The next Starrcast convention will be taking place in the days surrounding AEW’s Full Gear pay-per-view.
It was announced on Tuesday night that Starrcast IV will be held in Baltimore, Maryland from Thursday, November 7 to Sunday, November 10. The Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore is hosting Full Gear on November 9.
This will be the third Starrcast convention of 2019, with the other two having taken place during Double or Nothing and All Out weekends. The first Starrcast was held during All In weekend in 2018.
Starrcast is selling a Platinum Full Gear Bundle that will go on sale tomorrow (September 5) at noon Eastern time and includes tickets to Full Gear. Full Gear tickets are going on sale to the general public this Friday at noon Eastern.
Conrad Thompson is the founder of Starrcast. It isn’t an AEW event but has featured collaboration with the promotion for all of its conventions.
Jon Moxley’s elbow injury is preventing him from traveling to Illinois for Starrcast III.
Starrcast’s Conrad Thompson tweeted out confirmation overnight that Moxley won’t be able to appear at the convention: “We received word today that unfortunately @JonMoxley won’t be able to travel to @StarrcastEvents. Once he got the word from his doctor he told us, ‘I’m sorry, this sucks.’ I’m sure we all echo those sentiments. We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him soon.”
Thompson noted that refunds for those who purchased Moxley’s meet-and-greet will begin being processed today.
A “Turner Memories” event with Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone reflecting on their experiences with Turner Sports is replacing Moxley’s stage show.
It was announced last week that Moxley is unable to wrestle at AEW All Out because a serious case of MRSA has returned in his elbow. Kenny Omega — who had been set to face Moxley — is now taking on PAC at Saturday’s pay-per-view.
The injury is expected to keep Moxley out of action for four weeks.
Starrcast begins today and will run through Sunday. The convention is taking place at the Hyatt Regency in Schaumburg, Illinois.
During an interview with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, CM Punk discussed his upcoming appearance at Starrcast and whether or not he has a relationship with AEW.
It was announced last week that Punk would be appearing at Starrcast III in Schaumburg, Illinois on Saturday, August 31, which is the same day as AEW’s All Out pay-per-view. Punk will be taking part in a one-on-one interview at Starrcast, along with doing meet-and-greets.
Though Starrcast has only taken place during All In, Double or Nothing, and All Out weekends, it’s put on by Conrad Thompson and isn’t officially an AEW event. Punk also did an autograph signing at Pro Wrestling Tees’ store in Chicago the day before All In last year.
Punk told Raimondi about why he agreed to the Starrcast appearance:
Punk: They asked if I wanted to do Starrcast. That’s basically it. There’s no mad scientist formula to it. I hate traveling. I’ve turned down offers to do signings in other places. It turns into a mission to leave town just to do a signing and stuff. I like to take time with everybody and make sure everybody has a good experience. I try not to just shuffle people through a line. For those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s not just somebody shoves something in front of me, I sign it and it’s on to the next. I really try to make sure everybody has a story to tell or an experience. Sometimes it can be exhausting.
The biggest thing was it’s in my hometown. I get to go for one day, I get to have fun, I get to give back to the fans, so to speak. And I get to go home and rest afterward.
Punk spoke about whether or not there’s a relationship between him and AEW:
Punk: No. I know they like to talk about me a lot. If I text Matt Jackson, ‘Hey, have a great show tonight,’ which I did when they had their big show in Vegas, that somehow turns into Tony Khan telling people he has a great relationship with me. I’ve said in the past I’ve talked to them, but nothing ever came of anything.
ESPN: When you decided to do Starrcast, did you go over in your mind, like, ‘I’m going to get a thousand questions about AEW.’
Punk: Oh yeah, you’ve gotta brace yourself for it. It’s not even AEW. I’m gonna get a thousand questions about WWE. It comes with the territory.
ESPN: Do you feel like there’s an expectation from fans that you’re going to show up at AEW’s show, at All Out?
Punk: I think if there’s an expectation, it’s purely been built by them. My silence to some fans means something. They’re trying to read the tea leaves, but there’s nothing to read. I even feel like talking about it may feel like I’m putting some sort of negative slant on it, but I’m really not. The fact is I know they’ve teased me ad nauseam, and if anybody is gonna get mad it’s at me because I don’t show up. Well then, I don’t know what to tell you. That’s one of those things that’s none of my business.
ESPN: When you say they’ve teased you, what do you mean by that?
Punk: They do videos where they talk about me. They’re constantly talking about me in the media. And again, maybe this sounds like I’m badgering them, but I’m not. It’s just something that happens. I’m a popular guy to talk about. But I’m not doing interviews talking about them. If people ask me about it, I say no, I won’t be there.
ESPN: Just to be completely clear, there’s nothing imminent?
Punk: The last thing I got — I got a text from Cody [Rhodes]. And again, I almost don’t even know how to reply to them sometimes, because if I reply, they do interviews and are like, ‘Oh yeah, I just talked to Punk.’ I’m kind of damned if I do, damned if I don’t. I always think if somebody wants to do business with me, they can come talk to me. Texting offers isn’t really a way to do good business, at least.
ESPN: Was it an offer via text?
Punk: It was texted through three people and an offer came in through text. This is like a month ago, maybe.
ESPN: An offer for All Out?
Punk: I think it was just a general offer. I never could have done the last one in Vegas [Double or Nothing], because I was in California for [Cage Fury Fighting Championships].
When asked if he’ll be involved with professional wrestling in any way by the end of 2020, Punk said he doubts it. Punk said he’s a different person than he was in 2011 and a different person than he was when he left WWE five years ago.
Punk said that he’s still under contract with the UFC but hasn’t been offered another fight by them. Raimondi asked Punk (who is a commentator for Cage Fury Fighting Championships) if he thinks his future in MMA might be more on the commentary side of things:
Punk: Yeah, maybe. It definitely feels like that. There’s a gray area, obviously. Man, I would love to get a W, but I’m f—ing old. Training camps aren’t easy when you’re old and you have as many miles on your body as I do. I break everything down into, ‘Do I love this? No, I don’t love it? Then I’m not gonna do it anymore.’ And training and CFFC are things that I very much love to do, so I’m gonna continue to do them.
I’ve said a long time ago, you never say never, and I think it’s kind of a billionaire’s mindset — if somebody offers you something, you say yes to it and then you figure out how to do it.
