The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio discussing the major stories from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We talked about:
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Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the death of Piloto Suicida, AEW Double or Nothing full pay-per-view recap with tons of thoughts, the Tony Khan media call, Arena Mexico and Atlantis Jr., Dave’s thoughts on the return of Scott Coker to MMA, and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Piloto Suicida passes away, AEW Double or Nothing recap
43:55: Tony Khan media scrum notes
51:45: CMLL notes, Scott Coker starting new MMA promotion
Scott Coker is returning to the world of MMA as part of a new promotion co-funded by a group of investors with $60 million in financial banking.
Announced on Thursday, the former head of Strikeforce and Bellator MMA is the co-founder and CEO of the unnamed company which is planned to launch in early-2027. From The Hollywood Reporter’s story, Peter Levin of Griffin Gaming Partners is also a co-founder and chairman of the company’s board. He was also an investor and advisor to Strikeforce and has a long history with Coker.
The news comes less than a week after the debut of Jake Paul’s MVP promotion in the MMA space with two former Coker fighters in Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.
Coker was last on the scene with Bellator, joining the organization in June 2014 and resigning as CEO when it was sold in 2024 to the PFL. He is most known for Strikeforce, the organization he founded in 1985 as a kickboxing promotion but went full on MMA in 2006. It was bought by Zuffa/UFC in March 2011 and Coker remained contractually obligated to Zuffa through 2014.
From the company’s media release, Coker said:
“I always knew I wanted to come back when the time was right, with the right vision and a carefully curated team. That time is now. There is an incredible demand for a fresh, new global brand in MMA. This new league is about returning to what matters: the integrity of competition, respect for the athletes and sharing their remarkable journeys with the world. We are building something authentic, something that belongs to the athletes and to the fans who live and breathe this sport. I’ve spent nearly two year developing this concept, and I’m thankful to Peter, all of our investors and the team we’re putting together.”
The investor group includes Tony Hawk, DC United owner Steve Kaplan, New York Yankees limited partner Swimmy Minami, and many others in addition to investment firm Creator Sports Capital and the aforementioned Griffin Gaming Partners.
More news on the promotion is said to be revealed in upcoming weeks.
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WON NEWSLETTER: April 27, 2020 Observer Newsletter: WWE schedule changes, layoffs, and quarterly financials
Details on WWE’s scheduling changes, staff and talent layoffs, and their quarterly financial report.
Current subscribers click here to read.
WWE stock closed at $44.79 per share today coming off yesterday’s earning call. That was up nearly 15 percent from yesterday.
Here’s an interesting paradox. The Association of Ringside Physicians has stressed that no shows should be taking place at this time. The Association of Boxing Commissions has canceled its annual meeting from 7/23 to 7/30 in Sacramento citing that the decision was made out of the abundance of safety for all involved. And athletic commissions, at least in Florida and other states, are sanctioning MMA and boxing events. So the same people who think it’s too dangerous for a meeting, and whose doctors have told them it’s too dangerous to have fights, are sanctioning fights.
Smackdown tonight starts the 25th anniversary of HHH in WWE celebration, plus Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Dana Brooke & Carmella for the women’s tag titles, King Corbin vs. Drew Gulak in a Money in the Bank qualifier and Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans in a Money in the Bank qualifier.
Scott Coker is hoping to get Bellator started in July or August. A lot in Hollywood is building a made-for-TV set that will be used for empty arena Bellator shows and Showtime boxing shows on Friday and Saturday nights. Coker said they still expect to run their full schedule of 30 events this year.
Bellator flyweight champion Ilima-lei Macfarlane, her sister and a third unnamed woman have filed a lawsuit against Punahou School and former basketball coach Dwayne Yuen, claiming sexual abuse when they were younger. Macfarlane claimed the abuse started when she was in sixth grade and her sister was in eighth grade. The story was on KITV News in Honolulu. Macfarlane said that her sister complained at the time, but the school did nothing, but she came forward when further allegations against the coach surfaced in 2018.
Vice will be returning After Dark Tuesday at 9:30 p.m., covering Dino Bravo. The episodes, which were off the schedule, are now taking place on a one week delay. They will be airing a new 30 minutes of last week’s show on Dino Bravo, and then have a panel discussion with Jimmy Hart, Jacques Rougeau and Fred Ottman. The following week will be another 9:30 p.m. show on the David Schultz episode that debuts this coming Tuesday. According to PWInsider, Ricky Morton, Brian Blair and Dutch Mantell will be on that show.
The NFL Draft drew 5,688,000 viewers on ABC, 7,859,000 viewers on ESPN and 1,724,000 viewers on the NFL Network.
Daily Pro Wrestling History: Hogan vs. Bockwinkel at AWA Super Sunday
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On the eve of one of the promotion’s biggest nights of the year, our Dave Meltzer sat down with Bellator MMA president Scott Coker and rising star Aaron Pico (seen above) as they prepare for Saturday’s Bellator 206 event in San Jose, CA, the first of their new partnership with streaming service DAZN.
Kicking off with Pico, Dave discussed his fight with Leandro Higo Saturday, recovering from his debut loss at Madison Square Garden, his skillset in various disciplines, his near miss of making the U.S. Olympic team as a wrestler, when he wants to get a title shot, and more.
At the 12:00 mark, Dave talks with Coker, someone he’s known for years dating back to the Strikeforce days. The two discuss the DAZN deal, their focus on the UK market and the specific series, some potential matchmaking, the McKee family fighting on the same card in January, Saturday’s San Jose show, and more.
Click below to listen.
Just weeks after Wanderlei Silva had his lifetime ban reduced to 3 years, “The Axe Murderer” has signed with Bellator MMA to an exclusive multi-year, multi-fight contract the promotion announced today. Silva is eligible to apply for reinstatement in May of 2017 and cannot fight anywhere that recognizes suspensions by the Nevada State Athletic Commission until that time.
Bellator has announced a number of international events for 2016 so it’s possible he could fight before that time. Silva has a 35-12-1 record and this signing comes on the 3rd anniversary of his last fight in the UFC, where he scored a 2nd round KO of Brian Stann, who retired after that fight. The former Pride Middleweight Champion was a legendary figure in the sport who had a stretch between April 2000 and December 2004 where he had 18 fights with no losses and 14 knockouts. Those fights were against the top fighters in the world at the time including, Dan Henderson, Rampage Jackson, Sakuraba, Mirko Cro Cop and others. He’s now 39 with his best days over a decade behind him but as shown in recent weeks, Bellator seems willing to book fights with guys that are long past their prime and have done so with ratings success.
No fight was announced, or even hinted at, in the company press release but they did say that Silva fielded multiple offers from companies around the world before deciding to sign with Bellator MMA.
