Tag: PRIDE

WOR: Lawsuits, WWE employee compensation, Raw recap, news

Posted on February 25, 2025February 25, 2025 by Bryan Alvarez

Image: WWE

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the Endeavor merger lawsuit, WWE employees upset with compensation changes, ratings, Arena Mexico Friday, AEW and NXT previews, the fall of PRIDE, the Raw report, Elimination Chamber, and tons more.

A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: New details on Endeavor lawsuit, WWE employee morale down
11:52: Arena Mexico update, ratings
17:28: UFC this weekend, lineups for this week, Pride episode of Dark Side of the Cage
33:18: WWE Raw recap, WWE Elimination Chamber lineup

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April 2, 2007 Observer Newsletter: UFC purchases Pride, WWE WrestleMania 23 advance

Posted on September 8, 2024September 8, 2024 by Dave Meltzer

In two separate press conferences in Tokyo, one for the Japanese media and another for the U.S. media, it was announced on 3/27 that Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, the owners of the UFC, had purchased the assets, contracts, tape library and all marks related to the Pride Fighting Championships from Dream Stage Entertainment.

The purchase price has been reported by various sources at being between $65 million and $70 million. The Fertittas will create a new company called Pride Fighting Championships Worldwide Holdings, LLC, keeping it separate from their Zuffa, LLC company, which runs both UFC and WEC events.

Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White and Nobuyuki Sakakibara spoke at both press conferences. Nobuhiko Takada also spoke to the Japanese press and about 2,500 fans at Roppogi Hills in Tokyo. The Japanese press conference also featured most of Pride’s big name Japanese fighters as well as UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. It was announced that the companies would be largely kept separate, with distinct rosters, and have separate front offices with the Pride office remaining the group that currently worked for DSE with the exception of Sakakibara, who is leaving the company.

Subscribers can read this issue here.

January 9, 2006 Observer Newsletter: Pride & K1 New Year’s Eve shows, Superstar Billy Graham DVD recap

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Bryan Rose

The New Year’s Eve tradition in Japan this year produced a lot of controversy, a few surprises and head-to-head battles which appear to have shown substance for once beating style among the masses.

Pride, on the strength of its Naoya Ogawa vs. Hidehiko Yoshida battle of 1992 judo medalists match, reversed the results of the past two years by beating K-1 in the head-to-head battle. Two weeks ago, that would have been expected, but with the addition of Masato, K-1 had one strong ratings draw after another on its schedule. Making the win even more surprising is that the Ogawa vs. Yoshida main event, on television, ended at 11 p.m., some 46 minutes before the scheduled finish of the show. Both shows, to allow for editing and counter programming, actually were taped a few hours before airing.

Because of the time management issue, Pride on the Fuji Network ended up showing a second airing of the Takanori Gomi vs. Hayato Sakurai and Ogawa vs. Yoshida fights head-to-head with K-1’s main event, Kid Yamamoto vs. Genki Sudo on TBS. Even weirder, is they had not yet aired Alexander Emelianenko vs. Pawel Nastula (a good fight, but anti-climactic after the main event) nor Dan Henderson vs. Murilo Bustamante welterweight title match (which was edited down to one minute of a 20:00 fight), nor round two of Wanderlei Silva vs. Ricardo Arona (a grudge match and one of the biggest matches of the night). Even though it appeared there was less interest (and that was undeniable in North America as it regarded the two shows) going in, the combined head-to-head rating, and total audience watching both shows was slightly up. There was an aggregate 31.8% of the Japanese homes watching the two shows head to head on 12/31 between 9 and 11 p.m, up from 30.9% last year.

Subscribers can read this issue here.

July 11, 2005 Observer Newsletter: Bad WWE earnings report, Pride Critical Countdown

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Bryan Rose

Despite the addition of four more PPV events and huge increases in international business, World Wrestling Entertainment actually declined in both revenue and profit for the fiscal year that ended on 4/30.

