Category: Daily Updates

http://chaddukeswrestlingshow.com/2015/08/02/the-chad-dukes-wrestling-show-ring-of-honor-interviews-with-jay-lethal-dalton-castle-moose/

All of our interviews and our show we do throughout the year are also available on iTunes, Play.it, and http://chaddukeswrestlingshow.com/

Thank you and have a great day!

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Jay Lethal on being the face of ROH: 

“I feel like I won the lottery because what a perfect time to be the world champion of Ring of Honor with all the momentum from Sinclair and everything and now the acquisition of being on Destination America and with the inevitable downfall of the other company who assumed the  number two slot, because we are the number two wrestling company in the world right now.  But yeah it’s an exciting time I feel like I won the lottery.”

Jay Lethal on wrestling a 60-minute draw: 

“I don’t believe there’s any way to prepare for that.  It’s like, ‘Oh, I’m a runner. So I’m going to go practice in the gym on the treadmill and on the elliptical.’  I have actually run on the treadmill and I’ve run on elliptical and then I decided to run through my park at home and let me tell you there’s no substitute for really running.  When there’s something that you need to get done there’s no substitute other than actually doing it.  So there was really no preparing to have a sixty-minute match, it was tough.”

“It’s one of those moments where you have to dig down deep and pull everything that you have and I swear by the end of that match I had nothing left.  There was nothing left in the tank, so to speak.”

Dalton Castle on the creative freedom within ROH: 

“It’s great.  I love being a part of Ring of Honor.  I love wrestling.  I’m very good at it and I will continue to do it, and to be able to do it here at Ring of Honor and to share the ring with so many amazing talents while getting to be myself at the same time without anybody trying to censor me or hold me down is a great feeling.  I spent years working in other places whether it be wrestling or my other radio gig I used to do years ago being told, “Tone it down a little bit baby doll.” And I get to come here in Ring of Honor they’re like, “Hey what you are is what you are and we love it so be that.”  I don’t think a lot of people in their field of employment get to do that.”

Moose on re-signing with ROH: 

“Ring of Honor gave me my very first chance.  They helped create the brand ‘Moose.’  So I mean it was an easy decision, they told me that they were going to stick by me with whatever decision I made and I just felt like I’m a real loyal guy, so they helped me get get me to where I’m at now so I’m going to return the favor.”

Moose on the pressures of living up to prior former football playing wrestlers and cutting ties with football: 

“There’s the goods and there’s the bads.  You’ve got Goldberg, Wahoo [McDaniel], Ernie Ladd, greats.  So there was the pressure of can I be as good as those guys and then you have some of the guys who wasn’t so good that came in from the football world.  There was also the pressure of, “Man what if I suck as bad as those guys.”  So I mean it’s big pressure, the best thing to do is just work my ass off, work as hard as I can, so that I can be up there with the Wahoos, the Ernie Ladds and the Goldbergs and other guys.”

“When I left football I decided I want to leave that behind me. I don’t want to have any teases about going back even though I knew there wasn’t going to be one but I didn’t want to have that maybe so I shut the door completely.  I don’t follow it, which sucks because I have a lot of friends in the football world and I don’t get the watch their stuff because I’m scared of my watch it and go, “Oh man I miss football I want to go back and play.”  So I kind of like shut the door.”

It’s not 2006, but UFC has just announced Frank Mir vs. Andrei Arlovski as the No. 2 fight for the 9/5 UFC 191 PPV in Las Vegas.

It’s not 2006, but UFC has just announced Frank Mir vs. Andrei Arlovski as the No. 2 fight for the 9/5 UFC 191 PPV in Las Vegas underneath Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson re-matching for the UFC Featherweight Championship at the MGM Grand.

Also announced is a five-round main event bout between Matt Brown and Kelvin Gastelum, scheduled for November 21 in Monterrey, Mexico. That headlines a FOX Sports 1 event serving as the finals for The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America season two. Gastelum is coaching the season alongside Efrain Escudero, but since they fight in different weight classes, they will not be fighting each other. Gastelum drops back down to 170 pounds for this fight. 

by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix

We’re looking for your thoughts on today’s UFC 190 show, today’s G-1 in Osaka and tonight’s G-1 in Nagoya so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from each show to hsmeltzer@juno.co

We’re also looking for reports on today’s WWE house shows in Hidalgo, TX and Ontario, CA, as well as the Thursday night NXT show in Tampa and last night’s NXT show in Lakeland, FL at Dave Meltzer

Dave will be on CBC News in Canada 5:00 p.m. ET (airing again at 6:00 and 9:00) talking about the death of RoddyPiper.

UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia is live from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

Main Card at 10:00 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (Four hour window due to addition of TUF Brazil 4 finals)
Ronda Rousey (135) vs. Bethe Correia (134) for Rousey’s UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
Mauricio Rua (206) vs. Antonio Rogeiro Nogueira (206)
Glaico Franca (156) vs. Fernando Bruno (155) in the TUF Brazil 4 Lightweight Finals
Reginaldo Vieira (135) vs. Dileno Lopes (135) in the TUF Brazil 4 Bantamweight Finals
Stefan Struve (265) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (240)
Antonio Silva (265) vs. Soa Palelei (264)
Claudia Gadelha (116) vs. Jessica Aguilar (116)

Prelims on Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET:
Demian Maia (171) vs. Neil Magny (171)
Rafael Cavalcante (205) vs. Patrick Cummins (206)
Warlley Alves (171) vs. Nordine Taleb (171)
Iuri Alcantara (136) vs. Leandro Issa (136)

Prelims on UFC Fight Pass at 7:00 p.m. ET:
Vitor Miranda (186) vs. Clint Hester (186.7)
Hugo Viana (136) vs. Guido Cannetti (135)

This is an odd main PPV card. It’s a show heavily tailored to the Brazilian market, but Ronda Rousey in the main event…but that means she wasn’t able to do a media blitz in the U.S. The undercard has a ton of name value with Shogun, both Noguiera brothers, and even Struve to an extent. Hell, Shogun-Lil’ Nog is a rematch of their Fight of the Year winner. Gadelha-Aguilar is a great title eliminator fight at strawweight. And to the casual fan, hey, you’re getting a biggest, longer PPV than usual for the same price!

