A day after he declared he was a free agent, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has signed a multi-fight deal with the PFL.
He will be part of their upcoming “season” format in the lightweight division while saying he wants to compete at welterweight the next season.
“I’m looking to make a run at another world championship, and the PFL format will allow me to do that in 12 months and do it again the following year at 170 pounds. The offer the PFL gave me was extremely fair and they presented it as a partnership. Ready for a new chapter and a fresh start. Gonna be a fun ride,” he said to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.
A partner of ESPN, the PFL will kick off on April 23rd with five events to follow through the end of June. The group didn’t run any events in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Pettis (24-10) defeated Alex Morono by decision in his final UFC fight on Saturday and has won his last two overall, the first winning streak he’s had in four years. He had been with the UFC for nearly a decade.
One of our two biggest issues of the year, the 2020 Hall of Fame issue is out this week. It’s got complete results of the balloting among historians, active and retired performers, reporters and historians by category as well as final voting totals, plus who will and won’t be back on next year’s ballot.
The issue runs down the new members with extensive biographies on all of them. It explains the voting process and criteria, as well as runs down who came close. We also look at voting combinations that were popular, and notes on some of the key candidates. We list all of the first ballot Hall of Famers in history as well as the four highest vote getters in history. We look at people new to the ballot next year, who picked up Hall of Fame numbers in different categories along with bios of four of the five inductees.
Also in this issue:
AEW Full Gear show, including future AEW direction, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results on the show.
Changes in the fundamental manner WWE has run its business since the beginning of time and why health conditions and economics have completely changed the industry.
New Japan’s upcoming tournaments, the Tokyo Dome show plans, the story behind it, business notes, plus a complete rundown of Power Struggle with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Survivor Series and this week’s WWE television that leads to it.
Where WWE may be taping from after it leaves Orlando and the pros and cons of the place, Tribute to the Troops and why the rating number may surprise people, WrestleMania note, Paige talks Alberto Del Rio’s case, Stalker tries to invader Paige’s home, Bellas talk a return to the ring, WWE new trademarks, Dwayne Johnson after a movie franchise adn plan for new show, John Cena’s next big role, UK TV ratings, how Smackdown and AEW rank among sports shows, plus the market value of WWE and the most-watched shows from the past week from the WWE Network.
Saturday’s UFC show with match coverage and business notes.
Ratings breakdowns in every segment for Wednesdays and every category for other shows, looking at stats not available elsewhere to get the deepest read into how shows are doing, what categories are doing well and how shows compare with previous weeks and one year ago.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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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 talking Raw and the rest of the news tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send email questions for tonight’s show to [email protected]
Raw tonight should do a much larger than usual rating with the Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre WWE title match. If you watched Smackdown on Friday you would reach a logical conclusion that McIntyre is facing Roman Reigns at Survivor Series, and to do so, he needs to win the title tonight. Also on the show is Retribution vs. Braun Strowman & Riddle & Sheamus & Keith Lee and a tag team title match with Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods defending against Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander. The show tonight goes against a Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings Monday Night Football game.
The Young Bucks autobiography, “Young Bucks: Killing the Business” will be officially released tomorrow. For a time during pre-release it was the best-selling book in the country on Amazon.com.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum has signed with the PFL and will begin there during the company’s 2021 season. In the PFL press release they called Werdum “arguably the greatest heavyweight fighter in the history of MMA.” PFL CEO Peter Murray called him the Tom Brandy of MMA. I wouldn’t go near that far, but he did have one of the biggest wins in MMA history in 2010 over Fedor Emelianenko, breaking Fedor’s ten year unbeaten streak.
New Japan runs Korakuen Hall on Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. Eastern with a show with matches in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament:
Yuji Nagata & Gabriel Kidd vs Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma
Yuya Uemura vs. Bushi
Robbie Eagles vs. Master Wato
Sho vs. Douki
Taiji Ishimori vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Desperado
Bellator on Thursday night on CBS Sports network has Darrion Caldwell vs. A.J. McKee in the featherweight tournament which is a huge match with an NCAA champion wrestler vs. unbeaten fighter. Benson Henderson faces Jason Jackson in the semi.