ESPN: You’re still training at Roufusport with the intention of fighting again, though, right?
Punk: I don’t have any date. I don’t even know what I’m gonna do. I love the s— out of it, so I still do it.
CM Punk will be appearing at Starrcast III next month.
Sports Illustrated announced today that Punk will be taking part in a one-on-one interview at Starrcast on Saturday, August 31, along with doing meet-and-greets that day. Sports Illustrated noted that Starrcast “is independently run, and the Punk appearance is only for Starrcast, not AEW’s All Out pay-per-view later that night.”
Punk also did a signing at Pro Wrestling Tees’ store in Chicago on the Friday before All In last year.
“Knowing the weekend will be attracting fans from all over the world for AEW, and since I normally only do one signing a year, it’s a great way to maybe meet people that normally I wouldn’t get the chance to otherwise,” Punk told Sports Illustrated. “Looking forward to meeting everyone there.”
“A highlight is easily anytime anyone has a story,” Punk said about meeting fans. “The best part is always finding out how you’ve touched people’s lives in a meaningful way. A lot of it can be heavy; helped someone get clean, helped somehow with the loss of a loved one. I am always touched to know the private intimate stories people have.”
This will be the first time that Punk has appeared at a Starrcast.
Starrcast is taking place at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg in Schaumburg, Illinois from Thursday, August 29 to Sunday, September 1.
Conrad Thompson, who produced last weekend’s Starrcast convention, indicated that he didn’t know Chris Jericho wouldn’t be appearing at the event until May 24th, two days before his “Talk Is Jericho” appearance was scheduled to take place.
Thompson noted he got a text message from Jericho on Friday afternoon before his announced Sunday afternoon appearance that stated that he couldn’t come due to family plans.
Jericho had previously said that he had given the word one month ago that he wasn’t doing the show due to finding out his segment would be airing on iPPV through FITE TV.
Jericho said they agreed he would show up before the crowd with an in-character rant on the fans where he would say he wasn’t doing a Talk is Jericho show because he didn’t get a thank you at Double or Nothing. But, he said he found out he had family plans for Sunday that he couldn’t change and sent in a video instead, saying basically the same thing as he would have said had he appeared live.
“It’s not Conrad’s fault I didn’t make an appearance,” Jericho said. “That’s all on me. But, the live Talk is Jericho was never happening.”
Thompson said Jericho wanted to do an angle at the appearance and they would figure it out that weekend what that would entail, but then on Friday, he sent the text and a video instead.
“We want back and forth, but in the end, he had no choice,” said Thompson.
Thompson said he sent in a video to explain not being there, but the video couldn’t air until after Double or Nothing was over since it talked about the result of the match with Kenny Omega in past tense as well as the post-match interview.
“I couldn’t exactly post that ahead of DON even though I had it hours before,” said Thompson.
When the Talk is Jericho show was scheduled to start, fans were in attendance and they were told that Jericho wasn’t there and a cardboard cutout of Jericho was brought out instead.
This year’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view offered WWE the chance to revitalize one of their best match types.
The Money in the Bank briefcases haven’t been all that much of a factor over the past couple of years. Both men’s winners (Braun Strowman and Baron Corbin) failed on their cash-ins. The women’s winners (Alexa Bliss and Carmella) were successful, but Bliss cashed in on the same night that she won the 2018 ladder match. WWE has missed out on being able to use Money in the Bank as a star-making tool or something to kick off notable angles.
A story on Ashley Massaro, the ramifications of her death, mental illness in pro wrestling and the legal fight she was in, the horrible story about Kuwait are all part of an extensive lead story in the current issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Look at her career before wrestling, life after wrestling, rundown the physical toll of pro wrestling, winning Diva Search, comments from those who knew her, her thoughts on a comeback, the concussion lawsuit and all the different questions her career as a swimsuit contest winner being rushed into pro wrestling matches because she got so popular so quickly raise.
Also look at the one debut of a promotion show in history that can compare with AEW’s Double or Nothing, look at the difference between this show and All In, the different fights the promotion has to face, and a detailed rundown of why Pac isn’t on the show, his status with the company, what the company wants out of its PPV shows, where a number of suggested surprise wrestlers are booked on that night, and why putting on the best shows is not the complete or even close to the key factor in a wrestling war.
Also look at the changes in television wrestling in the U.K. in 2020, and what this may mean when it comes to WWE and AEW in that market as far as exposure, and whether that is or isn’t a big issue.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
Endeavor, the parent company of UFC, filed to go public as we reported months ago was going to happen. So many of the changes that have been made was to go to more stable revenue streams rather than heavily volatile revenue streams to make the company look good long-term for investors.
Starrcast events at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas today and on FITE TV:
6 p.m. – Remembering Owen Hart hosted by Jim Ross
6:30 p.m. – Joey Ryan documentary (this will not be on FITE TV)
8:30 p.m. – Ron Funches and friends comedy show
8:30 p.m. – An Evening with Cody & The Young Bucks
Reader Daniel Thomason noted that he lives in Dallas and during Raw there was a commercial for the New Japan show in Dallas on 7/6. The commercial didn’t mention the names of any wrestlers or matches, but it was the first TV commercial airing in the market.
We may have tickets left (would be down to two or three at most) for the Observer readers section for Double or Nothing combined with the Q&A on Saturday morning with me and Bryan Alvarez.
The Dark Side of the Ring posted this Bruce Prichard stuff edited out of their Randy Savage doc at Savage.
WWE
Carmella will be replacing Dolph Ziggler at the Oz Comic Con in Melbourne since the Comic Con is the same weekend as the Saudi Arabia show and Ziggler was a last-minute add to that show.
WWE has put up a December 4, 1983 show from the Omni in Atlanta on Hidden Gems, which includes Ted DiBiase vs. Buzz Sawyer and Ric Flair vs. Tommy Rich for the NWA title.
Hoosier Pro Wrestling on 6/1 in Columbus, OH at the 4-H Fairgrounds.
WrestleCircus on 6/23 in Austin, TX which will air live and free on Twitch.
CWE on 8/16 in Cochrane, Alberta at the Cochrane Ag Society Park.
Wrestling Revolver on 5/28 in Jeffersonville, IN at the Jeffersonville Arena with Larry D vs. Sami Callihan, Rich Swann vs. Trey Miguel for the Impact X title, Jimmy Jacobs vs. Mance Warner vs. Zachary Wentz in a bunkhouse mach, Dave Crist & Mad Man Fulton vs. Trash Punk in a tornado match and more.
