Category: Daily Updates

  • On this day in pro wrestling history: Brisco beats Race for NWA title, Gagne beats Crusher for AWA title, Robinson vs. Gagen

    by Brian Hoops

    1939 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City; Orville Brown and Wladek Zbyszko wrestled to a draw, Steve Brody and Mike Kilonis drew, Bob Castle beat Abe Freeman and Don George defeated Bob Castle.

    1962 – In Winnipeg; Bill Miller & Bob Geigel beat Ilio DiPaolo & Joe Scarpello to win the AWA Canadian Open tag team titles, Doug Gilbert beat Tiny Mills and Moose Evans beat Larry Hennig  
    1963 – Verne Gagne defeated The Crusher in Minneapolis, Minnesota to win
    the AWA World Heavyweight Title. Also on the card, Jack Pesek & Roy McClarty beat Stan Kowalski & Tiny Mills, 
    Iron Mike DiBiase beat Billy Goelz and Larry Hennig beat Paul Christy. Attendance was 7,040. 

    1967 – In Kansas City; Ron Reed fought Earl Maynard to a draw, Sonny Myers defeated Bob Geigel, The Hangman defeated Steve Bolus
    and The Mongolian Stomper defeated Bob Brown in three falls. 

    1971 – In Bismarck, North Dakota; In a Non Title match, Larry Hennig & Lars Anderson beat AWA Tag Team Champions Red Bastien & Hercules Cortez and Billy Robinson beat Big K. 

    1972 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Rufus R. Jones & Omar Atlas & Les Thornton defeated Roy Bass & Billy Howard & Juan Sebastian, Roger Kirby & Black Angus (w/ Percival A. Friend) defeated Chati Yokouchi & Yasu Fuji in three falls and  Harley Race defeated Bob Ellis via countout in three falls

    1973 – Jack Brisco defeated Harley Race in Houston, Texas to win the NWA
    World Heavyweight Title.

    1974 – In Chicago, Illinois at the International Amphitheatre; Billy Robinson beat AWA Champion Verne Gagne in 2 out of 3 falls. (no title change as it was ruled Gagne’s foot ruled to be on rope). AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat The Crusher & Wahoo McDaniel in 2 out of 3 falls, Ivan Putski beat Baron Von Raschke via dq, Mitsu Arakawa beat Moose Cholak via dq and
    Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Larry Heiniemi & Buddy Wolff in 2 out of 3 falls. 

    1977 – In Honolulu, Hawaii; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Billy White Wolf in 2 out of 3 falls; Bill Francis went to a double count out with North American Champion John Tolos and Ricky Hunter beat Tony Borne. 

    1979 – In Rockford, Illinois; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Greg Gagne by dq, in a Taped Fist Match, Mad Dog Vachon beat Ray Stevens, Bobby Duncum & Super Destroyer Mark II beat Dick Reynolds & Billy Robinson and Jesse Ventura beat Paul Ellering.

    1985 – In Chicago, Illinois; AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Michael Hayes, Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Sgt. Slaughter & Greg Gagne by dq, Fabulous Freebirds Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts beat The Crusher & Buck Zumhofe, Billy Robinson beat Baron Von Raschke and Boris Zhukov beat Steve O

    1990 – In East Moline, Illinois; The Trooper beat AWA Champion Larry Zbyszko by dq, AWA Tag Team Champions Destruction Crew Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos beat Buck Zumhofe & Tommy Jammer, Baron Von Raschke beat Jonnie Stewart and Curtis Hughes beat Hangman Killer

    1992 – Eddie Gilbert defeated Ricky Morton in Memphis, Tennessee to win
    the USWA Unified Heavyweight Title. On the same card, Brian Christopher
    defeated Tom Prichard for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title.

    1992 – The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon) defeated Money Inc.
    (Ted DiBiase & IRS) to win the WWF World Tag Team Title in Worcester,
    Massachusetts.

    1998 – D’Lo Brown defeated Triple H for the WWF European Title on Monday
    Night Raw while Bret Hart defeated Dallas Page for the vacant WCW US
    Title on WCW Monday Nitro.

    1999 – The Suicide Blondes (Rip Rogers & Jason Lee) defeated Flash
    Flannagan & Trailer Park Trash to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Title in
    Louisville, Kentucky.

    2000 – Tatsuhito Takaiwa defeated Jushin Liger in Sapporo, Japan to win
    the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

    2008 – Shelton Benjamin won the WWF US Title at the Great American Bash
    PPV from Matt Hardy. Also, Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels by referee stoppage. 

    2014 – At the Battleground PPV, the Miz won the Intercontinental Title in a Battle Royal, John Cena retained the WWE World Title over Roman Reigns, Kane and Randy Orton and Chris Jericho defeated Bray Wyatt. 

  • SUN UPDATE: Battleground preview, Gawker accuses FBI of helping Hogan, NXT tickets Sting in U.K., Brody song, Rhodes talks his current role

    By Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s WWE Battleground, New Japan G-1 opening night and Dragon Gate Kobe World Festival with a thumbs up, thumbs down and thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzerdave@wrestlingobserver.com”>

    We’re also looking for reports on last night’s WWE show in Danville, IL and NXT show in Venice, FL, as well as the House of Hardcore show in Toronto.

    Battleground Sunday in St. Louis on PPV and the WWE Network starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time

    *Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar for WWE title – There seems to be two possibilities here, either Lesnar takes the title, or Rollins retains due to interference.  The interference can come from a number of different directions, and obviously Undertaker rumors are prevalent.  If it goes that way, Lesnar will probably take Rollins to Suplex City and it’ll probably be a great match.