In reality, the main event is a mismatch even for a Ronda Rousey fight. At least going into her past fights, you could try to find a path to victory for her opponents: Sara McMann won’t be taken down and is the better, harder hitting striker. Alexis Davis can keep her at bay with low kicks and is a good enough grappler to avoid armbar traps. Cat Zingano…well, by that point, we had seen enough to know Rousey would win, but we expected Rousey’s toughest fight, not the shortest title fight in UFC history. Bethe Correia is a journeywoman who UFC has literally had to pretend has knockout power in ads for this show.

Worse, all of the name fights on main card have serious potential to be very depressing. Shogun and Lil’ Nog is a rematch of the Fight of the Year from literally a decade ago, and both fighters have the durability of guys who were in the Fight of the Year a decade ago. Big Nog should not be fighting (it’s not a secret that he has a seriously impaired left eye), Struve is a question mark due to his heart valve issue (though he appears to have really dedicated himself to this camp), and it could be really ugly. Bigfoot Silva also should not be fighting given the shape he’s in off the testosterone replacement therapy he desperately needs due to his acromegaly. At least we have Gadelha-Aguilar and Magny-Maia is a great featured prelim.

World Series of Fighting 22: Palhares vs. Shields airs live from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network:

Resumer Palhares (c) vs. Jake Shields for the WSOF Welterweight Title
Marlon Moraes (c) vs. Sheymon Moraes (no relations) for the WSOF Bantamweight Title
Mike Kyle vs. Clifford Starks (replacing Thiago Silva) in a light heavyweight fight
Abubakar Nurmagomedov (Khabib;s brother) vs. Jorge Moreno in a welterweight fight
Jimmy Spicuzza vs. Islam Mamedov in a lightweight fight

The main event is fascinating, possibly the best fight that can be made outside of the UFC right now. Unlike Jon Fitch when he was cut by the UFC, we have no indication that Shields isn’t, at worse, a top 15 welterweight (though he’s probably top 10). He’s also an incredible grappler (who eeked out a decision over Maia in his next to last UFC fight) challenging the most terrifying grappler in the welterweight division. Moraes-Moraes is also a really strong fight on paper, and Nurmagomedov’s debut is going to be well worth checking out. This is, in some ways, a better main card than th UFC 190 PPV it’s going against.

NJPW G1 Climax Day 9 in airs live from Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium at 3:00 a.m. ET on NJPW World:

Non-Tournament Matches:

1. Satoshi Kojima, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yohei Komatsu vs. Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask IV, Mascara Dorada & David Finlay Jr.
2. Michael Elgin & Jay White vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall
3. Hirooki Goto, Yuji Nagata & Captain New Japan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
4. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo vs. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga
G1 Climax A Block League Matches:
5. Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
6. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bad Luck Fale
7. A.J, Styles vs. Doc Gallows
8. Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito
9. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano

Not the most eye-catching card, but Gallows-Styles is really intriguing on paper (Gallows works surprising well with high flyers, not that Styles isn’t much more than that these days) and Ibushi is the type of guy who could get something interesting out of Tenzan these days.

We’re also looking for reports on tomorrow’s WWE shows in Fresno and Stockton. 

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FREE THIS WEEK: The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly (subscribe to th site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and our) is up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture. Plus, as always, we have  all of the usual reviews and international news.

Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle. 

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The Latest Wrestling Observer: August 3, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Hulk Hogan fired by WWE over leaked hate speech, Daniel Bryan update

Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at  Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!

You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer

You can also order at paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

Rates are:

For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52.  In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com  For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

The ups and downs of Hulk Hogan is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We look at his rise to fame, steroids in pro wrestling, Hogan as a fan, the Zahorian trial and why Hogan wasn’t involved, the first time Vince McMahon sent Hulk Hogan away, the McMahon trial, and his career post-wrestling.  We look at Hogan Knows Best and how that plays into his latest problems, Bubba the Love Sponge, when Hogan’s racist rant was first reported and how three years ago, the story behind the tapes, what was said, , Hogan’s apology, the Gawker threat and how it plays into his lawsuit, WWE’s reaction and how this is different from his other historical issues.  We look at how fiction vs. reality is Hogan’s friend, fan reaction, and more.  This is the most detailed look at not just Hogan’s latest situation, but life after wrestling over 25 plus years.

We also look at Daniel Bryan’s current situation, his concussion issues, his wanting to wrestle again and WWE not clearing him, his wife’s reaction to his wrestling again, how his neck is holding up, what could have gotten him to TNA and his different views of the 2014 and 2015 Royal Rumble.

We also look at the HBO Real Sports story on domestic violence issues with fighters, including War Machine, Josh Grispi, Rumble Johnson and Chris Leben.

We also look at the injuries to John Cena and Alicia  Fox, lots of notes on SummerSlam, updates on Sting, New WWF considerations for the network, Movie box office with WWE stars, the original gay wrestler idea from 2002 and who it was talked about for, Chael Sonnen and WWE, Celebrity in WWE programming going forward, WWE lawsuit news, Tough Enough notes, new WWE movie and a look at a new developmental star who just debuted.

We also have notes on all the WWE & NXT live events over the weekend, business notes and highlights.

We’ve got a detailed look at G-1 thus far with a tournament overview, problems involved, update on Nakamura, standings, results of all the matches and the next week schedule.

We’ve also got full coverage of the UFC on FOX with T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao, with match-by-match coverage, business notes and poll results.

We also look in depth at Jeff Jarrett’s first TV taping for GFW in Las Vegas, including matches, direction and future.

We also have full coverage of the ROH Death Before Dishonor show, with match-by-match rundown, star ratings and poll results.

We’ve also got a look at PWG’s 12th anniversary show, the atmosphere, and notes on Battle of Los Angeles.

The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.
We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.