Sabotage Wrestling on Saturday night in Austin TX airing live on the HighSpots Wrestling Network with Shotzi Blackheart vs. Ricky Starks, Kody Lane vs. Veda Scott and more.
Scarlett Bordeaux will be working the 7/26 WrestleRock show in Melbourne, Australia.
Combate America runs 6/21 in Hidalgo, TX which will air on Univision, Univision Deportes and DAZN. Ricky Palacios (11-1) faces Cooper Gibson (9-2) in a featherweight fight plus Enrique Gonzalez (7-3) vs. Alejandro Martinez (4-3) at 150 pounds.
Joey Janela vs. Joey Ryan takes place on 6/23 for World Series Wrestling in Sydney, Australia.
Penta 0M & Rey Fenix have pulled out of the 5/31 AAW show in Austin, TX citing a family commitment that came up. In their place, AAW has added AR Fox, Ace Austin, Clayton Gainz, Paco and Kody Lane. The show is headlined by Sami Callihan vs. Darby Allin for the AAW title, Jake Something vs. Jimmy Jacobs for the Heritage title, Jessicka Havok vs. Priscilla Kelly for the women’s title, Mance Warner vs. Eddie Kingston and Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs. Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett, plus Ace Romero Juventud Guerrera, Thunder Rosa, Josh Alexander and more.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. for the ROH Summer Supercard at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto on 8/9. The show will feature talent from ROH, CMLL, New Japan and the NWA.
WrestleTalk will be having a YouTube show featuring action from many of the U.K.’s top promotions including Wrestle Gate.
Pro Wrestling Phoenix had its 14th anniversary show last night in Omaha: Branden Juarez b Tim Boston, Santos Barbosa b Con Artiest, Pat Powers b Nick King, Uncle Ricky b Preston Maxwell, Brett Bishop b Moonshine Russell, Lars Metzger & Johnny Ruckus b Paul & Joey Daniels-DQ, Seto Kobara b Jack Darling, Jaysin Strife b Tony Cortez, Duke Cornell won three-way elimination match over Michael Elgin and Willy Sweet. Next show is 6/19 in Omaha at the Waiting Room Lounge.
Paul Verlander is selling his Observer and wrestling magazine collection.
Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25
With less than a month until the show, WWE has revealed the name and announced the first three matches for their return to Saudi Arabia.
The third show in WWE’s controversy-filled 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority will take place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Friday, June 7. It will air live on the WWE Network and is titled “WWE Super ShowDown,” which is the same name the company used for their event in Melbourne, Australia last October.
A look at the new AEW television deal with TNT and other aspects of starting up is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Look at the detail of the two nights being considered and the arguments for each night, international television, streaming, why the price is what it is, and how long talks have been going on for the TNT deal.
Read a lengthy bio on Silver King, a breakdown of what happened in the ring when he passed away and what lessons can be learned by it. Look at the start of his career, and his going to All Japan as a teenager.
Read the updates on the next two WWE PPV shows.
Read a detailed article on Lars Sullivan, from his background, to his fine, to the questions asked, to what got him in trouble, why he was fined now, why he wasn’t before and a lot of the questions regarding all this.
Also look at changes to WWE Network, Vince McMahon talks the move to FOX, WWE gets award nominations, tons of new news on the XFL, what happens to Vince McMahon when the XFL starts, why Percy Watson left the company, and an update on the Mauro Ranallo’s situation.
Have a look at the legend of Tom Magee, the match with Bret Hart and the WWE documentary.
Read complete coverage of UFC 237 with match-by-match coverage and poll results.
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.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
Additional notes by Joseph Currier
WWE
TMZ reported that Ashley Massaro’s death was the result of an apparent suicide by hanging. Massaro was found unconscious in her home last Thursday and was transported to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
SmackDown tonight is at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The New Day will reunite as there will be a Welcome Back Celebration for Big E, who is back from meniscus surgery. Roman Reigns will also face Elias in a rematch from Money in the Bank. Other matches include Kofi Kingston vs. Sami Zayn in a non-title match, Becky Lynch and Bayley (who will also be interviewed) vs. Charlotte and Lacey Evans and Mandy Rose vs. Carmella.
Tonight’s 205 Live main event is Ariya Daivari vs. Mike Kanellis vs. Oney Lorcan vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa.
Starrcast has begun the refund process for the events Ric Flair was supposed to take part in this weekend. Conrad Thompson spoke to Sports Illustrated about the situation: “We exhausted all options and mutually decided that it would be best to postpone ‘The Roast of Ric Flair’ for a later date yet to be determined. Everyone who purchased a meet-and-greet with Ric will be refunded via EventBrite. We will work to make sure those are completed by the end of the week. The rest of the Horsemen and Ricky Steamboat, who had meet-and-greets with Ric, are still scheduled to appear. We will allow fans the chance to have their photo made against what looks like old TBS backdrop wearing an authentic Ric Flair robe, holding the original Big Gold Belt, and posing with the Horsemen.”
SCWPro tweeted that they’ve been told Flair’s appearance at their debut show in East Moline, Illinois on May 31 is still on: “We’ve been in constant contact w/ representatives for @RicFlairNatrBoy & we’re happy to announce that we’ve been told his appearance at our debut event at the Rust Belt on May 31st is STILL ON!”
AJ Styles told Newsweek about the contract that he recently signed with WWE: “I can tell you that this contract that I’ve signed is my last. This is the perfect place for me to be. It’s family-oriented, I have no problem taking my family to the shows. It’s a PG product, which I enjoy. I’m in the best place I can be for my career.”
Pro Wrestling
A trailer for The Wrestlers, a documentary series from Vice Canada that will start airing this Wednesday on Viceland.
Beth Phoenix, Bruno Sammartino, Thunderbolt Patterson, Sgt. Slaughter, Brian Shields and Daniel Cormier will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, which will be held on July 25-27.