    *John Cena vs. Kevin Owens for U.S. title – They’ve had two great matches in a row.  So here it’s the same thing, either Owens wins, and he should, or Cesaro and Rusev cost Owens the match and it builds to a four-way at SummerSlam.  You can’t count out Cena winning clean to end the program, but this doesn’t seem like the right time for that.  With a PPV crowd, Owens is likely to be the super babyface.   

    *Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt – Reigns should win.  The key is more how well it gets over, in the sense Wyatt is usually popular with the PPV crowd and Reigns’ reaction varies greatly depending upon the crowd.  They’ve had good house show matches.

    *Randy Orton vs. Sheamus – Orton has the advantage of being the home town guy.  Sheamus has the briefcase and is being pushed, but Orton is a guy they usually protect.  One would think in his home town that Orton should win, and set him up for something if Sheamus cashes in.    

    *Prime Time Players vs. New Day for tag titles – This should be a title change.  The Prime Time Players needed to win last month because they had no credibility in a title situation even though it was too early to take the belts off New Day.  Now that they have that credibility, they can go back to chasing as New Day is the team that should be champs right now.

    *R-Truth vs. King Barrett in the preshow match for the right to be called King.  Really, given how Barrett has been booked as King, he should just lay down and lose to get away from the portrayal, but he’ll probably win.

    Given that the top three matches should be long, they probably can go with seven matches on the PPV itself, so there is room for two more bouts or one bout and a long segment.  The plan was always to book a Divas title match on this show, but it was never announced. 

    Show should be good, with the top two matches probably being great.

    New Japan G-1 Climax fight night from Sapporo at 2 a.m. Eastern and 11 p.m. Pacific on New Japan World

    Yohei Komatsu & Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger & Yuji Nagata vs. Tomoaki Honma & Mascara Dorada & David Finlay & Jay White

    Hirooki Goto & Captain New Japan vs. Cody Hall & Yujiro Takahashi

    Shinsuke Nakamura & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga

    Michael Elgin & Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo

    Tournament matches:

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Doc Gallows

    Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano

    Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale

    A.J. Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata

    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

    This looks like a two-match show, but both should be excellent. 

    Dragon Gate Kobe World Festival late tonight at 2 a.m. Eastern and 11 p.m. Pacific www.niconico.com

    U-T & Kotoka & Lindaman vs. Super Shisa & Shachihoko Boy & Mike Sydal

    K-Ness & Cyber Kong & Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga vs. Jimmy Kanda & Naoki Tanizaki & Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa & Yosuke Santa Maria

    Akira Tozawa vs. Eita for the Open the Brave Gate title

    Shingo Takagi & Masato Tanaka vs BxB Hulk & Big R Shimizu

    Cima & Gamma & Don Fujii vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid & Kzy vs. Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi & Jimmy Susumu for the Open the Triangle Gate title

    Yamato & Naruki Doi vs. Ricochet & Matt Sydal for the Open the Twin Gate titles

    Masato Yoshino vs. T-Hawk for the Open the Dream Gate title

    Raw is Monday night from Kansas City. It will be the start of the build up for SummerSlam.  Brock Lesnar is advertised on the show.  There are rumors Undertaker will be there or in some form will be part of the show.

    Smackdown will be Tuesday night in Lincoln, NE.

    The Conor McGregor phenomenon and the new direction of women in WWE and a history of women in WWE are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 

    The issue is on the site right now at July 20, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 189 report, WWE calls up NXT women

    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 www.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 talks about the Conor McGregor phenomenon, how it ushered in the new era of UFC, the business notes on the show, McGregor’s popularity in Ireland, why iPPV numbers probably set records, U.K. reaction, what to learn from McGregor vs. Mendes, how risky a gamble this fight was, similar gambles from the past, the story of the fight, McGregor vs. Aldo next, Ultimate Fighter and a full rundown of UFC 189.

    We also look at WWE’s bringing up Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks this past week, and a look back at the history of women performers in WWE dating back to the Wendi Richter vs. Fabulous Moolah match in 1984.  We look at the forgotten best women’s matches in main roster history and best workers, and failed attempt to market athletic women, what really happened with Aja Kong, We also look at the different ways this can go, how the angles changed, how the angle was done, as well as how UFC made it work and what was the same and different.

    We also look at what may be UFC’s biggest event of 2016, the UFC 200 show.

    We also look at the NXT show in Brooklyn and the busy weekend in the New York area, notes on when the next WWE network number will be released and what it would be up to, as well as break-even, and the peak number.  We look at advance sales for Battleground and the card, Lennox Lewis admits to almost doing a mixed match with Brock Lesnar in 2003, the story behind that fight and why it never happened, William Regal explains what WWE is looking for in new talent in a fascinating interview, notes on the future of Smackdown, who are planned to be focal point of NXT, Ziggler, Cody Runnels, update on Tyson Kidd, key WWE exec gets fired and new major WWE stock purchase by one of the richest men in Holland.

    We also look at an update on several legal proceedings involving WWE suits, notes on Tough Enough, as well as a rundown of the weekend NXT and WWE house shows with business notes on the shows.

    We also look at this year’s UFC induction ceremony, how it has changed, its future goals, and the speeches by Bas Rutten, B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes Frank Trigg, Lori Blatnick and many others.  We look at the histories of all the inductees as well.

    We also have more on Fedor Emelianenko being shopped around for a comeback at the age of 38.  We look at who he is, what he said just a few months ago about a comeback, if it is realistic to expect a match with Brock Lesnar, what Fedor said directly a few months ago about a match with Lesnar, as well as how UFC or Bellator can use him.

    We also look at UFC’s Sunday show in Las Vegas and business notes on the show.