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New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

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Saturday Daily Update

• Reminder: The new Figure Four Weekly is FREE for everyone this week with a huge, detailed cover feature on the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI has tried to help Hulk hogan cover up the racist and homophobic comments he made that ended up being leaked a week ago. This is some weird, fascinating stuff.
• Check out Dave Meltzer’s live Play by Play.  UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia live results and coverage and here is coverage of yesterday’s weigh-ins:  UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia weigh-in results and live video  Also check out the UFC 190 Countdown shows.  Ryan Fredrick previews the show: UFC 190 Preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions.  Another preview with our staff picks: UFC 190 Wrestling Observer Picks & Preview: Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia by Josh Nason.  UFC Embedded: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5.  And last but not least UFC 190 and WSOF 22 Picks From The Secret Psychic Spy~!
• Brazilian judge bans kids from UFC 190
• There has been a ton of mainstream coverage of the death of Roddy Piper. That’s not surprising, but some of it is, like Piper’s death being the cover story in the Boston Herald. The BBC covered it as the third biggest story in world news. ESPN’s SportsCenter had a segment on Piper with Jonathan Coachman calling in to explain his legacy.
• By the way, when TMZ says he died of “natural causes” from “cardiac arrest” in his sleep, that just means that he died in his sleep and it was not wrongful death (homicide, suicide, etc). It has nothing to do with the common usage of the term. That’s not at all to say he didn’t die of natural causes in the way we all use that phrase, but TMZ does this regularly and it always confuses people. There’s a good article that Slate published a few years ago explaining the distinction.
• Josh Nason is looking for your memories of Rowdy Roddy Piper Roddy Piper: tell us what your favorite matches & moments are
• Here is Wrestling Observer’s initial coverage on the passing of Roddy Wrestling legend Roddy Piper passes away at 61, WWE & Vince McMahon statement (updated)
• Please check out this awesome coverage of NJPW G1 Climax 25: NJPW G1 Climax 25 (day 8) August 1 live results: Okada vs. Goto, Nakamura vs. Ishii
• For what it’s worth, Dana White did a radio interview saying that Bethe Correia “absolutely” knew that Ronda Rousey’s father committed suicide when she made a flippant comment about hoping that Rousey didn’t kill herself after she won the title from her. This had been a point of contention since Correia doesn’t speak English and the remark that set her off (Rousey saying Correia needed a “come to Jesus meeting”) was a colloquial English expression that got translated back to her literally.
• Rapper Meek Mill heavily sampled The Undertaker’s entrance music for a diss track targeting Drake, and according to TMZ, WWE is not amused.
• Ring of Honor brings the Reloaded Tour to the North Atlanta Trade Center in Atlanta, GA on Saturday Night August 29 at 7:30 pm. 
• Dori Yeats , the 2015 Pan Am Games Gold Medal Winner in woman’s freestyle wrestling, will wrestle an amateur match on the Aug 14th Great North Wrestling event at the Brockville Memorial Center against Aniko Potoczky. Tickets for the event, which will also feature Road Warrior Animal and The Honky Tonk Man, are at ticketweb.ca.

Georgia Hase, best known as the evil heel manager of various teams in a number of incarnations of Roller Games, passed away last night.  She had suffered a stroke during the middle of the past week.

Hase was the lead heel in a number of Roller Games and Roller Derby revivals from the late 70s until recent years.  She was a tremendous heel promo.

Hase joined Roller Games in 1961 and skated until 1964 in that league, and then briefly competed in a rival league where she was a top star until that league folded. 

She was never a main part of the glory days of either Roller Derby, which she never skated for, or Roller Games, but become a true star much later.

In the late 1970s, in a Los Angeles T-Birds revival era, she came back as a referee but the idea was to make her a heel General Manager of the Detroit Devils, and she may have been the first woman put in that role.  Her role was to play heel and be the adversary of the younger pretty women skaters, either rivals on the T-Birds, or women on her own team who would be ready for a babyface turn with a push.

She continued to be a part of revival games until last year.

“You were the best ever female manger in bank track leagues, you are missed and will never be forgotten,” wrote John Hall, the longtime babyface General Manager of the rival T-Birds.

TMZ.com has reported that Roddy Piper, real name Roderick George Toombs, passed away last night from a heart attack at a home he was living in when working in Hollywood, CA.  Piper wasn’t found until today.

By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com

We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in San Diego (Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Rusev) and NXT in Lakeland, as well as last night’s NXT show in Tampa at Dave Meltzerdave@wrestlingobserver.com”>

For this weekend, we’ll be doing polls on three shows, the G-1 shows in Osaka and Nagoya and the UFC PPV from Rio de Janeiro.

New Japan World Pro Wrestling on AXS TV tonight at 9 p.m.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bad Luck Fale

A.J. Styles vs. Togi Makabe (this was the match where Styles suffered his neck injury on a German superplex)

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki

G-1 Climax tonight at 4 a.m. Eastern from Osaka

Jay White & David Finlay vs. Cody Hall & Doc Gallows

Togi Makabe & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yohei Komatsu vs. Tetsuya Naito & Kota Ibushi & Mascara Dorada

Katsuyori Shibata & Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan vs. A.J. Styles & Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kushida & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi & Gedo

Satoshi Kojima vs. Yujiro Takahashi

Karl Anderson vs. Yuji Nagata

Tomoaki Honma vs. Michael Elgin

Shinsuke Nakamura (if he’s able) vs Tomohiro Ishii

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto

The WWE on Saturday has house shows in Ontario, CA (Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Rusev, Neville, King Barrett) and Hidalgo, TX (Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Sheamus).  We’re also looking for reports on NEW at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, NY (Rey Mysterio & Alberto el Patron vs. Young Bucks)   

UFC 190 from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro
Check out our coverage of the weigh-ins:  UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia weigh-in results and live video

Fight pass at 7 p.m. Eastern

Guido Cannetti vs. Hugo Viana

Clint Hester vs. Vitor Miranda

FS 1 at 8 p.m.

Iuri Alcantara vs. Leandero Issa

Warlley Alves vs. Nordine Taleb

Rafael Feijao Cavalcante vs. Patrick Cummins

Neil Magny vs. Demian Maia

PPV at 10 p.m.

