyson’s most infamous appearance in pro wrestling was back in 1998, when he appeared as a guest enforcer in the Shawn Micheals/Steve Austin WWE title match at WrestleMania XIV. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.

Daily Update: WWE injuries, Mike Tyson, 205 Live

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

[email protected]

Raw is tonight in Bakersfield.  Tyson Fury will be there, plus Natalya vs. Lacey Evans in a last woman standing match, a non-title match with Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch, Randy Orton vs. Rusev, and Miz TV with Flair and Lynch.

AEW WEDNESDAY FROM THE AGANNIS ARENA IN BOSTON ON TNT

Jimmy Havoc vs. Darby Allin – winner gets a title shot at Chris Jericho
Young Bucks vs. Private Party in the tag team title tournament.
Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevera vs. Dustin Rhodes & Hangman Page
Jon Moxley vs. Shawn Spears

NXT WEDNESDAY FROM FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY ON USA

Kushida vs. Walter
Drew Gulak vs. Lio Rush for cruiserweight title

F4W NEWSLETTER: Looking at SmackDown’s move to FOX Joseph Currier looks ahead to SmackDown’s FOX premiere and what the move will mean. Plus, Bryan Rose’s Japan notes and Vinny V’s TV reviews. 

While much of the focus has been on the AEW vs. NXT Wednesday Night War, WWE main roster television materially changes this week with SmackDown’s FOX premiere.

The magnitude of WWE airing live on network television every week has been apparent since news of the FOX move broke, but it didn’t fully set in until FOX started promoting the show. WWE personalities have been featured on FOX’s most valuable sports properties, with them appearing on NFL, college football, and MLB coverage. The promotion WWE would get on FOX was said to be one of the selling points of the deal, and FOX has already been as great of a partner as WWE could have hoped for. The promotional opportunities that FOX affords have the potential to make a real difference for WWE. Not every appearance will go perfectly (FOX’s Mark Schlereth saying Rey Mysterio was “like Nacho Libre” was pretty lame), but wrestlers being positioned as on the same level as other professional sports stars in FOX’s portfolio is gigantic for WWE.

WWE is also officially being given its own studio show on FS1. Renee Young and Booker T will host WWE Backstage, which premieres at 11 p.m. Eastern time/8 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday, November 5. There will also be a preview show after game three of Major League Baseball’s American League Championship Series on October 15. Young and Booker T will “weigh in on the biggest stories in WWE, and are joined by a rotating cast of guests and personalities, including current and former WWE Superstars.” The show is a FOX production, and it was reported last week that CM Punk has tried out for it.

WWE and FOX have worked in unison to make SmackDown’s FOX premiere as big as it could possibly be. Brock Lesnar will have his first match on either Raw or SmackDown since 2004 as he challenges for Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will also make his first televised WWE appearance in over three years.

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

WON NEWSLETTER: October 7, 2019 Observer Newsletter: First battle in the Wednesday Night War

The Wednesday night war has started, and there’s no more detailed rundown than in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer.

We’ve got every aspect of the business covered, including:

How every match on both shows did when it comes to viewers, head-to-head, and how different demos fared. 

What things WWE tried that worked, what didn’t work, and what failed. 

The money demo, baseball competition, analyze where NXT gained and lost and what it says about AEW and competition, who had the advantage when it came to replays, was it a TNT nostalgia wrestling rating, average age for WWE and AEW shows, what audiences AEW beats WWE shows in, what AEW’s success under 35 showed, comments from key people about the ratings,  and we also look at Canada ratings, the UK deal and what time slot is actually the key one for AEW in the UK.

Also:

Different tricks both companies took, who did the best job of hype, what comes next week and the non-wrestling aspects of the show.

Match-by-match coverage for both shows with star ratings.

Turmoil in CMLL, the departure of Rush and Dragon Lee, how Lee found out, the future of Mistico, Rush talks his future, as does Dragon Lee, the changes in CMLL that led to this, and all kinds of new policies that changes the world’s oldest wrestling promotion. 

C.M. Punk, noting his lawsuit with Colt Cabana being settled, his screen test for a new WWE show, the latest on if he will wrestle, while Cody talks his thoughts about Punk in AEW.

Cain Velasquez in pro wrestling.  We look at the Forum card being postponed, WWE’s meeting with him, what angles on Raw this week related to him, update on who has signed the most key guys of late and why Velasquez’s situation is so unique.

Smackdown premier on FOX and ticket interest, Hell in a Cell, the next Saudi Arabia show, Steve Austin, Ric Flair’s title reigns, update on a WWE Hall of Famer who may get cleared, Fourth generation McMahon may become a wrestler, how much Cena affected business, Dana White exchanges words with Matt Riddle, Braun Strowman’s new deal, Upcoming Evolve bouts with WWE stars, WWE market value declines and why, most-watched shows on the WWE Network plus a look at all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week with results, highlights and business notes.

Coverage of CMLL’s biggest show of the year, the anniversary card, with match-by-match coverage and star ratings.

Coverage of ROH Death Before Dishonor, with match-by-match coverage, business notes, star ratings PPV numbers and more on Matt Taven’s new landmark ROH deal.

Coverage on this past weekend’s UFC show in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The death of Rick Bogner, look at his days as Big Tytan in Japan, the story behind the fake Razor Ramon in WWF, why his career ended, who got him into WWF but some of the guys he started out with talk about him.

Coverage of all the WWE television shows from the past week, in-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos for the WWE shows and what can be learned from them.

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, Wednesday night wars as well as taking questions that you can send to [email protected]. We’re looking for your thoughts on both UFC 243 and WWE Hell in a Cell, you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]. We’re also looking for reports from Raw tonight in Bakersfield with dark matches, Main Event matches and anything else not on the show to [email protected]

As far as injuries last night, Daniel Bryan was fine, but Sasha Banks and Bray Wyatt were not medically cleared for tonight. Banks took stitches in her lip. Luke Harper was also fine. 