Riki Choshu’s retirement show, which will air live on Samurai TV and theaters in Japan on 6/26, has the following card:
Riki Choshu, Shiro Koshinaka and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiji Mutoh and Togi Makabe
Kaito Kiyomiya and Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajimia and Hitoshi Kumano
Minoru Tanaka and Hiroyoshi Kotsubo vs. Yoshitatsu and Yuki Ueno
NOSAWA, MAZADA and FUJITA vs. Dick Togo, Kaz Hayashi and MEN’S Teioh
Daisuke Sekimoto and Daichi Hashimoto vs. Masa Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura
Takashi Sasaki, Toyu Sugiura and Ayato Yoshida vs. Jun Kasai, Shu Asakawa and Tomoya Hirata
This week’s MLW Fusion episode is now available on YouTube. It features Rich Swann vs. Brian Pillman Jr. in the National Openweight Championship tournament semifinals, Minoru Tanaka vs. Daga, and Mance Warner & Sami Callihan vs. El Hijo de LA Park & Ricky Martinez.
UFC/MMA
Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell II has been set for a UFC Fight Night card in San Antonio on July 20. The two last met at Affliction: Banned in 2008 with Arlovski knocking out Rothwell.
Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25
[Advertisement] You can watch a discussion with Cody & the Bucks about All Elite Wrestling and twenty other shows for just $59 at STARRCASTonFITE.com. The package includes the live feed plus on demand with unlimited replays on any smart device, PC, etc. For the best service pre-ordering is encouraged at STARRCASTonFITE.com.
Cody & the Young Bucks will be doing a Q&A as part of their panel about All Elite Wrestling just 48 hours prior to Double or Nothing in Las Vegas. Starrcast will be streaming it on FITE and allowing viewers the chance to ask questions.
Arn Anderson and Sting both have panels at Starrcast on May 24th. Tony Schiavone will taking questions from fans watching at home on FITE for the Q&A portion of the show.
The Young Bucks and Joey Janela will be guests for Colt Cabana’s live Art of Wrestling show on May 24th.
Bret Hart and Tom Magee will discuss their now infamous match from 1986 with Sean Mooney on Saturday, May 25th in Las Vegas.
All of the above can be watched live or demand by pre-ordering today at STARRCASTonFITE.com.
Due to health issues regarding heart surgery that was scheduled to take place today, Ric Flair will not be able to appear in Las Vegas this weekend for Starrcast.
Flair was going to appear on a panel discussion with Ricky Steamboat talking about their legendary series of matches, dating back to the Carolinas in the late 70s, and because they were nationally broadcast, their most famous series outside the Carolinas that took place in 1989. There was also going to be a Flair celebrity roast at Caesar’s Palace.
Wrestling star Ric Flair underwent an undisclosed surgery Thursday in Atlanta, GA, but according to his son-in-law, his medical situation is not as serious as some media outlets are making it out to be.
News broke from TMZ that the 70-year-old was rushed to a hospital following a medical emergency, saying it was a “very serious” situation.
However, Conrad Thompson, Flair’s son-in-law and the founder of Starrcast, said on a media call that the situation wasn’t as serious as TMZ claimed and the surgery was a planned procedure he wanted to have done before the event coming up in Las Vegas where he is scheduled to be the focus of a roast.
Dave Meltzer confirmed that the procedure was planned, but couldn’t answer definitively how serious the situation was.
Flair was hospitalized for 11 days in 2017 after suffering a ruptured intestine. He was placed in a medically induced coma and was near death in a very serious situation.
Starrcast announced today that Malenko will be appearing at their convention next month: “This Superstarr is known as The Man of a 1000 holds!! He’s held championships all over the world… #Starrcast II is proud to welcome DEAN MALENKO to Las Vegas, Memorial Day Weekend! Appearing Friday 1-4pm at Caesars Palace Meet & Greets on sale now.”
Sports Illustrated reported on Thursday night that Malenko had quit WWE. Their report was confirmed by our Dave Meltzer.
Malenko worked as a producer for WWE, joining the company in a behind-the-scenes role after retiring from in-ring competition in 2001.
Arn Anderson, fellow Four Horsemen member and former WWE producer, will also be appearing at Starrcast. Anderson was fired from WWE in February.
Starrcast is taking place in Las Vegas from May 23-26, with AEW Double or Nothing being held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 25.
One of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time has been added to next month’s Starrcast convention.
It was announced this morning that Kenta Kobashi will be appearing at Starrcast II. This will be Kobashi’s first appearance in the United States in almost 14 years. He wrestled for Ring of Honor twice in October 2005, which included his match against Samoa Joe at the Joe vs. Kobashi event in New York City.
In his interview with Sports Illustrated about WWE pulling The Undertaker and Kurt Angle from Starrcast, Conrad Thompson had noted that he was working on bringing a Japanese wrestling legend to the convention.
David Crockett, LAX (Santana & Ortiz), and AEW tag team Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) have also been confirmed for Starrcast today.
Starrcast is taking place at Caesars Palace and the Tuscany Suites & Casino in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend (May 23-26). AEW Double or Nothing will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, May 25.
The Undertaker and Kurt Angle have both been pulled from Starrcast II.
The news was revealed in an interview that Sports Illustrated did with Starrcast’s Conrad Thompson. The article stated that Undertaker and Angle not appearing at the event is “due to the burgeoning war between All Elite Wrestling and WWE, with the first battle centered around Starrcast.”
Undertaker was announced for Starrcast on February 14, while Angle was added on April 1. Starrcast and AEW Double or Nothing are taking place in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend. Starrcast isn’t officially an AEW event, but it will feature AEW wrestlers and events related to Double or Nothing.
“The announcement went wide and viral. I was told it had gotten WWE’s attention and that Vince McMahon texted The Undertaker about the appearance,” Thompson told Sports Illustrated. “’Taker’s representation, which is a company called Get Engaged, called to tell me, ‘WWE says he can’t do it.’”
The deposit that Thompson paid for Undertaker’s appearance was returned to him by Get Engaged.
“I had a friend discuss the situation with Vince McMahon, and I was assured the ‘heat’ wasn’t on me or my event but rather that The Undertaker shouldn’t be doing personal appearances outside of WWE,” Thompson said. “I was assured that damages would be covered, a suitable replacement offered, or some sort of compromise to make everyone happy.”
Thompson said he suggested Vince McMahon, Triple H, or Stephanie McMahon as Undertaker’s replacement, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Connor’s Cure and Thompson matching that with a personal donation.
Thompson was told that WWE wouldn’t allow any replacements from the main roster. The article states that Thompson then set his sights on Shawn Michaels, who was “originally set to be booked for the event, but backed out before signing because of the close proximity of Starrcast and AEW.”