Jessica Aguilar vs. Claudia Gadelha

Antonio Bigfoot Silva vs. Soa Palelei

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Stefan Struve

Dileno Lopes vs. Reginaldo Vieira in the TUF Brazil bantamweight finals

Fernando Bruno vs. Glaci Franca in the TUF Brazil lightweight finals

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua

Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia for the women’s bantamweight title

World Series of Fighting at 11 p.m. Eastern on NBC Sports from Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas

Islam Mamedov vs. Jimmy Spicuzza

Jorge Moreno vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov

Mike Kyle vs. Clifford Starks

Marlon Moraes vs. Sheymon Moraes for the bantamweight title

Rousimar Palhares vs. Jake Shields for the welterweight title

G-1 Climax tournament from the Aiichi Gym in Nagoya at 3 a.m. Eastern (shortly after UFC ends)

Satoshi Kojima & Kushida & Ryusuke Taguchi & Yohei Komatsu vs. Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask & Mascara Dorada & David Finlay

Michael Elgin & Jay White vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall

Hirooki Goto & Yuji Nagata & Captain New Japan vs,. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi

Kazuchika Okada & Gedo vs. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga

Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bad Luck Fale

A.J. Styles vs. Doc Gallows

Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano

WWE on Sunday has house shows in Fresno (Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Rusev, Neville, King Barrett) and Stockton, CA (Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Sheamus) and NEW has a show in Lowell, MA (Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto el Patron vs. Matt Hardy).

Raw will be Monday night in San Jose with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman returning for the show.

Smackdown will be taped on Tuesday night in Sacramento.

We have one of the biggest issues of the year with a look at Hulk Hogan’s rises and falls over the last 24 years and the trouble he’s gotten himself into, lots more on Daniel Bryan, his injury situation and his future, HBO Real Sports looks at domestic violence in MMA, the decline of G-1, UFC on FOX, GFW, ROH and PWG, and a riot involving some of the biggest names in the industry and resulted in a suspension are the major stories in the new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  

The Latest Wrestling Observer: August 3, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Hulk Hogan fired by WWE over leaked hate speech, Daniel Bryan update

Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at  Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!

You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer

You can also order at paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

Rates are:

For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52.  In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com  For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

The ups and downs of Hulk Hogan is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We look at his rise to fame, steroids in pro wrestling, Hogan as a fan, the Zahorian trial and why Hogan wasn’t involved, the first time Vince McMahon sent Hulk Hogan away, the McMahon trial, and his career post-wrestling.  We look at Hogan Knows Best and how that plays into his latest problems, Bubba the Love Sponge, when Hogan’s racist rant was first reported and how three years ago, the story behind the tapes, what was said, , Hogan’s apology, the Gawker threat and how it plays into his lawsuit, WWE’s reaction and how this is different from his other historical issues.  We look at how fiction vs. reality is Hogan’s friend, fan reaction, and more.  This is the most detailed look at not just Hogan’s latest situation, but life after wrestling over 25 plus years.

We also look at Daniel Bryan’s current situation, his concussion issues, his wanting to wrestle again and WWE not clearing him, his wife’s reaction to his wrestling again, how his neck is holding up, what could have gotten him to TNA and his different views of the 2014 and 2015 Royal Rumble.

We also look at the HBO Real Sports story on domestic violence issues with fighters, including War Machine, Josh Grispi, Rumble Johnson and Chris Leben.

We also look at the injuries to John Cena and Alicia  Fox, lots of notes on SummerSlam, updates on Sting, New WWF considerations for the network, Movie box office with WWE stars, the original gay wrestler idea from 2002 and who it was talked about for, Chael Sonnen and WWE, Celebrity in WWE programming going forward, WWE lawsuit news, Tough Enough notes, new WWE movie and a look at a new developmental star who just debuted.

We also have notes on all the WWE & NXT live events over the weekend, business notes and highlights.

We’ve got a detailed look at G-1 thus far with a tournament overview, problems involved, update on Nakamura, standings, results of all the matches and the next week schedule.

We’ve also got full coverage of the UFC on FOX with T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao, with match-by-match coverage, business notes and poll results.

We also look in depth at Jeff Jarrett’s first TV taping for GFW in Las Vegas, including matches, direction and future.

We also have full coverage of the ROH Death Before Dishonor show, with match-by-match rundown, star ratings and poll results.

We’ve also got a look at PWG’s 12th anniversary show, the atmosphere, and notes on Battle of Los Angeles.

The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.
We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

FRIDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

• All three nights of PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles sold out in three minutes.  It was insane.  There were people all over the country with multiple computers trying to log in all at the same time.  One minor stall and they were out of luck.  They seriously need to move to a bigger building but I know that’s not happening.
• UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia weigh-in results and live video
• John Cena has officially been pulled from the advertising from Sunday’s Fresno show, so he’s off everything for the next two plus weeks
• First time ever matches of Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho will be headlining both Ontario and Fresno this weekend
• There is a lot of speculation that Ronda Rousey will be cheered more than Bethe Correia even though the show is in Brazil.  To the guy on the street, she is the most popular, but sometimes ticket buyers are different.
• James Strom wrote that last night was his final night with TNA, so he apparently just returned for the final taping to finish up storyline loose ends.
• In the weekly cable ratings, USA was No. 4 this week behind Fox News, Disney and HGTV.  Syfy was No. 8.  Spike was No. 16.  The three hours of Raw ranked No. 4, 5 and 7 for the week beating everything but NASCAR and TNT dramas.
• Ric Flair appears for a meet and great and photo ops tonight at the PAL Hall in Fall River, MA at from 4-7 p.m. for Top Rope Promotions.  
• Stardom, a Japanese all-women’s promotion, will be running shows on 10/16 and 10/18 in Southern California.  The 10/16 show will be in Covina at the Father McGuire Knights of Columbus Hall, and the 10/18 show will be in Baldwin Park at the Esther Snyder Community Center.  Appearing on the shows will be Cheerleader Melissa, Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, Mayu Iwatani, Act Yasukawa, Chelsea, Reo Hazuki, Kris Wolf, Hudson Envy, Thunder Rosa and more.  Tickets HERE
• The reason a clip of Billy Gunn yelling at ZZ was release publicly is because they want him out after this week.  The impression I have is that things were set up last week for him to be gone, but the public wasn’t manipulated the way they expected and so it didn’t happen.
• Seth Rollins was on The Daily Show last night with Jon Stewart. 
• The Mid Atlantic Fan Fest is going in this weekend in Charlotte.  Lance Storm, Tom Prichard, Nigel McGuinness, Les Thatcher and Rip Rogers were doing a weekend training seminar for aspiring wrestlers from around the world.  Lance Russell at 89 years old was there.  Jimmy Hart sang the song “Lance Russell’s Nose.”  From 1983, here was the music video.
• Jim Ross did his one man show and they debuted the documentary Mid Atlantic Memories.  Ole Anderson is doing a Q&A today. 
• GFW sent out a release today listing Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Shelton Benjamin, Candice LaRae and Eric Young all at their 8/21 tapings in Las Vegas at The Orleans Arena.
• Even though the WWE stock went way up yesterday, Hilliard Lyons today downgraded it from long-term buy to neutral.  They were disappointed that WWE only projected 1.2 million network subscribers on 9/30.  They were of the camp still thinking they’re soon to be at 3-4 million.  The downgrade is because they thought the stock was underpriced this year, but with the new numbers, they feel the stock is priced at about where it should be.  The stock was at $19.57 at this writing, so it was still up from yesterday.
• Not a good sign for ticket sales for the go-home Raw on 8/17 in Minneapolis.  Livingsocial is putting the unsold tickets on the market for a lower price.
• Pure Wrestling Association on 8/2 in Thedford, ONT at the Legacy Centre.
• Pro Wrestling Phoenix tonight in Council Bluffs, IA at the National Guard Armory.
• Ricky Steamboat worked as a commissioner at an Ultimate Championship Wrestling show last night in Halifax.
• Primos Pro Wrestling on 8/9 from The Watering Bowl in Denver.
• EWF on 8/7 in Covina, CA at the EWF Arena at 4315 Vincent Ave.  
• A story on Sunday’s show at LeLacheur Park, a minor league baseball stadium in Lowell, MA headlined by Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Matt Hardy
• The Washington Post on WWE stock
• A Rey Mysterio story promoting TripleMania

ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)

1979 – Monster Ripper (a teenage Ronda Sing) beat Jackie Sato in Tokyo to win the WWWA title

1982 – Dandy beat Modulo in Mexico City to win the Mexican national featherweight title

1986 – Stan Hansen beat Jumbo Tsuruta in Tokyo to win the International title

1988 – Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu beat Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy in Hakodate to win the All Japan world tag titles

1998 – Hikari Fukuoka & Tomoko Kuzumi beat Devil Masami & Cuty Suzuki to win the JWP tag titles 

1998 – Scorpio Jr. beat El Hijo del Santo in Mexico City to win the Leyendas de Plata tournament

1999 – Hiromichi Fuyuki & Gedo & Koji Nakagawa beat Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda in Tokyo to win the FMW World Street fight six man tag titles

By Dave Meltzer

We’re looking for reports on tonight’s TNA tapings in Orlando and tonight’s NXT show in Tampa at Dave Meltzerdave@wrestlingobserver.com”>

Smackdown tonight on Syfy:

Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro non-title

Los Matadores & Lucha Dragons vs. New Day & The Ascension

Jack Swagger vs. Rusev

R-Truth vs. Stardust

Cesaro & Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens

The G-1 Climax tournament will continue early Saturday morning U.S. time with a 4 a.m. Eastern time show from Osaka with Satoshi Kojima vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Karl Anderson vs. Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma vs. Michael Elgin, Shinsuke Nakamura (and we don’t know if he’s wrestling on the show yet or not) vs. Tomohiro Ishii and the IWGP champ vs. IC champ match with Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto.

We have one of the biggest issues of the year with a look at Hulk Hogan’s rises and falls over the last 24 years and the trouble he’s gotten himself into, lots more on Daniel Bryan, his injury situation and his future, HBO Real Sports looks at domestic violence in MMA, the decline of G-1, UFC on FOX, GFW, ROH and PWG, and a riot involving some of the biggest names in the industry and resulted in a suspension are the major stories in the new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 

The Latest Wrestling Observer: August 3, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Hulk Hogan fired by WWE over leaked hate speech, Daniel Bryan update

Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at  Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!

You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer

You can also order at paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

Rates are:

For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52.  In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com  For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.

The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

The ups and downs of Hulk Hogan is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We look at his rise to fame, steroids in pro wrestling, Hogan as a fan, the Zahorian trial and why Hogan wasn’t involved, the first time Vince McMahon sent Hulk Hogan away, the McMahon trial, and his career post-wrestling.  We look at Hogan Knows Best and how that plays into his latest problems, Bubba the Love Sponge, when Hogan’s racist rant was first reported and how three years ago, the story behind the tapes, what was said, , Hogan’s apology, the Gawker threat and how it plays into his lawsuit, WWE’s reaction and how this is different from his other historical issues.  We look at how fiction vs. reality is Hogan’s friend, fan reaction, and more.  This is the most detailed look at not just Hogan’s latest situation, but life after wrestling over 25 plus years.

We also look at Daniel Bryan’s current situation, his concussion issues, his wanting to wrestle again and WWE not clearing him, his wife’s reaction to his wrestling again, how his neck is holding up, what could have gotten him to TNA and his different views of the 2014 and 2015 Royal Rumble.

We also look at the HBO Real Sports story on domestic violence issues with fighters, including War Machine, Josh Grispi, Rumble Johnson and Chris Leben.

We also look at the injuries to John Cena and Alicia  Fox, lots of notes on SummerSlam, updates on Sting, New WWF considerations for the network, Movie box office with WWE stars, the original gay wrestler idea from 2002 and who it was talked about for, Chael Sonnen and WWE, Celebrity in WWE programming going forward, WWE lawsuit news, Tough Enough notes, new WWE movie and a look at a new developmental star who just debuted.

We also have notes on all the WWE & NXT live events over the weekend, business notes and highlights.

We’ve got a detailed look at G-1 thus far with a tournament overview, problems involved, update on Nakamura, standings, results of all the matches and the next week schedule.

We’ve also got full coverage of the UFC on FOX with T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao, with match-by-match coverage, business notes and poll results.

We also look in depth at Jeff Jarrett’s first TV taping for GFW in Las Vegas, including matches, direction and future.

We also have full coverage of the ROH Death Before Dishonor show, with match-by-match rundown, star ratings and poll results.

We’ve also got a look at PWG’s 12th anniversary show, the atmosphere, and notes on Battle of Los Angeles.

The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.