Hell in a Cell was the ninth most searched term yesterday on Google with 200,000 searches, putting it behind Friday’s Smackdown overall and only one-fifth of what the UFC show from Melbourne did the night before.  In actuality, I figured the horrible ending of the show would lead to more searches, but it was actually in the usual range of what a B show does. 

Mike Tyson has inked a deal with the PFL. He will host a new PFL television show called “Mike Tyson’s New Fight Game:  The PFL” which will air on the PFL YouTube channel and other digital platforms before their playoffs on Friday.  ESPN 2 was heavily advertising the PFL playoffs, which take place Friday night in Las Vegas (head-to-head with Smackdown which also takes place Friday night in Las Vegas), during the UFC show on Saturday.  The PFL playoffs will have some fights on ESPN 2 and some on ESPN+. Sarah Kaufman and Kayla Harrison are the headliners with women’s 155 and men’s 170 tournament fights.

For those not familiar with Tyson Fury, and it may not translate if they script him, but Fury is a better promo than just about anyone in boxing, all but a few in pro wrestling and MMA as well.  He’s probably at the level of Chael Sonnen. So he may surprise people and will if left to his own devices.

Also regarding Raw, tough competition tonight with the undefeated San Francisco 49ers vs. Cleveland Browns game plus a Yankees vs. Twins baseball playoff game. If they weren’t coming off a PPV, it would be a tough night for ratings.

WWE

  • 205 Live is scheduled to be on at 10pm this Friday from Vegas.
  • WWE has hired James Rosenstock as the new Executive Vice President for International Business.  He will be overseeing the region specific General Mangers and report directly to co-President Michelle Wilson.  Rosenstock was co-CFO and Chief Strategy Office for business for ezCater, a catering company. Before that, he was President of Viceland International, where he oversaw Vice’s efforts to launch in a number of foreign markets (original report by Deadline)
  • NBC announced today that they are merging their television and digital content businesses under one umbrella with Bonnie Hammer put in charge.
  • The band “Crossfyre” has done a cover to the 1983 song “Badstreet USA” that Michael Hayes performed.  They have a new video of it out.

UFC

  • Brok Weaver is out of what was scheduled to be his UFC debut on Saturday’s show in Tampa.  Weaver got into UFC based on a strong performance both in the cage and on promos while competing of the Dana White Contenders series.  They are looking for a new opponent for Thomas Gifford on short notice.
  • Veronica Macedo is cutting to strawweight to face Amanda Lemos on the 12/21 show in Busan, South Korea.
  • Dhiego Lima won his fight with Luke Jumeau and is still protesting that one whacked out judge gave the fight to his opponent.  Media scores were 95% 30-27 for Lima and 5% 29-28 for Lima. None of the three judges had it 30-27 for Lima and one had Jumeau winning.  

MISCELLANEOUS

  • There will be a celebration of life for Rick Bogner on 10/24 at 7 p.m. Mountain time.  It takes place at the Cardel Theatre at 180 Quarry Park Blvd., in Calgary.
  • IWA East Cost on 10/19 in Nitro,WV at the King’s Way Christian Church with Jason Kincaid vs. Shawn Spears as the main event.
  • WOW owner Jennie Buss, founder David McLane plus wrestlers Tessa Blanchard and The Beast will be at the LA Comic Con this weekend.  On Friday, there will be autograph signings from 1-8 p.m. at Booth 103 with a number of WOW wrestlers. Saturday there will be wrestlers appearing 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Booth 103.  At 3 p.m. there will be a match with The Beast vs The Lioness. At 3:30 p.m., Bus, McLane and Blanchard will be signing. There will be more signings 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
  • PWP on Wednesday night in Omaha, NE at the Waiting Room Lounge.
  • Defy on 10/19 in Seattle at Washington Hall features Amazing Red and Matt Sydal.  They also have shows on 11/30 and 12/1 at Washington Hall. The 12/1 show will be open to all ages with a 5 p.m. start.
  • Combate Americas runs 11/1 in Garland, TX at the Curtis Culwell Center and 11/8 in San Antonio at the Freeman Coliseum.  Both events air live at midnight Eastern and Pacific on Galavision and at midnight Eastern and 9 p.m. Pacific on Galavision Deportes.
  • A new local pro wrestling television show in Houston called Championship Wrestling”  Houston, will air on ABC Ch 13 on Sunday at 12:30 a.m. The show will be presented by the Arena Theater in Houston.
  • Pro Wrestling Eve on Saturday in London at the Resistance Gallery with Kris Wolf returning, not wrestling, but doing a segment.  Rhia O’Reilly & Livvii Grace vs. Mercedes Martinez & Laura Di Matteo, Debbie Keitel & Valkyrie vs. Jinny & ? are both semifinals in a tournament for the vacant tag titles and the finals will also be on the show.  Also Roxxy vs Kasey in a She-1 tournament qualifier and Nightshade vs. Angel Hazye in a She-1 tournament qualifier.
  • Lloyd’s Rumble on Saturday in Hot Springs, AR at the Convention Center features a preshow meet and greet with Arn Anderson, Bob Orton Jr., Buff Bagwell, Elijah Burke, Tim Storm and Matt Riviera. 
  • Here is the 20 year retrospective story on Heroes of Wrestling with broadcaster Randy Rosenbloom. It appears today in GV Wire, a daily digital newspaper in Fresno. While Rosenbloom admits his flaws, he says the show had its good points. Plus, he reveals his thoughts on Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ performance on that show.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Daily Pro Wrestling History (10/07): WWE No Mercy 2007

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