    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.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –A look at the big weekly event at Arena Mexico

    –Build to CMLL’s big summer show

    –A major big show controversy and a lot of buck passing involved

    –Top matches for this year’s TripleMania

    –A look at this past week’s AAA TV taping

    –Wrestling returns to Royal Albert Hall in London

    –A major star celebrates 30th anniversary of his pro debut

    –Third generation legend makes debut

    –Wrestle-1 announces its own tournament

    –Coverage of Wrestle-1 show from the past week

    –Notes on the G-1 debut card

    –Shinya Hashimoto death anniversary show

    –More on Dusty Rhodes and one of his most famous angles

    –A look at the build of Starrcade 85

    –GFW’s road shows and TV tapings

    –A look at the Waterloo wrestling Hall of Fame and this year’s inductions

    –A match of the year candidate

    –Former WWE star falls into more problems

    –One match which features champions from New Japan, a top star of Evolve, the TNA world champion, a Lucha Underground champion, anther TNA wrestler as well as a WWE wrestler and an ROH wrestler all in the same match

    –A look at Tommy Dreamer’s next show

    –Update on Alberto Del Rio

    –Update on Lucha Underground

    –Movie being made about a Lucha Underground star

    –More on ROH over WrestleMania weekend

    –This week’s upcoming ROH show in Las Vegas

    –A look this past week’s ROH show

    –More on the future of TNA

    –Update on Davey Richards

    –Something to watch for when it comes to UFC fans

    –Update on Travis Browne situation

    –This week’s UFC show on FS 1 and Fight Pass Titan show

    –More on C.M. Punk and his debut

    –More on fighters and prospective TV show ideas

    –Cris Cyborg, UFC and Invicta

    –New UFC fights

    –Lawsuit filed regarding Bellator

    –This week’s Bellator show

    –Notes on how new Bellator announcer used to write for a wrestling newsletter

    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.

    SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • Bryan and I will have a show tonight covering Battleground, but G-1 coverage will be on Monday’s show.  We’ll also talk NXT Takeover, UFC at Texas Stadium and take your questions to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
    • Gawker is accusing the FBI of helping Hulk Hogan in the lawsuit against him according to a New York Daily News article. 
    • Although there must have been times where no tickets were available at the primary outlets, those in WWE say that the 8/22 NXT show in Brooklyn is not sold out,b but ticket sales have been strong.
    • There is information on the front page on how to order both New Japan World and the Dragon Gate show tonight.  The Niconico is kind of a pain, but I’ve ordered several shows and once you have a card they accept it’s pretty easy.  New Japan was a piece of cake to sign up, but open in Google Chrome and translate everything to English or it won’t be so easy.  If you order today, because it’s good for a month, you’d get every G-1 show live (or VOD as soon as the show is over) for just over $8.
    • We talk a lot of about plans for SummerSlam on the radio show I did last night with Bryan and Tom Lawlor.
    • Sting will be doing a UK talk show tour with shows on 10/5 in London at the Lyric Theater, 10/6 in Manchester at the Comedy Store and 10/7 in Glasgow at The Garage.  Tickets go on sale 7/24 at 9 a.m.  It will be a two-hour Q&A and fans can also get their photos with Sting and autographs.  
    • FOX will be airing the Road to the Octagon show at 5 p.m. today promoting Saturday’s show, featuring the T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao fight.  No, they will not be airing a preview to Tom Lawlor vs. Gian Villante, which does air live on FOX this coming Saturday night.
    • The Mountain Goats’ live version of Stabbed To Death Outside San Juan, a song about the death of Bruiser Brody
    • Cody Rhodes talks his future on his wife’s Facebook page
    • Randy Orton visits the St. Louis Cardinals
    • Mike Hollow has opened up a wrestling school in New England
    • Dana Warrior will be doing a book signing in conjunction with SummerSlam on 8/22 at the Powerhouse Arena at 3 p.m. for the launch of a Warrior book.
    • John Finnegan, who has been keeping track of wrestlers TV wins and losses since November 2006, noted that Cody Rhodes’ 7/16 Smackdown loss to Neville would be his 100th loss during that time period.  He is the seventh wrestler to have lost 100 TV matches in that time period, following Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Zack Ryder and Kane.  Randy Orton has 99 losses in that period.
    • Capital City Championship Combat on 8/15 in Ottawa and the Vanier Columbus Club with Ultimo Dragon & Super Smash Brothers vs. Pinkie Sanchez & Mike Draztik & Angel Ortiz, Roderick Strong vs. Buxx Belmar and more.
    • These are the matches that will be uploaded to NWAClassics.com from the Paul Boesch Houston wrestling collection this week:
    • Kerry Von Erich vs. Kamala, Rock & Roll Express vs. Dirty White Boys, Gino Hernandez vs. Nick Kozak, Rocky Johnson vs. Bruiser Brody, Hector Guerrero vs. Jose Lothario, Al Madril vs. Buddy Landel, Fantastics vs. Dutch Mantell & Bill Dundee, Dusty Rhodes & Bad Leroy Brown vs. Gary Hart & Killer Karl Krupp, Midnight Express & Ernie Ladd vs. Rock & Roll Express & Jim Duggan, Dick Slater vs. Jake Roberts, Steve Williams vs. Mark Ragin, JYD vs. Butch Reed Ghetto Street fight, JYD vs. Butch Reed dog collar match, Hector & Chavo Guerrero vs. Jose Lothario & Al Madril, Ernie Ladd vs. Magnum T.A., Rock & Roll Express vs. Midnight Express scaffold match, Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. for NWA title, Gino Hernandez & Tully Blanchard vs. JYD & Tony Atlas, Terry Gordy vs. Dick Murdoch, Terry Taylor vs. Jake Roberts.
    • Resurrection Fighting Alliance on AXS TV on 8/21 from Sioux Falls, SD at the Sanford Pentagon has a series of USA vs. Brazil matches with Robbie Lawler coaching the USA team against Lyoto Machida coaching the Brazil team. 
    • Bill Behrens, who books for A.J. Styles, said that Styles being on a poster for a 10/4 Superstars of Wrestling show in the U.K. is false advertising and that they have asked the promoter to remove him from advertising, and said promoter Matt Jarrett had not done so as requested.
    • Championship Wrestling Entertainment on Friday night from Port St. Lucie, FL:  Chico Adams b Rhett Giddins to win the national title, Santana Garrett b Su Yung to win the Vixens title, Jesus DeLeon b Lince Dorado, Tyranus won Rumble Battle Royal, Zach Monstair b JB Cool in a three stages of hell match.    
    • Dory Funk Jr. will be presenting Dan Spivey for a Fighting Heart Award on 8/1 at the BANG show in Ocala, FL at the Bang TV Sound Stage.
    • Big Time Wrestling from last night in Newark, CA before 250 fans:  Boyce LeGrande b Johnny Dynamo (Johnny Redito), Chico Navarro b Achilles Steel, Sinn & Tony Navarro b JR Kratos & Will Cuevas, Samara b Beatrice Domino, Scotty Wringer b Prakash Sabar, Shawn Daivari b Victor Sterling, Kimo b Robbie E (TNA), Shane Kody b El Mero Mero Kaka Meng.  Next show is 9/25 (thanks to Derek Sousa)
    • GOUGE from last night in Fuquay Varina, NC:  No Direction b Old School & Waylon Maze, Captain Court b Terry Ryker, Krazy Killer Klowns b Anime Man & Chance LeBeaux, Jimmy Jack Funk Jr. b Johnny Fulls, Otto Schwanz b Chet Sterling, Seymour Snott b Jakob Hammermeier.  Next show is 7/25 in Raleigh at the Blackjack Brewery.
    • Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling from last night in East Carondelet, IL:  Keith Smith Jr. & Daniel Gunner b Bubba Troll & Purple Passion, Chris Hargas b Captain Shabam, Waco b Sean Vincent, Brandon Espinosa b Keon Option, Heath Hatton b Ax Allwardt, Bobby D b Curtis Wylde, Ron Powers & Gary Jackson b Flash Flanagan & Kahaagas-COR, Ricky Cruz b Attila Khan-DQ (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
    • Lucha Xtreme from last night’s TV in Fresno:  Idris Jackson b Marcus Eriks, Hanford Chicken Shack mascot b Aki Sol-COR, Johnny Plinko b CB 3, Buddy Royal & Levi Shapiro b Kevin El Devino & Prince Nagi.  They have an iPPV on 8/23 from Hanford, CA at the Civic Auditorium called Battle for the Gold. (thanks to Jon Southerland)
    • Pro Wrestling First from last night in Suquamish, WA:  Dave Turner b Ryan Roode, Christopher Ryseck b Brickhouse Bereta.  This was a two match DVD taping (thanks to Charles Short)
    • Legacy Wresting on 8/22 in Palmyra, PA with AR Fox vs. Shane Strickland (Killshot in Lucha Underground), Kimber Lee vs. Solo Darling, Matt Cross vs. David Starr and Mike Bailey vs. Facade vs. Eddie Smooth.
    • MCW from last night in Joppa, MD for the annual Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup:  Shane Strickland b Eddie Smooth, Lio Rush b Kai Katana, Brandon Scott b Chuck Lennox, Matt Cross b Bo Nekoda, Eddie Edwards & Fenix Fury b Punk Rock All-Stars, Veda Scott & Madison Rayne b Amber Rodriguez & Kimber Lee with Velvet Scott as referee, The Entourage b Hell Cats, Black Wall Street and Fed UP in a four-way to win the tag tiles, The Bruiser b King McBride to keep the MCW tile, Lio Rush won over Shane Strickland, Matt Cross, Eddie Edwards, Brandon Scott and Rolix to win the Shane Shamrock Cup.  Next show is 9/11, a free Fan Appreciation show with Jim Duggan and Mickie James.
    • New GFW videos 
    • Chris Mordetzky on whether he feels pressure being one of the “known” guys on the roster

    Nick Aldis on why fans should be excited about GFW Amped

    Nick Aldis on his mindset going into the GFW Global Championship Tournament

    Nick Aldis on if he is the favorite to win the GFW Global Championship

    Nick Aldis on why having alternative wrestling brands is important

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

    1966 – Red Bastien & Mario Milano beat Kurt & Karl Von Stroheim to win the IWA tag titles in Brisbane

    1974 – Cyclone Negro won the Austra Asian heavyweight title in a tag match where he teamed with Brute Bernard to beat champion Mario Milano & Gorge Guliovas

    1975 – Great Mephisto beat Bobby Hart (who had formerly used the Mephisto name in the 60s) in Melbourne to win the WCW jr. heavyweight title

    1981 – Fishman beat Villano III in Naucalpan to win the UWA light heavyweight title

    981 – El Solitario beat Eric Embry in Mexico City to win the UWA jr. light heavyweight title

    l1982 – Lioness Asuka beat Masked Yu to win the Japanese women’s title

    1988 – Yumiko Hotta & Mitsuko Nishiwaki beat Bull Nakano & Grizzly Iwamoto in Tokyo to win the WWWA tag titles and Toshiyo Yamada beat Miori Kamiya to win the Japanese jr. title

    1990 – Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki beat Terry Gordy & Steve Williams to win the All Japan world tag titles in Tokyo

    1997 – Yoshiko Tamura beat Toshie Uematsu in Yokohama to win the WCW women’s cruiserweight title