We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues

THURSDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

• We’ve got two new audio shows up today, one talking about the WWE business and what they did and didn’t talk about in the quarterly report this week, and in the other, we talks with Bruce Tharpe about the new Paul Boesch collection Houston wrestling streaming service and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
• The complete TripleMania PPV card on 8/9 from Mexico City is:
• Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Myzteziz
• Alberto el Patron vs. Brian Cage hair vs. hair
• Blue Demon Jr. & La Parka vs. Mesias & Electroshock
• Los Villanos vs. Psycho  Clowns
• Cibernetico & Chessman & Averno defend the AAA trios titles against Jack Evans & Angelico & Fenix and Pentagon Jr. & El Hijo del Fantasma (King Cuerno) & El Texano Jr.
• Drago & Goya Kong & Dinastia & Pimpinela Escarlata vs. Daga & Sexy Star & Mini Psycho Clown & Mamba in a man, woman, mini and exotico team match
• John Cena is still being advertised for house shows on Saturday in Ontario, CA and Sunday in Fresno, but he is not listed for the Friday show in San Diego that he was originally to headline.  Hopefully he’ll be there as advertised.
• Fabricio Werdum said today at a press conference that he wants to fight on the Aldo vs. McGregor show.  Smart guy, as heavyweight champion and getting a PPV percentage on a 1+ million buy show instead of a show that does less than one third of that.
• Weekend UFC programming

There will be a special 90 minute weigh-in show tomorrow starting at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time with Jon Anik, Kenny Florian, Rashad Evans, Ariel Helwani and Molly McGrath.  The reason it’s longer is because Rousey weigh-ins always draw the most viewers.

FS 1 will have a Ronda Rousey marathon tomorrow night starting at 6 p.m. with every single solitary second of Rousey’s one round armbars and other UFC fights.  At 8 p.m., there will be a women’s bantamweight special airing the best women’s bantamweight fights in UFC history (more Rousey).

The pre-fight show airs at 7 p.m. Eastern on FS 1, followed by the prelims from Rio de Janeiro at 8 p.m. and the post-fight show on FS 1 at about 1:30 a.m.

The first 20 minutes of the UFC Countdown show.  Talk about a promo that gets people into a fight.

• WWE stock closed today up $2.88 to $19.36. 
• The Draft Kings web site is offering 60 days of UFC Fight Pass free to anyone to signs up by midnight Eastern time tonight.  You will receive an e-mail from UFC Fight Pass tomorrow with a code to activate the trial.
• A note on today’s audio when talking about a one-year WWE Network subscription, there wont’ be a problem with people canceling because a one-year discounted subscription would all be billed up front as opposed to being billed monthly.
• DDP is listed as one of the stars of a movie called “God and Secrets” about super hero conventions. 
• IWF on 8/8 and 8/22 at the IWF Centre in Nutley, NJ
• NWA Mid South on Saturday night in Dyresburg, TN at the Herb Welch Wrestle Plex has Rob Conway defending the Mid South title against Jeremy Moore and Matt Riviera defending the Western States Heritage title against Americos.  They will also have a ceremony to induct Don Bass and Jim Casey into the NWA Mid South Hall of Champions.
• Absolute Intense Wrestling on 9/11 in Cleveland at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church headlined by Bob Holly.
• Great Canadian Wrestling on Saturday night in Oshawa, ONT at the Harmony Creek Community Centre.
• Wrestling Geek Fest, a pro wrestling and pop culture convention takes place 8/14 to 8/16 in Strongsville, OH which will include an Absolute Intense Wrestling Battle of the Sexes show featuring male vs. female matches will take place on 8/14 including Johnny Gargano vs Candice LaRae, Rickey Shane Page vs. Veda Scott, Ethan Page vs. Allysin Kay, Eddie Kingston vs. Mia Yim, Mad Man Pondo vs. Crazy Mary Dobson, Gregory Iron vs. Annie Social, Louis Lyndon vs. Heidi Lovelace and Colin Delaney & Cheech vs. Mary Elizabeth Monroe & Taeler Hendrix.
• NFC MMA on 8/8 at Center Stage in Atlanta with David Vitkay (15-12) vs. former Bellator fighter Ben Brewer (10-2) in the main event of a 15 match show. They had 135 tickets left as of yesterday.
• Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling starts a two week tour tomorrow night.  The legendary promotion runs