WWE
The movie “The Buddy Games” where Sheamus has a major role will be released on 11/24 for streaming on Demand. Olivia Munn is the star of the movie which is a WWE Films production.
Jeff Katz, who has experience writing wrestling, working for Lion’s Gate, and dealing with SAG has some interesting words about why he feels wrestlers should join SAG.
Topps has come out with trading cards for Chapter 11 of The Mandalorian that feature Sasha Banks.
UFC
Jussier Formiga, who was one of the top flyweights in UFC, was cut today after three losses. Formiga has a win over current champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
Belal Muhammad faces Dhiego Lima on 12/19. Muhammad was to face Sean Brody , who pulled out due to undisclosed issues a few weeks. back.
Ketlen Vieira vs. Yana Kunitskaya has been set for a 2/20 show. The two were first scheduled on 8/1 and the fight never happened due to Vieira having visa issues.
AEW
An article on the new AEW video by Director X. The video will be released on Wednesday.
Today’s throwback interview segment for Wednesday’s AEW show featuring Ricky Starks, which will be for all of you into 80s Mid Atlantic nostalgia
AEW Dark tomorrow night:
Joey Janela vs. Marko Stunt
Christopher Daniels vs. Jack Evans
Leyla Hirsch vs. Tesha Price
Penelope Ford vs. Rahne Victoria
Frankie Kazarian vs. Griff Garrison
Ivelisse vs. Alex Gracia
Big Swole vs. KyLynn King
Ricky Starks vs. Travis Titan
Brandon Cutler vs. Ryzin
Thunder Rosa vs. Lindsay Snow
OTHER NEWS NOTES
R.J. Meyer, who wrestled as The Bruiser and was the longtime top star of the MCW promotion based in Maryland, passed away earlier today at the age of 44 after a battle with leukemia. We are very sorry to all his friends and family.
South Australia has 17 new COVID cases so travel from South Australia to the rest of Australia has a 14-day self-isolation quarantine imposed. Also gyms are closed and all sports are banned for the next two weeks. So Saturday’s Riot City Wrestling show is out and the 12/19 Adelaide Championship Wrestling show has frozen ticket sales for now until it’s clear they can run a show.
SHWA from Saturday night in Western Australia: Toro Blanco b Pegasus, Dizzy Videl & Ryan Allan b Great George & ?, Chris Target b Bruno Nitro, Jules Canan won three-way over Jared Slate and Axxton, Chadwick Jackson b Callum Collins, Taylor King b The Hoarde, Del Cano NC Michael Morleone to keep the Pride title (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
ACTION Wrestling ran two shows on Friday in Tyrone, GA
First show: Lutha X b Bobby Flaco, Graham Bell won scramble over Kevin Ryan, Brayden Lee and Shean Christopher, Brett Ison b Cole Radrick, Antony Henry b Kyle Matthews, Alex Kane b Damyan Tangra, Cabana Man Dan b Suge D-DQ, AC Mack b Tre Lamar
Second show: Fred Yehi b Adam Priest, Billie Starkz b Seishin, Logan Creed b Orion Bishop, Matt Sells b Jaden Newman, Arik Royal b Anthony Henry. Next show is 12/11 with Henry vs. Suge D (Pineapple Pete in AEW) as the main event.
CWE will live stream a 12/4 show in Winnipeg on its Facebook page for free looking for donations. It will be produced on a closed set in Winnipeg with COVID guidelines in place.
MLW announced Alex Hammerstone will be on their restart show that drops at 7 p.m. Eastern on YouTube and headlined by Jacob Fatu vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. for the MLW title.