“I asked to keep Kurt Angle and announce Shawn Michaels as the replacement for The Undertaker,” Thompson said. “I offered to book everyone ‘through the office.’ I wanted to play by the rules but I felt like I already had, since each of these guys were actively marketing themselves for outside appearances via booking agents or their own social media. I have checked in daily for a week now and nothing is changing.”
It was noted that Undertaker and Angle signed new WWE contracts, with WWE exercising its right to withhold talent from events that aren’t deemed to be in the company’s best interest.
Inside the Ropes announced earlier this month that Undertaker won’t be able to participate in the Q&A portion of their Rise of the Taker tour shows on April 29, April 30, and May 1. Undertaker will still be appearing at the meet and greet portion of the events, and Mick Foley will be doing the Q&A and talking about Undertaker’s career and their rivalry.
Undertaker made a surprise appearance on Raw the night after WrestleMania 35 and interrupted Elias.
Angle had his farewell match at WrestleMania 35, losing to Baron Corbin. On the Raw after WrestleMania, there was an angle where Angle put Corbin in the ankle lock but was laid out by Lars Sullivan.
We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE UK tapings in Glasgow, Scotland, the Raw house show in St. Louis and NXT in Jacksonville to [email protected]
This weekend we’ll be doing one poll, for the New Japan Sengoku Lord show tomorrow, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]” target=”_blank”>[email protected]
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING ON AXS TV AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT
Will Ospreay vs. Jeff Cobb Never title vs. ROH TV title both titles at stake
Taiji Ishimori vs. Dragon Lee vs. Bandido for IWGP jr. title
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. PCO & Brody King vs. Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Evil & Sanada for IWGP and ROH tag titles
Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven vs. Marty Scurll ladder match for ROH title
CMLL LIVE FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT
Arkalis & Halcon Suriano Jr. vs. Coyote & Grako
Tae Honma & Princesa Sugehit & Kaho Kobayashi vs. Amapola & Dalys & Reyna Isis
Rey Cometa vs. Kawato San
Angel de Oro & Caristico & Atlantis Jr. vs. El Hijo del Villano III & Rey Bucanero & Sanson
Block B one night parejas increibles tournament (rivals form tag teams): Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr., Niebla Roja & El Terrible, Mistico & Cuatrero, Rush & Vangellys, Atlantis & Negro Casas, Valiente & Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr. & Hechicero, Audaz & Templario
IMPACT ON PURSUIT TV AT 10 P..M. EASTERN TONIGHT
Moose vs. Dezmond Xavier
Tommy Dreamer vs. Mad Man Fulton
Taya Valkyrie vs. Madison Rayne
Pentagon Jr. & Fenix vs. Eddie Edwards & Eli Drake
NEW JAPAN SENGOKU LORD AT 5 A.M. EASTERN SATURDAY MORNING FROM NAGOYA ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
ALL JAPAN CHAMPION CARNIVAL SATURDAY IN SAPPORO ON ALLJAPAN.TV
Dylan James vs. Yuji Okabayashi
Kento Miyahara vs. Gianni Valletta
Daichi Hashimoto vs. Naoya Nomura
Sam Adonis vs. Yoshitatsu
Suwama vs. Joel Redman
UFC FROM SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA AT 10 A.M. EASTERN
ESPN 2 and ESPN Deportes at 10 a.m. Eastern
Magomed Mustafaev (154.5) vs,. Rafael Fiziev (155)
Gadzhimurad Antigulov (204.5) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (206)
Marcin Tybura (249) vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov (258)
Alexander Yakovlev (155) vs. Alex DaSilva (156)
Sultan Aliev (170) vs. Keita Nakamura (171)
Movsar Evloev (146) vs. Seung Woo Choi (145)
ESPN+ at 1 p.m. Eastern
Krzyztof Jotko (185) vs. Alen Amedovski (186)
Roxanne Modafferi (125) vs. Antonina Shevchenko (125)
Ivan Shtyrkov (206) vs. Devin Clark (204.5)
Sergey Pavlovich (254) vs,. Marcelo Golm (250)
Islam Makhachev (155) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (155)
Alistair Overeem (245) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (237)
We’re looking for reports tomorrow from the Raw house show Saturday night in Springfield, IL, Smackdown in Madison, WI, NXT UK tapings in Glasgow and NXT in Tampa to [email protected]
MLW FUSION ON SATURDAY NIGHT ON BEINSPORTS
Sami Callihan vs. Mance Warner
Pentagon Jr. & Fenix vs. Air Wolf & Rey Hours
Josef Samael vs. Ace Romero
Puma King vs. Gringo Loco
ALL JAPAN CHAMPION CARNIVAL SUNDAY IN SAPPORO ON ALLJAPAN.TV
Zeus vs. Yuji Okabayashi
Joe Doering vs. Daichi Hashimoto
Yoshtatsu vs. Joel Redman
Suwama vs. Jake Lee
Sunday has Raw in Moline, IL and Smackdown in Rochester, MN.
LIVE WWE NETWORK SPECIAL AT 9:30 P.M. SUNDAY FROM MOLINE, IL
Finn Balor vs. Elias for IC title
Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre & Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin
Raw on Monday will be from Des Moines, IA. Smackdown has a house show Monday in Sioux City, IA.
ALL JAPAN CHAMPION CARNIVAL TUESDAY IN SENDAI ON ALLJAPAN.TV
Part one of Ronda Rousey’s professional wrestling career officially came to an end at WrestleMania.
Nearly three months after Dave Meltzer first reported that Rousey was likely finishing up with WWE at WrestleMania 35, Rousey made things official this week. She wrote on Instagram that she was going on an “impregnation vacation” with her husband Travis Browne. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, who Rousey is friendly with, then reported that Rousey is taking a hiatus from WWE to start a family.
A rundown of the fallout of the Superstar Shakeup leads off this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Go through the moves, the names, the direction, what it says about 205 Live, those coming and going, key people not brought up, couples and read a depth chart of the new rosters.
Look at the situation with Undertaker, the U.K. talk show situation and what happened, how did it happen, update on Sasha Banks situation, update on Money in the Bank PPV, update on Luke Harper, Alexander Wolfe, WWE’s relationship with Stardom, and WWE injury updates.
Also look at UFC 236, with match-by-match coverage, poll result and business notes.
Examine the Viceland documentary and the situation that led to the Montreal screwjob, including claims by Jim Cornette and Vince Russo about being the architects, from the background, and why it happened.