    2002 – Koji Kanemoto beat Minoru Tanaka in Sapporo to win the IWGP jr. title

    2003 – Kohei Sato & Hirotaka Yokoi beat Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto in Tokyo to win the vacant All-Asia tag title

    2009 – Naruki Doi beat Cima in Tokyo to win the Open the Brave Gate title

    2010 – Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai in Tokyo to win the IWGP jr. tag title

  • SAT. UPDATE: William Regal on Liger booking, How Gawker controversy relates to Hulk Hogan, MVP done wi/ TNA, & more

    By David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.comFollow @davidbix

    With UFC FIght Night in Glasgow out of the way, the big event for tonight is Titan FC’s UFC Fight Pass debut:

    Titan FC 34 at 7:00 p.m. ET live on UFC Fight Pass from Kansas City’s Scottish Rite Temple:
    Pat Healy vs. Marcus Edwards for vacant lightweight title
    Kurt Holobaugh vs. Andre Harrison for vacant featherweight title
    Brett Johns vs. Anthony Gutierrez for bantamweight title
    Tim Elliott vs. Iliarde Santos for vacant flyweight title
    Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons vs. Tyler Stinson
    Freddy Assuncao vs. Cody Bollinger
    Isaac Vallie-Flagg vs. Jason Witt
    Phil Hawes vs. Lucas Rota
    Vince Eazelle vs. Desmond Green
    William Joplin vs. Andrew Whitney
    Mike Bruno vs. Dakota Cochrane

    For recognizable names, this is not bad for a regional level card. Elliott-Santos is a very good fight on paper, Vallie-Flagg is is usually fun to watch, and hey, Pele is fighting in 2015. Maybe not a card t watch live, but there might be some fun stuff to check out tomrorrow on Fight Pass. 

    WWE Battleground tomorrow live from St. Louis on PPV and WWE Network with the pre-show starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time and the main card an hour later at 8:00 p.m. ET:

    Seth Rollins (c) vs. Brock Lesnar for WWE Championship
    John Cena (c) vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE U.S. Championship
    Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
    Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
    Prime Time Players (c) vs. New Day for the WWE Tag Team Championshp.
    R-Truth vs. King Barrett in the pre-show match

    No replacement match listed on WWE.com to substitute for Ryback (has a staph infection) vs. Big Show vs. The Miz.

    NJPW G-1 Climax Night 1 from Sapporo airs on New Japan World tomorrow night at 2:00 a.m. ET:
    Yohei Komatsu & Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger & Yuji Nagata vs. Tomoaki Honma & Mascara Dorada & David Finlay & Jay White
    Hirooki Goto & Captain New Japan vs. Cody Hall & Yujiro Takahashi
    Shinsuke Nakamura & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga
    Michael Elgin & Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo

    Tournament matches:
    Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Doc Gallows
    Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano
    Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale
    A.J. Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata
    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

    Raw is Monday night from Kansas City with the start of the build up for SummerSlam.  Brock Lesnar is advertised on the show and there are also rumors that The Undertaker will be there or at least have his character somehow intergrated into the show. SmackDown will be Tuesday night in Lincoln, NE.

    If you’re attending any of the weekend’s WWE house shows, please send a report to newstips@wrestlingbserver.com.

    **** 

    The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with an extensive look at the new NWA Classics streaming service, the Houston Wrestling library, and Houston’s place in wrestling history. Among the topics covered are:

    * What made Houston Wrestling unique and how the town evolved.

    * What’s on the NWA Classics service so far and why it’s awesome.

    * What other libraries are still around?

    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 AmericanCanadian, 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. 

    **** 

    We’ve got a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week, highlighted by part two of our look at the career and life of Dusty Rhodes.  This focuses on his babyface turn in Florida, his quest for the title, his rise to national prominence, and his feuds with Terry Funk, Superstar Billy Graham and Ole Anderson.  Plus, we look at this year’s G-1 Climax tournament, New Japan Dominion, lots of injury notes regarding some of WWE and TNA’s biggest stars, WWE lawsuit, Beast in the East and much more.

    The Latest Wrestling Observer:  July 13, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Dusty Rhodes bio part 2, back to back major shows in Japan

    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 www.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 this week looks at the babyface heyday of Dusty Rhodes as a touring attraction.  We look at how the business was in the 70s, the changes in the business in the Southeast and why, the rise of pro wrestling on cable television, his departure from World Championship Wrestling, and his first babyface run that people have forgotten.

    We look at the heyday of Championship Wrestling from Florida, the work of Gordon Solie, Eddie Graham, and Rhodes arrival in Florida in 1973.  We look at the angle that changed Rhodes’ career, the transition from Jack Brisco to Dusty Rhodes as the big star in Florida and how that changed the business, the Dusty Rhodes vs. Terry Funk I Quit match, the relationship between Rhodes and Funk, Dusty Rhodes’ first two NWA title runs, how the NWA title changed during the 70s and why and Rhodes’ quest for the title.  We also look at who Rhodes worked with, and his travels around the globe during his heyday, including some unique matches and opponents that most Americans don’t realize ever took place.

    We look at his Madison Square Garden feud with Superstar Billy Graham, pro wrestling at the Omni in Atlanta, Dusty Rhodes on TBS and the role pro wrestling made in the early history of cable television, as well as the famous angle where Ole Anderson & Ivan Koloff kicked off their feud with Rhodes that set cable records.

    We look at the famous Ole Anderson interview after turning on Dusty Rhodes and why their angle is so fondly remembered, The last Tangle in Tampa, the night that cable television changed the history of pro wrestling, the end of Roy Shire’s promotion, and the second world title run.