In the company’s earning report released on 6/30, the company grossed $365,431,000 in revenue, its lowest figure since 1998-99, and earned $39,147,000 in profits. From a pure wrestling standpoint, it would be the second least profitable year since the boom that started in 1998-99, but with no outside money losing businesses dragging down the bottom line, it was actually fifth most profitable year in company history. In actuality, the company’s actual money declined from last year, because $33 million plus went to dividends and $28,340,000 was spent on production of two movies, which won’t be listed on the current books until 2007, when revenue from those movies starts coming in. A similar situation will occur the coming year, with at least $20 million, and likely more, depending upon how many movies the company produces over the next fiscal year.

There are also another $5.9 million not on the current year books in accrued expenses and liabilities, and another $2.2 million that is on the books in income that the company is scheduled to receive (not including PPV revenue that always comes late) but has been deferred and thus they don’t have it currently.

Click here to read the rest of the newsletter.

November 8, 2004 Observer Newsletter: Panda Energy losing faith in TNA, PRIDE vs. K-1, more

Posted on November 17, 2021May 16, 2024 by Dave Meltzer

When history looks back at what at this point is really just an expensive historical blip on wrestling’s radar screen, the period from 11/7 to 11/11 will be a key turning point in TNA company history.

While everyone involved knew from the start this would be a long haul if there was to be success, there is genuine fear among those involved that Panda Energy, the money which kept the project alive in 2002 when it was about to go bankrupt, is losing patience. Those involved have noted you can see cutbacks behind the scenes being made, including the attempt this past week to stop paying the jobber crew (which would have only saved the company $600 per week), which was overturned in one day due to so much negative feedback the company got. There were also problems with reservations at the hotel this past week, as some people had their hotels changed without being told. There are other signs that people are starting to get worried.

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

August 30, 2004 Observer Newsletter: Randy Couture wins at UFC 49

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Dave Meltzer

Someday, sadly, Father Time will catch up to the most successful champion in UFC history.

But for now, it will have to wait. 41-year-old Randy Couture captured the UFC light heavyweight championship, becoming the first four-time champion in the 11-year history of the sport, by stopping 26-year-old Vitor Belfort after three rounds, in a rematch of the 1/31 fluke where Belfort captured the title.

On 8/21 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Couture is now both a two-time heavyweight champion and two-time light heavyweight champion, with a tenure that dates back to a title win back in 1997 from Maurice Smith. In even more interesting news, after his match, Couture issued a challenge to Pride’s champion, Wanderlei Silva, who was sitting at ringside. While UFC officials were adamant that Couture did this on his own and it was not a planned angle, the fact was, Pride had released both in Japan, and in the U.S. in a press release, that Silva was going to Las Vegas.

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

August 9, 2004 Observer Newsletter: Bruno Sammartino backstage at Raw, more

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Dave Meltzer

Bruno Sammartino was at the WWE Raw show in Pittsburgh on 7/26 for more than just to work on a documentary about his life, but also because he’s been offered a role as an announcer for the new 24/7 channel.

It would have been an incredible shock a few months ago for things to have gotten this far due to hard feelings. It is not clear where things stand right now, other than Sammartino had a cordial meeting with Vince McMahon at the show, which would have been the first time the two would have spoken since a public confrontation on the stage of the Phil Donahue show in 1992.

Sammartino, 69, and the company had been at odds since 1987, when Sammartino’s contract as a TV announcer expired and he left the company, unhappy with how wrestling had changed. In particular, Sammartino noted the drug culture, both steroids and recreational drugs, that had changed the business since his heyday as the company’s biggest star for most of the period from 1963 until his initial retirement in 1981.

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May 10, 2004 Observer Newsletter: WWE introducing wilder characters, PRIDE controversy, more

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Dave Meltzer

he WWE has seemingly changed directions when it comes to some characters and has more plans to get wilder with new characters.

As it turns out, the Eugene character is going to be portrayed in the manner suggested here a few weeks ago. This has nothing to do with what was written here, as it was suggested by many people before hand. But the original gimmick of a modern day Rainman crossed with Mighty Igor (a 70s babyface character who played a simple immigrant who had freakish strength) looks from TV this week to be a guy whose Rainman strengths makes him pick up technical submission wrestling at incredible speed. The character looks to be that of a simple man, who actually is a great wrestler after a great television vignette where William Regal was attempting to teach him and then stretch him, and he wound up stretching his teacher.

The other major change is that the Hirohito name for Kenzo Suzuki has been dropped.

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