Also look at the career of Rich Franklin as he goes into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Read a feature on the legacy wing inductees in the WWE Hall of Fame, including major write-ups on Jim Barnett and Primo Carnera, as well as Hisashi Shinma’s role in Japanese wrestling booking history.
Run down the ratings of all the major TV shows, along with detailed demo info for the WWE shows.
As always, read the 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.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
For this weekend, it will be the previous Raw crew from last week that is working the Friday through Sunday shows with Roman Reigns and The Shield as the top stars. Becky Lynch will be on the Raw crew on Friday night in St. Louis, and then, based on advertising, switches to the Smackdown crew for Madison, WI, and Rochester, MN. Lynch is actually advertised on Monday in both Des Moines for Raw and Sioux City for Smackdown, but I’d bet on her being at Raw. A.J. Styles is working the Smackdown shows in Madison and Rochester. On Monday, things switch as they’re using the new Raw crew headed by Styles, while Reigns headlines the Smackdown show in Sioux City. Of the part-timers, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton are advertised for the Smackdown tour although Bryan has been out of action since Mania for undisclosed reasons. Kevin Owens is also scheduled for the Smackdown tour while The Miz and Rey Mysterio are not listed for Smackdown house shows. Nikki Cross is scheduled for Raw on Monday as far as being there. Presumably an angle to get Samoa Joe on Raw will take place on Monday.
For St. Louis tonight, they are pushing The Shield vs. Lashley & McIntyre & Corbin, Balor vs. Elias IC title and Lynch vs. Ruby Riott Raw women’s title. The Smackdown road shows are listing Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title, Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown women’s title and Andrade vs. Kevin Owens.
Alexander Wolfe didn’t wrestle at the NXT UK tapings today but was backstage. He is believed to debut tomorrow with a big push in this division.
Cody will announce his opponent at Double or Nothing at 7 p.m. Eastern tomorrow.
There will be a Starrcast announcement this coming week that will blow some people’s socks off. Some won’t care, but those that do, will care a lot.
WWE
John Cena hosted the Ellen Degeneres show today. While on the show, Jenna Dewan said she was a wrestling fan and watched WrestleMania
The WWE Network will be doing a live special on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. Eastern from Moline, IL with Finn Balor vs. Elias for the IC title and The Shield’s farewell
Braun Strowman will throw out the first pitch on Sunday at the Milwaukee Brewers game at Miller Park.
An interview with Seth Rollins building Sunday’s show in Moline is at (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
UFC
Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting reported these new UFC dates:
8/10 in Montevideo, Uruguay
9/7 in Abu Dhabi, possibly headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier for the lightweight title
11/16 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Luke Rockhold on Submission Radio, talking about a fight with Jon Jones: “I think Jon is just looking for anything that can get traction. Jon is in a dead pool up there. There’s not a lot of fish in the pond, so I think he’s just struggling, he’s trying to pick off these easy fights. He’s trying to make people relevant like Anthony Smith. I don’t know. He’s trying to pick off style match-ups. So, that’s my belief.”
MISCELLANEOUS
A new video covering the Nick Aldis vs. Marty Scurll NWA title match.
Firas Zahabi said the only reason Jon Fitch is on a winning streak now is due to steroids.
Artem Lobov, the former UFC fighter and training partner of Conor McGregor, will face Paulie Malignaggi in a Bare Knuckle FC bout on 6/22 in New Hampshire according to promoter David Feldman.
Legacy Fighting Alliance on 5/10 from West Valley City, UT at the Maverik Center headlined by former UFC fighter Josh Burkman (28-17) vs. William Macario (9-4). This will air on AXS TV live.
Legacy Fighting Alliance on 5/31 from Prior Lake, MN at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel with two-time NCAA Division II wrestling champion Raufeon Stot (11-1) vs. Guastavo Erak (21-4-1) in the main event. The show airs live on AXS TV.
Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling on 5/25 will have the Bruiser Brody and Larry Matysik Memorial Show at the East Carondelet, IL Community Center.
RISE on 6/30 at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago at 5 p.m. local time on FITE TV.
Defy Super 8XGP will be a two night tournament on 7/26 and 7/27 in Seattle. Joey Janela will be there for both shows. Admission is limited to those 21 and older.
Ignite Wrestling on 5/18 in Vero Beach, FL with Aaron Epic, Caleb Konley, and more.
CWE from last night in Regina, Saskatchewan: Killer Kross b Norman Harass, AJ Sanchez & Kevin O’Doyle won four-way over Robin Lekmie & Martn Pain, Alax Ace & Big Chief and Jacob Creed & Marcellus Prime, Maddison Miles b Alix Zwicker, Shaun Moore won six-way over Psicosis, Michael Elgin, Jimmy Jacobs, Jeff Tyler and Mike McSugar, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan b Bull Bodnar & Thryllin Dylan, Danny Duggan NC King Kash
Welterweight Wrestling announced they would be coming to Indianapolis in June.
A combination of timing, fan support, and strong performances have come together to make Kofi Kingston the unlikely star of WrestleMania season.
It was only a few weeks ago where this seemed completely implausible. Kingston wasn’t even originally supposed to be in the WWE Championship match at Elimination Chamber. He was on the outside looking in, with Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, Mustafa Ali, and Jeff Hardy set to take part in the match.
A look at the details and ramifications of the new UFC PPV deal with ESPN+ is the lead story in the new double issue of the Observer. Look at the winners and loses of the deal, the economics of the deal, how it affects fans, what fans are going to be left behind, the role of Dana White, and the negotiations that led to UFC looking outside of TV for PPV.
This issue has a complete rundown of the WrestleMania card as it stands, as well as notes on matches not yet announced. Also look at the secondary market for the big shows over Mania weekend, as well as All In.
Also look at the details of WWE’s planned move, update on Gallows & Anderson, Dana Warrior, a planned WWE match that fell through, why WWE stock is up, Sue Aitchison in the Hall of Fame, update on WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, Matt Hardy future, and several new WWE signings.
Read a major feature on the career of The Destroyer. Look at Dick Beyer’s transition from Syracuse line coach to The Destroyer, who came up with the gimmick, how it transpired, and the role of Fred Blassie and Jules Strongbow in the story.