The life and times of Howard Finkel in the most details article on his life and wrestling career, as well as coverage of one of the biggest news weeks in the history of the industry highlight the current issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We go through WWE financials to look at cash on hand, cash available, the decision to continue tapings and the schedule which has since changed, why they made the call, the cuts, the Florida decision to make WWE an essential service, why, how the Governor’s explanation makes no sense at all, what WWE did that make no sense health wise, reactions from other companies in the industry, the story behind the WWE’s first Coronavirus positive and how the story the talent got and the public got were different. We also look at the stories behind the cuts, looking at who different companies may or may not want, some NXT releases, sports owners look at WWE decisions, the monthly cost savings of talent cuts, and the first Corona virus death in pro wrestling.
In our story on Howard Finkel, we trace his career from his first connection with the McMahons in 1977, his first MSG ring announcing date, his late 70s ring announcing, his attempts to be a TV announcer, the decisions to take him off television, WWE doing national, his being the butt of Vince McMahon’s jokes, his taking a blood test for Hulk Hogan, many in the business talk about Finkel, as well as angles he worked.
The new issue also covers:
AEW and UFC plans going forward.
Folding of the XFL, how it was handled, who did and didn’t know, biggest creditors and why the decision to shut down was likely made.
Departure of the Revival and their new names, Bill Goldberg gives a WrestleMania blow-by-blow and talks Roman Reigns, DVR viewership of Raw, Ronda Rousey compares WWE to UFC, compares methods of pay, talks unionization, Rousey’s last UFC contract terms, wrestlers respond to Rousey saying wrestling was fake, Lawler controversy, Canadian ratings, cruiserweight title tournament, UFC star talks going to WWE full-time in a few years, Dwayne Johnson talks pro wrestling, and most-watched shows on the WWE Network.
An explanation as to why UFC was so desperate to get back up and running.
The meeting between the Japanese government and many of the major business players and top stars in Japanese wrestling. We look at who presided over it which explains why it happened, the talks on COVID-19, ability to return, plans to return and more.
The AEW vs. NXT battle and go through different demos, and how the viewers reacted to the different key matches.
Update on the matches scheduled for the Money in the Bank show.
Kevin Sullivan responding to Dark Side of the Ring, alleging Nancy stabbed him, as well as a planned WCW angle and how Chris Benoit came to ECW and then WCW.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
WWE posted on their social media just prior to tonight’s NXT: “Ahead of tonight’s episode of #WWENXT, officials have learned of a possible incident involving @FinnBalor inside the @WWENXT locker room. This is a developing story, more information will be provided when available.”
Mike Chioda, who had been employed by WWE for 35 years prior to his release last week, commented on his firing on Twitter: “Want To Say Thanks To the WWE & To All My AMAZING WWE FANS & Universe! 35yrs & 31yrs Refereeing Working for the WWE has been a FANTASTIC RUN!! I Am So PROUD to have Worked with So Many ICONS & AMAZING TALENT IN THIS INDUSTRY!! I THANK YOU ALL!! 1Luv!”
Fox Sports 1 ratings had Becky’s Lynch’s five most favorable moments (9:00 pm) drawing 299,000 viewers, while the WWE 24 documentary on Ronda Rousey (8:00 pm) drew 214,000 viewers. The WWE 24 special on Becky Lynch and WWE Backstage did not chart the top 150 most watched cable shows for the night.
Britt Baker appeared on today’s episode of Talk is Jericho. Baker spoke about people saying she stole her “role model” gimmick from Bayley (via Post Wrestling): “While we’re on the topic of that, no, we did not steal the ‘Role Model’ from Bayley because that’s like a daily thing and I know we’ve talked about it too, how the inspiration came from you, from Chris Jericho for the ‘Role Model’ gimmick. I’m not… I don’t wanna say I don’t know totally what’s going on with RAW and SmackDown because I try to stay in touch with it but at the same time, I’m a dentist and a professional wrestler. I don’t know every single storyline or [what’s] going on each week. So, it wasn’t until I actually said the words ‘Role Model’ on TV and then I got the Bayley army coming at me. ‘You’re stealing her gimmick’ [like] I even knew she was calling herself that too. Granted, totally different uses of the words, totally different gimmicks as we call it. But I just kinda wanted to set the record straight that no, we didn’t steal that from anybody. Well I stole it from you [Chris Jericho], not from her.”