7/31 in Trenton, NS at the Arena

8/1 in Baddeck, NS at the Victoria Highland Civic Centre

8/3 in Cocagne, NB at the Arena

8/4 in Truro, NS at the Colchester Legion Stadium

8/6 in Georgetown, PEI at the Three Rivers Sportsplex

8/7 in Amherst, NS at the Stadium

8/8 in Blacks Harbour, NB at the Patrick Connors Rec Sportsplex

8/9 in Rogersville, NB at the Arena

8/11 in Bouctouche, NB at the JK Irving Centre

8/13 in Canning, NS at the Arena

8/14 in Souris, PEI at the Eastern Kings Sportsplex

8/15 in O’Leary, PEI at the Community Sports Centre

• BloodyMania 9 results from Sunday at the Gathering of the Juggalos:  Freak Show won Battle Royal, Warchild b Chris Hero, Matt Stryker b Colt Cabana, Ring Rydas won over Spider Monkey & Super Strong Tiger, The Hooligans, and Mad Man Pondo & Crazy Mary Dobson in an elimination match for the JCW tag titles, Rude Boy b Tracy Smothers and burned the confederate flag, Kongo Kong b Shane Mercer in a TLC match, M Dogg 20 (Son of Havoc) b MVP, Weedman won over Matt Hardy and 2 Tuff Tony (thanks to Kevin Gill)
• Davey Richards and wife Angelina Love headline NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 8/9 in Elizabethton, TN at the Evolution Sports Gym.  Richards vs. Chase Owens headlines the show.
• ACE Pro Wrestling on 8/1 in Wallington, NJ at the Morgan JR Arena.
• South Jersey Wrestlefest on 10/11 in Woodbury Heights, NJ at the Community Center.
• Todd Pettingill talks his experience in WWE at tlks.pt/XwQNJL
• Kevin Nash headlines Legends of Wrestling at Miami Marlins Park tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m. featuring Tyrus, The Nasty Boys, Bushwhacker Luke and Mick Foley.  For $25 you get a game ticket, a wrestling T-shirt, a meet and greet with the wrestlers and there will be a fireworks show after the game.  
• Justin Wren, who left MMA five years ago, returns on the 8/28 Bellator show facing Josh Burns.  Wren’s departure is chronicled in the booker “Fight for the Forgotten:  How a Mixed Marital Artist Stopped Fighting For Himself and Started Fighting for Others,” that will be released on 9/15.  Wren spent his time in Congo with the Mbuti Pygmies.  Wren and people he worked with bought the freedom of slaves and gave them 2,740 acres of rain forest to work on, drilling water walls and starting a farming project.
• ROH and Figures Toy Company announced a new Michael Elgin action figure as part of the new ROH line.
• Ronda Rousey noted that she was randomly drug tested three times prior to Saturday’s fight.
• Chris Wade pulled out of his 8/23 fight in Saskatoon against Olivier Aubin-Mericier.  UFC announced Tony Sims as the replacement.  This will be part of the main card on FS 1 that night.
• Takeya Mizugaki vs. George Roop was announced for the 9/27 UFC show at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
• WSOF announced Yushin Okami dropping to 170 pounds to face Jon Fitch as part of a double headliner on 10/17 at the Foxwood Resorts in Mashantucket, CT on NBC Sports.  The other main event will be Blagoi Ivanov defending the heavyweight title against Derek Mehmen.  Former TUF fighters Matt Hamill vs. Vinny Magalhaes is also on the show.
• On Saturday, Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia will be only the fourth fight in UFC history where there has been a title match with two undefeated fighters.  The others were Rousey vs. Cat Zingano, Rousey vs. Sara McMann and Lyoto Machida vs. Rashad Evans.
• Zack Mwekessa vs. Saulo Cavalari will be the Glory headline match on 9/19 in San Jose as part of Spike’s Glory/Bellator dual show from the SAP Center.  Mwekassa defends his light heavyweight title against a guy who beat via third round knockout.
• The Fight Network and NBC Sports Network airs WSOF on Saturday night at 11 p.m. with the Rousimar Palhares vs. Jake Shields fight for the welterweight title as the main event, going head-to-head with the UFC PPV show.
• A story on Kevin Nash appearing at the Miami Marlins game tomorrow night
• Ronda Rousey makes the Daily Mail on why she does bikini shoots at 150 instead of 135 
• NEW Wrestling under the Stars with Bucks vs. Alberto & Mysterio preview
• A story on lack of black voices in WWE hierarchy
• Interview with Mada about being eliminated from Tough Enough and why he thinks Miz targeted him at
• A story on Donald Trump and his pro wrestling past

ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL

1968 – Michiaki Yoshimura & Kintaro Oki beat Skull Murphy & Klondike Bill to win the All Asia tag titles in Sapporo

1987 – Takashi Ishikawa & Mighty Inoue beat Isamu Teranishi & Masanobu Kurisu to win the All Asia tag titles in Tokyo

1988 – Soliar beat Javier Rocca in Cuernavaca to win the NWA welterweight title

1994 – Reina Jubuki (Akira Hokuto under a mask) beat La Diabolica in Puebla to win the CMLL women’s title

2004 – Perro Aguayo Jr. beat Felino in Mexico City to win the Leyendas de Plata tournament

PRO WRESTLING VIDEOS 

GLOBAL FORCE WRESTLING

#GFWAmped:  Lei’D Tapa-I Want To Win Championships?

#GFWAmped:  Sonjay Dutt-Is Wrestling An Artform?

#GFWAmped:  Bollywood Boys-Final Thoughts Going Into Las Vegas

#GFWAmped:  PJ Black-He Discusses Leaving The Machine…”They Would Never Let Me Be Me”

#GFWAmped:  Reno Scum-I Know We Come Across Cocky

LIVE SHOWS

7/11/5 Monster Factory Wrestling (Full Show)

WWE/NXT

7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Cameras Catch Y2J’s  Parting Words To Patrick

7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Did Big Show Agree With Tonight’s Elimination?

7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  The Competitors Bid An Farewell To Patrick

7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Y2J Gives ZZ A Reality Check

5 Things:  5 Superstars Who Face Themselves

Triple H And Stephanie McMahon Deliver A Special Message To Young WWE Fan Elijah

TNA

7/22/15 The Breakdown:  Who Will Be Inducted Into The TNA Hall Of Fame?

A Look At TNA Hall Of Famers:  Team 3D

CHIKARA

The Condron Chronicles:  Second

INDY TV SHOWS

CWF Mid-Atlantic “Worldwide” TV (Episode 10)

MISC. STUFF

POWW “Inside The Ropes” (Episode 20)

AnarchyPro Wrestling Internet Beatdown (Webisode 15)

by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix

Tonight:

* NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network has Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs. The Mechanics, Baron Corbin vs. Jesse Sorensen, Chad Gable and Jason Jordan in action, Charlotte vs. Dana Brooke, Blake and Murphy (c) vs. The Vaudevillains for the NXT Tag Titles, and more.

* Lucha Underground at 8:00 p.m. ET on El Rey has part one of Ultima Lucha with Angelico, Ivelisse, & Son of Havoc (c) vs. The Disciples of Death for the Trios Titles, Hernandez vs. Drago in a Believers Backlash (Fan lumberjacks with straps) match, and The Mack vs. Cage in a falls count anywhere match. With Vampiro wrestling on part two next week, Michael Schiavello joins Matt Striker at the announcers’ table.

* UFC Tonight returns at 8:00 p.m. ET, though on Fox Sports 2 for this week instead of Fox Sports 1.

* Impact Wrestling at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Destination America is being built around Jeff Jarrett’s induction into the TNA Hall of Fame.

*ROH at 11:00 p.m. ET on Destination America (no more 8:00 p.m. ET showing) has Michael Bennett & Matt Taven vs. Corey Hollis & Jonathan Gresham, a six-way with Cheeseburger vs. Dalton Castle vs. Moose vs. Caprice Coleman vs. Brutal Bob Evans vs. Silas Young, and ACH vs. Bobby Fish.

**** 

The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a feature story looking at WWE’s firing of Hulk Hogan and how it relates to all of the litigation with Gawker including:

* How Hogan’s racist comments and the set of sex tapes his tirade was part of tied into the FBI investigating someone attempting to extort money from Hogan.

* How long it’s been known that something like this could come out.

* Gawker alluding to the idea that the FBI was helping Hogan cover up these statements.