Read full coverage of ROH’s 17th anniversary show, the ROH/NJPW Madison Square Garden show, and match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Also look at the suspension of T.J. Dillashaw and his vacating the UFC welterweight title, update the New Japan Cup, cover AAA Rey de Reyes and CMLL El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas.
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.
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
The final four in the New Japan Cup on Saturday has Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Seiya Sanada. Because of the time difference, both the semifinals and finals will take place the same day on the West Coast in an early morning and late night show, plus there is UFC and the NCAA wrestling tournament all on that night.
Allie is no longer working for Impact. She had finished up at the last set of tapings and then negotiated with AEW. Her contract had expired with Impact and wasn’t being renewed.
Starrcast has announced on its Twitter a full series of events at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas on 5/23 to 5/26. There will be the premiere of a documentary on Joey Ryan at 6:30 p.m. on 5/23. There will be an evening with Cody & Young Bucks at 8:30 p.m. On 5/24, there is a Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler show at 10 a.m., a Sting show at 10 a.m., an Eric Bischoff show at 12:30 p.m., a press conference and weigh-ins at 4 p.m., Wrestling Observer Radio at 5 p.m. and a Colt Cabana show at 7 p.m. Saturday at Noon will be a Tully Blanchard/Magnum T.A. show. Sunday at 10 a.m. will be a show about Brian Pillman as well as a Chris Jericho show, a Lita show at 12:30 p.m., Bruce Prichard at Noon, Rob Van Dam & Jerry Lynn at 2 p.m. and there are many other things yet to be announced.
Caristico and Soberano Jr. will be working the ROH shows on 4/13 in Pittsburgh and 4/14 in Columbus, OH. Flip Gordon will be returning on the 3/31 show in Baltimore.
Paul Levesque and Stephanie McMahon have donated $1 million to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital to help establish a family centered therapy suite.
WWE
The New Day, Rusev and Lana were all on TNT’s Drop the Mic last night.
Betonline sports book has these WrestleMania odds:
Lesnar +170
Rollins +250
Rousey +250
Lynch -500
Flair +800
Styles +125
Orton -155
Miz -400
Shane McMahon +250
HHH -200
Batista +150
Kambi has updated its over/under odds on star ratings for WrestleMania
Styles vs. Orton ****
Rousey vs. Lynch vs. Flair ****1/4
Miz vs. McMahon ***1/4
HHH vs. Batista ***3/4
Lesnar vs. Rollins ****1/4
Angle vs. Corbin **
Joe vs. Mysterio ***1/2
Murphy vs. Nese ***1/2
WWE has a promotion with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston on 9/3 for a Red Sox game with the Minnesota Twins. All ticket holders will get a special Red Sox WWE themed item.
Lots of people have brought up yesterday’s All Japan show headlined by Naoya Nomura vs. Kento Miyahara as one of the best shows so far this year.
Impact has sold out both its Friday and Saturday night TV tapings in Windsor, ONT at the St. Clair College Gym.
Regarding Puma King being off the MLW shows, there was clearly a misunderstanding since MLW said it was because he double-booked himself but he already had the prior bookings for Mania week before MLW ever offered those dates, and things had been worked out between MLW and High Spots regarding him working both shows. However, he was told today that MLW had taken him off those shows citing his asking price.
Weigh-ins for tomorrow night’s Bellator show from Thackerville, OK on Paramount and DAZN at 9 p.m. Eastern
Norbert Novenyl Jr. (185.1) vs. Will Lavine (185.5)
Anatoly Tokov (185.9) vs. Gerald Harris (185.5)
Valentin Moldavsky (233.7) vs. Linton Vassell (246.7)
Emmanuel Sanchez (145.1) vs. Georgi Karakhanyan (146)
AXS tomorrow night has Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi and Evil vs. Zack Sabre Jr. from the New Japan Cup at 8 p.m.
KSW runs Saturday from Lodz, Poland with heavyweight champion Phil DeFries (16-6) vs. light heavyweight champion Tomasz Narkun (16-2), plus the big one has former multi-time world’s strongest man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski (12-6) facing Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Szymon Kolecki (6-1). Olympic medalists Satoshi Ishii (judo) and Damian Janikowski (wrestling) are also on the show. This show starts at 2 p.m. Eastern and airs live on DAZN.
If you’re into the great KSW videos, herearea few for Saturday’s show:
Aaron Solow will be defending his Dojo Pro title against Liam Fury on the Fale Dojo show on 3/30 in Auckland, New Zealand.
Lego actually sent a cease and desist order to Inter Species Wrestling for promoting an event for a match where Legos would be used as weapons.
CWE on 3/29 in Dauphin, Manitoba at the Watson Art Centre with Psicosis vs. Michael Allen Richard Clark. They also run 3/31 in Yorkton, Saskatchewan at the Yorkdale Central School and 4/2 in Prince Albert, SK at Parkland Hall.
The WSU promotion has changed its name from Women’s Superstars Uncensored to Women’s Superstars United.
Drago vs. Aerostar has been announced for the 4/27 Battle Championship Wrestling show in Adelaide, Australia in a AAA Latin American title match. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
Neo Fight Pro is looking at sending Tae Honma and maybe one or two other women wrestlers to the U.S. in July. The company will pay for transportation, the local promoter will pay for the nightly fight fee and they are looking for DVD rights to the footage for the Japanese market for matches with their women that they could sell with Japanese subtitles. For promoters interested you can write to [email protected].
Gouge March Madness on Saturday night in Fuquay-Varina, NC at the Fainting Goat Brewery for a 2 p.m. show
Defy Wrestling on 4/13 in Portland, OR at the Hawthorne Theater features Jimmy Havoc.
First Wrestling has an iPPV tonight on FITE TV from Minneapolis at the James Bellentine Uptown VFW at 9 p.m. The show is sold out. Kyle Rae of AEW faces Priscilla Kelly, Mercedes Martinez vs. Jordynne Grace plus Penelope Ford, Jessicka Havok, Shotzi Blackheart, Solo Darling, Kimber Lee and others are wrestling on the show.
There is a new comic book called Luchaverse: Konnan & The Ambassadrs up.
LFA announced they would have four cards in May airing at 9 p.m. every Friday night on AXS TV. The shows are 5/3 from Vail, CO at the Dobson Arena, the first nationally televised MMA event from the ski resort; 5/10 in Salt Lake City at the Maverik Center; 5/24 in Branson, MO at the Convention Center and 5/31 in Prior Lake, MN at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel.