    We also have a look at the G-1 Climax tournament for this year, including the favorites, all the matches, as well as full coverage of the Dominion show from Osaka with Kazuchika Okada beating A.J. Styles for the IWGP title.

    We’ve got a look at WWE’s latest legal action, including filing suit against four wrestlers in Connecticut.  We also look at the cases of wrestlers who are suing WWE.

    We’ve also got complete coverage of Beast from the East, how the show came together, why Brock Lesnar was on the show, and match-by-match rundowns with star ratings and poll results.

    We also have more on the NXT show in Brooklyn before SummerSlam, how it will be promoted, a scary note on how bad the Tyson Kidd injury could have been, Battleground update, Dolph Ziggler storyline notes, more WWE injury notes, thoughts on Cesaro, Big Show talks about his demotion to OVW, Thoughts on the memo from five years ago with the notes for WWE announcers and how things have changed since then, Brie Bella talks NXT women coming up as well as vague notes on Daniel Bryan’s injury, thoughts on Bryan’s future as well as an update on Bruno Sammartino after back surgery.

    We also look at the Sports Illustrated article on pro wrestling this week, social media numbers, Ambrose movie release, why Regal was in Japan, WWE’s Japan tryouts, Piper leaving Podcast One, Austin talking Piper leaving Podcast One, longtime WWE writer takes new job, notes on Randy Orton, USA Network take on Tough Enough, Jamie Noble and Becky Lynch injury updates, WWE stock, movies with WWE talent, lots of Tough Enough news, as well as notes from all the weekend live events, business notes and highlights from all the shows.

    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.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –CMLL running a free live stream this week

    –Notes from the latest shows at Arena Mexico

    –Controversy coming from a womens’ hair vs. hair match

    –Notes from this past week’s AAA TV taping

    –A look at the monthly Dragon Gate show at Korakuen Hall

    –A look at the next two Dragon Gate iPPV shows

    –A look at the last Pro Wrestling NOAH show at Korakuen Hall

    –Notes on Tetsuya Naito’s apparent heel turn

    –New Japan’s last Korakuen Hall show

    –Zero-One Fire Festival notes

    –Notes on the heyday of OVW

    –A look at the upcoming GFW shows

    –Hulk Hogan lawsuit news

    –A look at the careers and lives of who are believed to be the two oldest living pro wrestlers

    –A look at a former WWE star who will star in a reality show piggy backing off Total Divas

    –Former AAA star has a major accident

    –Notes on the next PWG show

    –Wrestling returns to Royal Albert Hall in London

    –Update on Lucha Underground

    –NXT and ROH go head-to-head in Brooklyn and what ROH is running

    –Notes on return of Austin Aries to ROH nest week

    –Notes on Andy Barton leaving TNA

    –Update on Kurt Angle

    –Thoughts on the GFW deal

    –Notes on Gilbert Melendez failing his drug test

    –Dana White talks about how much Aldo would have made if he had fought McGregor

    –Update on Jon Jones

    –Notes on all the UFC shows this week

    –Notes on the IV ban

    –UFC fighter retires

    –Crazy street fight story involving a former UFC fighter and a current one

    –Notes on charges against the husband of Britney Palmer

    –Notes on fighters cut from UFC

    –Jose Aldo drug test note

    –Sonnen pranks Mendes just before the fight

    –Notes on Jacare Souza

    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.

    Saturday Daily Update

    • If you didn’t see the UFC card from Glasgow live, it was very good with a lot of finishes and a hot crowd. The main card is being reaired tonight/tomorrow morning on Fox Sports 1 at 3:00 a.m. ET, with the prelims being reaired at 7:00 a.m. n Fox Sports 2.
    • At a press conference late last night, the list of promotions that NJPW said they’re exchanging talent with various promotions all over the world…but WWE wasn’t one of them. ROH, GFW, NWA (not sure if that means continuing to use the champions, sending wrestlers to the flagship members, or working with all of members), CMLL, Revolution Pro, and WXW. 
    • Meanwhile, on Twitter, William Regal was characterizing the Jushin Liger NXT booking as him calling in a favor from a friend he’s known for decades, tweeting a photo of a program featuring them both and writing this:

    People are looking for a story where there isn’t one. Sometimes just being around enough you can call a friend. It really is as simple as me making a call to a friend I’ve known since 1986 to come and compete for @WWENXT. Really.N ow please stop asking. A lesson-be polite,helpful,understand that a still tongue keeps a wise head and you’ll earn a lot of trust and people will help when needed.

    • Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, which was already becoming a bigger and bigger news story by the day, is getting a lt more publicity in light of Gawker posting, then pulling an article that outed a publishing executive as gay for no real reason. Gawker’s public defense (and a component of their legal strategy in defending Hogan’s suit) of posting an edited version of the video of Hogand and Heather Cole was that Hogan had very specifically lied about any such encounter happening.
    • Gawker founder Nick Denton had cited Gawker not posting the stolen nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities last year as an example of their line in the sand, but this story went against that. In a blog post yesterday, he wrote about the new controversy, saying “I believe this public mood reflects a growing recognition that we all have secrets, and they are not all equally worthy of exposure. I can’t defend yesterday’s story as I can our coverage of Bill O’Reilly, Hillary Clinton or Hulk Hogan.”
    • Also on Twitter, John Gaburick and MVP confirmed that MVP has left TNA. With his unaired segmnents not airing due to the Hernandez contractual issues and him not returning, that means that he’s already disappeared without a trace from TV.
    • Daniel Bryan’s book is now in stock at Amazon, and the Kindle version will be available Tuesday. It’s well worth picking up. Super honest, he has a good memory, lots of details about everything you’d want to hear about, and so on. The complete omission of AJ Lee from their run together is a bit odd, but with a book this good, it feels like a nitpick.
    • Bruce Tharpe sent out a press release announcing that NWA Classics will start uploading matches at faster than the promised one a day clip, with all of these matches showing up on the service this week:

    Kerry Von Erich vs. Kamala, Rock ‘n’ Roll Express vs.  Dirty White Boys, Gino Hernandez vs. Nick Kozak, Rocky Johnson vs. Bruiser Brody, Hector Guerrero vs. Jose Lothario, Buddy Landell vs. Al Madril, Fantastics vs. Dutch Mantell & Bill Dundee, Dusty Rhodes & Leroy Brown vs. Gary Hart & Killer Krupp, Midnight Express & Ernie Ladd vs. Rock ‘n’ Rll Express & Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Dick Slater vs. Jake Roberts, Dr. Death Steve Williams vs. Mark Reagan, Ghetto Streetfight: Junkyard Dog vs. Butch Reed, Dog Collar Match: Junkyard Dog vs. Butch Reed, Hector & Chavo Guerrero vs. Jose Lothario & Al Madril, Ernie Ladd vs. Magnum TA, 20-man Bunkhouse Battle Brawl, Scaffold Match: Rock N Roll Express vs. Midnight Express (with Jim Cornette), NWA World Title Match – Ric Flair vs. Magnum TA, Gino Hernandez & Tully Blanchard vs. Junkyard Dog & Tony Atlas, Terry Gordy vs. Dick Murdoch, and Terry Taylor vs. Jake Roberts

    A few are already up,  and a bunch of those weren’t in the hands of collectors. I believe both Junkyard Dog vs. Butch Reed matches are new (the televised street fight was from a different city), Gino & Tully vs. JYD & Atlas is new, as is Gordy-Murdoch. Flair-Magnum is up now and required new commentary, so it never aired. Can’t recommend this service enough, as what they’ve uploaded so far is fantastic.

    Click here for the WWE Network schedule

    TODAY’S PRO WRESTLING VIDEOS

    INDY TV SHOWS


    Victory Commonwealth Wrestling “Victory Wrestling Showcase” TV (Episode 111)

    Smash Wrestling TV (Episode 60)

    7/18/15 NWA Smoky Mountain TV

    7/3/15 Future Stars Of Wrestling “High Octane” TV

    America’s Most Liked Wrestling TV (Episode 19)

    7/15/15 Resistance Pro HD TV

    WWE/NXT

    5/15/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Chelsea Receives Medical Attention

    5/15/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  A Royal Review Of Week 4

    7/13/15 WWE.com Exclusive:  Charlotte Comments On Her Match With Sasha Banks

    7/16/15 WWE Smackdown “Fallout”:  Cesaro Speaks After His Victory Over Rusev

    7/16/15 WWE Smackdown “Fallout”:  Neville Calls Stardust A Coward

    7/17/15 Top 10 Smackedown Moments

    5 Things:  1,000-Day WWE Champions

    WWE Top 10:  Ridiculous Reversals

    WWE Canvas 2 Canvas:  The Beast Incarnate F5s Onto The Canvas

    MISC. STUFF


    Rocky Johnson on “The Apter Chat”

    7/17/15 CHIKARA Event Center

    The Condron Chronicles:  First

    7/16/15 Thursday On The Throne

    Ringside Collectibles’ “Ringside Or Riot” (Season 4, Episode 33)

    POWW “Inside The Ropes” (Episode 19)

    AnarchyPro “Internet Beatdown” (Episode 14)

    GLOBAL FORCE WRESTLING

    #GFWAmped:  Bollywood Boyz-Influences Getting Started In Professional Wrestling

    #GFWAmped:  Brian Myers-Are You Worried About Chris Mordetzky?

    #GFWAmped:  Chris Mordetzky-Do You Feel Pressure Being One of the “Known” Guys On The Roster?

    #GFWAmped:  Lei’D Tapa-I’m Excited To See Where GFW Goes…The Love And Passion For Wrestling!

    #GFWAmped:  PJ Black-Can He Be The Face of GFW?

    #GFWAmped:  Nick Aldis-Are Having Alternate Wrestling Brands Appropriate?

    #GFWAmped:  Nick Aldis-Why Should Fans Be Excited About GFW Amped on July 24?

    #GFWAmped:  Nick Aldis-What is Your Mindset Going Into The GFW Global Championship Tournament?

    #GFWAmped:  Reno Scum-“Knuckle Up, Boys”

    #GFWAmped:  Kongo Kong-“Now Is The Time To Prove Myself”

    #GFWAmped:  7 Days Away

    TNA


    TNA Roster Has a Mixed Reaction To Bully Ray Being In Charge

    Backstage Interview With Brooke After Becoming Knockouts Champions

    First Comments From Bully Ray After Taking Over

    IMPACT In 60  The New “Law”, Championship Matches And More

    LUCHA UNDERGROUND

    The Road To Ultima Lucha:  Vampiro’s Announcement

  • FRI. UPDATE: UFC in Texas Stadium, 2014 card and match of year, NXT lineup, lots of big shows

    By Dave Meltzer

    Huge weekend of events coming up.  We’ll be doing weekend polls on Battleground and opening night of G-1 this week.  We’re not going to do polls on every G-1 show, but will do them for the major shows.