Billy Caputo, a former referee for the WWE and a former NYSAC official, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 72.
Darby Allin was interviewed by Sports Illustrated ahead of his TNT Championship tournament first round match against Sammy Guevara airing on Dynamite tonight.
Pro Wrestling NOAH announced that they have canceled all of their events for May.
The BBC has a story of luchadores sewing face masks during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Gia Miller, a 22 year old pro wrestler in the Alabama area, made her debut as an Impact interviewer last night.
Epico and Primo will make their first appearances post-WWE for a scheduled Legends of the Ring convention on October 3 in South Iselin, New Jersey. They will be appearing as The Colons as well as under their former Los Matadores personas.
PFL CEO Pete Murray told Fansided that the organization has made roster cuts but is keeping “the significant majority, over two-thirds” of their fighters. Murray said about the cuts: “We haven’t announced those fighters, so we’re not at liberty to share all those details. But the Coronavirus had an impact on businesses in all industries including sports and we’ve had to make some difficult decisions during a very difficult time.”
Brett Okamoto of ESPN is reporting that the PFL is paying a $1,000 a month stipend to athletes.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including a ton of confirmed NXT cuts, the PFL basically shutting down for a year but still paying people, tons of feedback and more.
Plus, “Trust Fund Approved” Jared Silberkleit joins us today to talk about working in digital media for WWE, managing, getting powerbombed by Bully Ray and tons more.
A fun show as always so check it out here, Twitch or on Vimeo!
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has rescheduled its next season.
“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Professional Fighters League has rescheduled our upcoming 2020 season for Spring 2021,” PFL CEO Pete Murray announced today. “PFL is a global MMA league with athletes from over 25 countries, and our decision is guided by the health and safety of our fighters, fans, partners, and event personnel.”
This was set to be the PFL’s third season. The promotion was formerly known as World Series of Fighting.
“The PFL mission is to evolve and grow the sport of MMA, and we look forward to staging our unique sport-season format with Regular Season, Playoff and Championship events on ESPN platforms next year. PFL has always been focused on delivering the best made-for-TV MMA product and we will continue to deliver the most innovative fight experience going forward. Fans can also look forward to PFL elevating our roster with new championship caliber fighter signings such as Rory MacDonald,” Murray said.
“For the remainder of 2020, the PFL will support our fighters with a monthly cash stipend to help provide some relief during these challenging times. In addition, for sports fans who we know are looking for compelling content, the PFL will deliver new original programming across ESPN and PFL platforms.”
This year’s season was supposed to begin in May and conclude in December. The PFL had previously announced in March that they were delaying the start of the season and would begin when it was feasible to do so.
The uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc with the MMA calendar as two promotions made further dramatic shifts to their schedule Monday.
Several weeks after canceling their Mohegan Sun (Connecticut) event hours before the first punch was scheduled to be thrown, Bellator MMA announced the postponement of their three May shows, first reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani and announced by the promotion Monday night.
Those shows were scheduled for May 9th in San Jose, CA, May 16th in London, England, and May 29th in Temecula, CA. The San Jose show featured a Ryan Bader light heavyweight title fight, and a vacant middleweight title fight between Gegard Mousasi and Douglas Lima. Bellator said they are hoping to reschedule them as soon as possible.
Their next show is scheduled for June 6th at Chicago, IL’s Wintrust Arena, their only event on their calendar until October.
Also happening on Monday, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced their 2020 season is on indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus. They had yet to announce a formal schedule, but their season was expected to kick off in the late spring. PFL didn’t announce a full cancellation of this year, but said in a statement they were “adjusting their plan for the rest of the year and look forward to starting our next season as soon as it is feasible.”