AXS Fights with the LFA returns to a 9 p.m. start time after New Japan with a show tomorrow night from Dallas at the Bomb Factory with Vince Cachero (6-0) vs. Casey Kenney (10-1-1) for the interim bantamweight title.
W-1 Wrestle Wars from today in Tokyo at the Ota Ward Gym: Kuma Arashi won Rumble, Reika Saiki & Yumiko Hotta b Hana Kimura & Asuka (not the WWE Asuka), Andy Wu won three-way over Dick Togo and Ryuji Hijikata, Jun Kasai & Daiki Inaba b Shinjiro Otani& Manabu Soya, Yusuke Kodama b El Hijo del Pantera to keep the cruiserweight title, Jun Tondokoro & Shuji Kondo & Seigo Tacibana b Cima & Takehiro Yamamura & Lindaman, Daisuke Sekimoto b Shotaro Ashino, Masayuki Kono & Alejandro b Kaz Hayashi & Pegasi Iluminar to win the tag titles, T-Hawk b Jiro Kuroshio to keep the W-1 title. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and WrestlingwithDemons.net)
Kimura announced she was leaving W-1 at the end of the month.
Stardom from today in Osaka for the evening show: AZM won three-way over Natsuko Tora and Saya Iida, Xia Brookside & Rebel Kel b Starlight Kid & Saki Kashima, Bea Priestley & Konami b Jungle Kyona & Leo Onozaki, Kagetsu & Hazuki d Mayu Iwatani & Arisa Hoshiki, Viper DCOR Goya Kong, Momo Watanabe & Utamii Hayashishita b Natsu Sumire & Andas Miyagi
Stardom from today in Osaka for the afternoon show: Konami won three-way over Natsuko Tora ad Leo Onozaki, Starlight Kid & Xia Brookside b Jungle Kyona & Saya Iiida, Natsu Sumire & Hazuki b Viper & AZM, Goya Kong & Rebel Kel b Kagetsu & Andras Miyagi, Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita & Bea Priestley b Mayu Iwatani & Saki Kashima & Arisa Hoshiki
Bar Wrestling on 4/10 in Los Angeles at the Bootleg Theater has Tessa Blanchard vs. Jake Atlas, Delilah Doom & Eli Everfly vs. Heather Monroe & Tyler Bateman, Joey Ryan & Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas vs Watts & Yuma & NKH, Taya Valkyrie vs. Kylie Rae, Brian Cage & Ryan Taylor vs. Luchasaurus & Brandon Cutler and PJ Black vs Andy Brown. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and WrestlingwithDemons.net)
The ROH/NJPW Festival of Honor on 4/5 at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden starts at 10 a.m. with a Meet and Greet with The Kingdom, 12:30-1:45 with a Meet and Greet with PCO & Body King, 2-3:30 with Jay Lethal.
Rey Hours vs. Ace Austin has been added t the 4/4 MLW show in Queens, NY.
A recorded video aired during Michael Nakazawa’s farewell show today where KennyOmega addressed the DDT fans. He said that Nakazawa is free to continue working DDT dates and hinted that he would also show up in the future as well. The full video was shared on Sanshiro Takagi’s Twitter.
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events:
Saturday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
While it had become expected leading into the announcement, that doesn’t make Kenny Omega joining All Elite Wrestling any less of a vital move for the start-up company.
Omega signing with AEW was confirmed at last week’s Double or Nothing ticket announcement party in Las Vegas. Omega signed a four-year deal that allows him to still wrestle for New Japan Pro Wrestling if he wants to (and if NJPW will have him). And in addition to his in-ring role, Omega will serve alongside Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks as an executive vice president of the promotion.
I don’t expect more than a few more weeks of this format of Observers.
WWE grossed $930,160,000 and turned a $98,719,000 profit in 2018, both company records. Last year the company set a revenue record of $800,959,000 and turned a $32,116,000 profit.
Pedro Morales, best known for his three-year run as WWWF champion from 1971-73, passed away on 2/12 at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, NJ, where he had been hospitalized for two weeks. He was 78 and had been battling Parkinson’s Disease for several years.
NJPW New Beginnings: As a legit shoot, while NJPW almost always sells out Edion Arena for big shows, they comped less and opened up more seats so this number was the highest since the 2015 show headlined by Hiroshi Tanhashi vs. A.J. Styles.
UFC 234 – Chaos erupted the day of UFC 234, the first UFC pay-per-view offering of 2019, at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, causing dramatic change unheard of when it comes to UFC pay-per-view events.
It is now official that Kenny has signed with AEW.
Mustafa Ali’s eyeball got busted open and really messed up after a Garvin stomp by Randy Orton on SD Tuesday night.
Dwayne Johnson said he was the first choice to host the Oscars this year. But he said he couldn’t make it work due to the timing of shooting the Jumanji sequel.
Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) will be making an appearance on a Nickelodeon series next month.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Naomi on Twitter following the arrest and release of Jimmy Uso: ”Yes dear we are safe and ok thank you and love y’all.”
Total Divas on 2/24 will cover the backlash Brie Bella recieved after injuring Liv Morgan during Monday Night Raw back in September.
Sgt. Slaughter was on Boomer and Gio on CBS Sports talking about his career and WrestleMania.
Pro Wrestling
Impact tonight on the Pursuit channel and on Twitch will have a fatal four way match for the Impact World title, with Johnny Impact defending against Killer Kross, Moose and Brian Cage. Other matches include Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie, Willie Mack vs. Ethan Page and a eight man tag pitting the AAA team of Psycho Clown, Aerostar, Puma King and Hijo Del Vikingo against the Impact team of Sami Callihan, Eddie Edwards, Eli Drake and Fallah Bahh.
Joe Hendry wrote on Twitter that he is now a free agent, as he and Impact have parted ways.
Puma King vs. Hijo de LA Park has been added to the MLW Intimidation Games live special on March 2.
All but one of Mark Hunt’s claims against the UFC have been dismissed. Hunt filed a lawsuit back in 2016 saying that the UFC, Brock Lesnar and Dana White knew Lesnar was using performance enhancing drugs prior to the Hunt/Lesnar fight at UFC 200. The only claim on Hunt’s lawsuit that still stands is Hunt’s claim against the UFC for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
Cain Velasquez says that if he can’t compete at a high level during this weekend’s UFC event against Francis Ngannou, he will retire.
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):
Sunday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!