* Where The National Enquirer and Radar Onlne could have sourced the story from.

And much more. Plus, as always, we have  all of the usual reviews and international news.

Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle. 

**** 

The return of the Undertaker and build to SummerSlam, Battleground coverage, the rise of NXT and situation with ROH, the G-1 Climax tournament and some major UFC stories are the major stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 

The latest Wrestling Observer: July 27, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: The Undertaker returns at Battleground, NXT/ROH insanity with Liger booking

Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at  Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!

You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer

You can also order at paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

Rates are:

For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52.  In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com  For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.

The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

Our lead story concerns the build to SummerSlam.  We look at advertising that has already been cut for the show, what are the possibilities for Sting, the Lesnar-Undertaker angle, the booking of WWE right now, the situation with the women, plus full coverage of Battleground with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results on the show.

We also look at the booking of  Jushin Liger to NXT on 8/22, ticket sales for the show, plans for the NXT show, how the Liger booking affects ROH and has caused such a political turmoil.  We look at the NXT card as well as the competing ROH show.  We look at the Liger booking, ROH working with New Japan, ratings with New Japan stars vs. shows without New Japan stars, NXT touring, the next NXT vs. ROH head-to-head in September, the next ROH PPV show and much more.

We also have full coverage of the G-1 Climax tournament, with all of the shows planned for the next week, as well as full coverage of opening night in Sapporo with match-by-match-coverage, star ratings and poll results.

We also look at a major story concerning fighters for UFC to address which is the banning of IVs for rehydrating after weigh-ins starting October and why the story is far more significant than people realize.

We also look at a potential alliance between ESPN and WWE and the ethical debate regarding the coverage.  We also look at the Hogan/Gawker lawsuit and each side’s case, an update on the Dr. Christopher Amann lawsuit against C.M. Punk and Colt Cabana, an update on Dolph Ziggler and what he claims is his contract status, Undertaker working more than just SummerSlam, Stephanie McMahon talks gay characterizations in future WWE creative as well as a look back from former creative members regarding different suggestions on gay characterizations in the past.  We look at more WWE banned terms and how some were changed and why.  We also look at how the characters are being described for Camp WWE, which is really hilarious.

We’ve also got notes on Chris Jericho working more house shows, Tough Enough notes, John Cena in the movies, how the WWE Network free month has changed, as well as what to look for over the next week in WWE stock.

We also have full coverage of the next month of NXT TV tapings, as well as coverage of all the WWE and NXT house shows this past week and business notes from the shows.

We also have notes on TripleMania being on U.S. PPV for the first time on 8/9, including price point, why it’s happening now, and its history as well as broadcast information.

We also have coverage of both UFC events held over the past week, with the Mir vs. Duffee and Bisping vs. Leites shows.  We’ve got business notes and stories behind both events.

We also have notes on the third season of New Japan World on AXS, including highlights of the new season, all the matches airing from 8/14 to 12/11 including when the Wrestle Kingdom 9 matches will air, as well as notes on the schedule for 2016.

We also look at Dragon Gate’s Kobe World Festival show and CMLL’s Sin Salida show, which were two of those two company’s biggest events of the year.

The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.

We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues

Wednesday Daily Update

• TMZ is reporting that Hulk Hogan’s lawyers have filed new documents in his lawsuit against Gawker asking for an investigation into the leak of his racist and homophobic comments that have been released the last few days. Radar Online wrote that “[Hogan’s] attorneys have asked the judge to permit them to appoint an independent electronic forensic expert that would be given access to Gawker’s computer network, systems and tablets in the hopes of uncovering a mole.”

Gawker’s lawyers had successfully sued the FBI for the records of the investigation surrounding the attempted extortion of Hogan using the sex tape, but only Gawker’s lawyers are allowed to see those records (as in they can’t share them with anyone else at Gawker), which include the sex tapes, audio of the sting operation, transcripts of the sex tapes, and various other documents.  The new filing more or less alleges that if Gawker wasn’t being the leak, it sure looks like they were. It’s such a huge gamble that it seems unlikely, though: If Hogan’s side can prove Gawker leaked the transcripts, then he most likely wins without having to go to trial.

Gawker issued this statement: Hulk Hogan has only one person to blame for what he said and no one from Gawker had any role in leaking that information.

Radar is also claiming that court documents reporting the existence of three sex videos is a new exclusive even though that information was reported weeks ago.

• Per Irv Muchnick, the grand jury decison regarding whether or not Jimmy Snuka will face charges in the 1983 death of girlfriend Nancy Argentino is expected this week. At the time, he coroner had recommendd that police investigate her death as a homicide, citing evidence of domestic abuse among other reasons, but it was never really followed up on. The grand jury proceedings had been delayed repeatedly but finally got going again recently.
• Not exactly shocking, but the UFC has sued Wanderlei Silva for saying that they’ve fixed fights. This one will be interesting if it doesn’t end quickly and quietly.
• John Nash is reporting at Bloody Elbow that n the UFC antitrust lawsuit, the judge denied a Zuffa (UFC) motion to stay discovery. This doesn’t mean that the plaintiffs will get all of the financial statements and so on that they want, but they can start depositions, interrogotories, and document discovery. What becomes public all depends  on what gets filed with the court for one reason or another.
• As noted on the front page, Joseph Duffy vs. Dustin Poirier is headlining the October 24th UFC Fight Pass card in Dublin. Big step up in both competition and positioning for Duffy, AKA “the last man to beat Conor McGregor.” Poirier had previously asked for a ranked opponent next, but it lookes like he softened on that once he broke into the top 15 anyway and got offered a main event.
• At MMAFighting, Dave Meltzer has:

His UFC on Fox postmortm.

Notes on the UFC on Fox show being their biggest Summer special to date.

• HBO has uploaded the entire 24 minute “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” segment about domestic violence in MMA to YouTube. If you don’t have HBO and had been wanting to watch this, then now you can.
• Devon “Hannibal” Nicholson has posted his Tough Enough 3 casting video n YouTube, as well.
• Kris Zellner and myself have started a new podcast called Between the Sheets, where we and a guest look at what was in various wrestling newsletters covering a week in history. For the first episode, we go back 26 years ago last week for July 20-26, 1989, including the legendary Great American Bash PPV, the beginning of the AWA Team Challenge Series, and more).