More than a year after he competed in Oscar De La Hoya’s one-and-done MMA promotional outing, former UFC light heavyweight “Filthy” Tom Lawlor will return to mixed martial arts in 2020, signing a deal with the Professional Fighters League where he’ll compete to win $1 million.
Announcing the news in an interview with Ariel Helwani Wednesday, the 36-year-old said he views the opportunity as a golden lottery ticket. Lawlor is currently signed to a deal with MLW and also works indies around the country which is expected to continue.
The former World Series of Fighting relaunched as the PFL and held their inaugural season under their new format in 2018. Fighters in six different weight classes compete in two fights earlier in the year to make their version of the playoffs in the fall. That consists of eight person, single elimination tournaments where fighters compete twice in a night in order to advance to the finals. If they win the finals scheduled for New Year’s Eve, they take home $1 million.
Lawlor, the co-host of the weekly Filthy Four Daily podcast on this website, doesn’t have a date or opponent for his first yet, but the PFL season runs from May through August. They have not announced their schedule as of yet.
Lawlor was suspended by USADA in November 2016 for two years for testing positive for ostarine. While he claimed his innocence throughout, his requests to be released were denied until the UFC randomly released him two months before that suspension was up. As more fighters tested positive for ostarine that earned significantly shorter sentences, USADA released a statement to MMA Fighting in April 2019 saying that Lawlor could have challenged the claim with an independent arbitrator and been eligible for a shorter suspension had the case happened in 2019.
Lawlor (10-7-0-1) last fought in the UFC in March 2016, losing a close decision to Corey Anderson. In the aforementioned De La Hoya event, he lost to current UFC middleweight Deron Winn.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that ESPN is raising prices for UFC pay-per-views on their ESPN+ streaming service starting with January’s UFC 246 show headlined by the return of Conor McGregor.
The new price will be $64.99, a return to the pre-ESPN era. When ESPN took over as the sole U.S. provider for the UFC’s PPV distribution last March, they reduced the price to $59.99 to help account for the $5 monthly ESPN+ fee.
As part of their PPV deal, the sports network giant pays UFC a monthly flat amount for the exclusivity and the two sides do a revenue split after a certain amount is reached.
The move came as a surprise as the 30-year-old had a successful three-year run with Bellator after leaving the UFC. During his time in Bellator, he went 3-2-1 and won their welterweight title, successfully defending it twice. He lost it to Douglas Lima in October in the finals of the company’s welterweight Grand Prix.
After the Lima fight, he became a free agent as the champion’s clause no longer applied to him.
PFL runs on a season-style format where the winner of each weight division takes home up to $1 million. Helwani reported the Canadian will be part of their 2020 season and will compete for their welterweight title.
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.
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.
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 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.
Lilian Garcia has joined the Professional Fighters League as an in-cage announcer.
Garcia signing with the mixed martial arts promotion was announced during her appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show today. Garcia noted that she’ll still be able to make special appearances for WWE as long as they don’t conflict with the 10 shows that the PFL has this season.
The PFL announced a two-year broadcast deal with ESPN this February, with content airing on ESPN2, ESPN+, and ESPN Deportes. The promotion uses a season model and has a regular season, playoffs, and championship.
“It’s no secret that I LOVE combat sports so now getting to be a part of the MMA world by introducing these amazing fighters in the ring who are fighting hard for an opportunity of a TITLE and ONE MILLION DOLLARS in EACH Division, is going to be unbelievably exciting,” Garcia wrote on Instagram.
This PFL season will begin on Thursday, May 9. The championship event will take place on New Year’s Eve (December 31).
Garcia hosts a podcast called “Chasing Glory” and regularly interviews WWE wrestlers and personalities on the show. She departed her full-time role with WWE in 2016 to care for her father before he passed away.
Garcia appeared at WrestleMania 35 earlier this month as the guest ring announcer for the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal.