    We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Newark, NJ (John Cena vs. Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose), ROH in Las Vegas (Austin Aries & Jay Lethal & Moose vs. Jay Briscoe & Dalton Castle & Kyle O’Reilly, Rocky Romero & Barreta vs. Young Bucks, Christopher Daniels vs. Mark Briscoe, Bobby Fish vs. Matt Taven, ODB vs. Nanae Takahashi, Willie Mack vs. Silas Young) and NXT in Cocoa Beach, FL at dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Bellator tonight at 9 p.m. from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT on Spike

    Michael Page (171) vs. Rudy Bears (170.75)

    Chris Honeycutt (171) vs. Paul Bradley (171)

    Brennan Ward (171) vs. Roger Carroll (171)

    Paul Daley (171) vs. Dennis Olsen (173) – Olsen was fined for missing weight

    Douglas Lima (170) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (170) for Bellator welterweight title

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

    A.J. Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki – this won the 2014 match of the year award

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto

    Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii

    This card itself from Korakuen Hall also won the 2014 card of the year award

    Legacy Fighting Championships tonight at 10 p.m. on AXS TV from Hinckley, MN at the Grand Casino Hinckley Hotel

    Derrick Krantz vs. Brock Larson for vacant welterweight title

    Zak Ottow vs. Jacob Volkmann

    Tommy Speer vs. ?

    Nick Wagner vs. Chase Waldon

    Augusto Mendes vs. Donald Williams

    Derek Getzell vs. Kenneth Glenn

    We’re looking for reports on Saturday’s WWE shows in Peoria (Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt) and Danville, IL (John Cena vs. Kevin Owens, Prime Time Players vs. New Day) and NXT in Venice, FL.

    UFC on Saturday from Glasgow, Scotland for a morning/afternoon show

    Fight Pass at 10 a.m. Eastern

    Chris de la Rocha (245) vs. Daniel Omielanczuk (242)

    Marcus Brimage (136) vs. Jimmie Rivera (135)

    FS 1 at 11 a.m. Eastern

    Paul Redmond (145) vs. Robert Whiteford (146)

    Mickael Lebout (155) vs. Teemu Packalen (155)

    Ilir Latifi (206) vs. Hans Stringer (205)

    Paddy Holohan (126) vs. Vaughan Lee (126)

    Leonardo Mafra (155) vs. Stevie Ray (155)

    Leon Edwards (169) vs. Pawel Pawlak (170)

    Joanne Calderwood (115) vs. Cortney Casey (114)

    Joseph Duffy (155) vs. Ivan Jorge (154)

    Evan Dunham (156) vs. Ross Pearson (155)

    Michael Bisping (185) vs. Thales Leites (185)

    Titan Fighting Championships from Saturday night from Kansas City’s Scottish Rite Temple on UFC Fight Pass live

    Pat Healy vs. Marcus Edwards for vacant lightweight title

    Kurt Holobaugh vs. Andre Harrison for vacant featherweight title

    Brett Johns vs. Anthony Gutierrez for bantamweight title

    Tim Elliott vs. Iliarde Santos for vacant flyweight title

    Jose Landi-Jons vs. Tyler Stinson

    Freddy Assuncao vs. Cody Bollinger

    Isaac Vallie-Flagg vs. Jason Witt

    Phil Hawes vs. Lucas Rota

    Vince Eazelle vs. Desmond Green

    William Joplin vs. Sirwan Kakai

    Mike Bruno vs. Dakota Cochrane

    Battleground Sunday in St. Louis on PPV and the WWE Network starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time

    Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar for WWE title

    John Cena vs. Kevin Owens for U.S. title

    Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

    Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

    Prime Time Players vs. New Day for tag titles

    R-Truth vs. King Barrett in the pre-show match

    No word on what happens to Big Show and Miz, if they wrestle in a single or not.  Ryback is off the show due to a staph infection.  There are likely to be some matches added.


    New Japan G-1 Climax fight night from Sapporo at 2 a.m. Eastern and 11 p.m. Pacific on New Japan World

    Yohei Komatsu & Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger & Yuji Nagata vs. Tomoaki Honma & Mascara Dorada & David Finlay & Jay White

    Hirooki Goto & Captain New Japan vs. Cody Hall & Yujiro Takahashi

    Shinsuke Nakamura & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga

    Michael Elgin & Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo

    Tournament matches:

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Doc Gallows

    Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano

    Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale

    A.J. Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata

    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

    Raw is Monday night from Kansas City. It will be the start of the build up for SummerSlam.  Brock Lesnar is advertised on the show.  There are rumors Undertaker will be there or in some form will be part of the show.

    Smackdown will be Tuesday night in Lincoln, NE.

    The Conor McGregor phenomenon and the new direction of women in WWE and a history of women in WWE are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  The issue is on the site right now at July 20, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 189 report, WWE calls up NXT women

    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 www.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 talks about the Conor McGregor phenomenon, how it ushered in the new era of UFC, the business notes on the show, McGregor’s popularity in Ireland, why iPPV numbers probably set records, U.K. reaction, what to learn from McGregor vs. Mendes, how risky a gamble this fight was, similar gambles from the past, the story of the fight, McGregor vs. Aldo next, Ultimate Fighter and a full rundown of UFC 189.

    We also look at WWE’s bringing up Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks this past week, and a look back at the history of women performers in WWE dating back to the Wendi Richter vs. Fabulous Moolah match in 1984.  We look at the forgotten best women’s matches in main roster history and best workers, and failed attempt to market athletic women, what really happened with Aja Kong, We also look at the different ways this can go, how the angles changed, how the angle was done, as well as how UFC made it work and what was the same and different.

    We also look at what may be UFC’s biggest event of 2016, the UFC 200 show.

    We also look at the NXT show in Brooklyn and the busy weekend in the New York area, notes on when the next WWE network number will be released and what it would be up to, as well as break-even, and the peak number.  We look at advance sales for Battleground and the card, Lennox Lewis admits to almost doing a mixed match with Brock Lesnar in 2003, the story behind that fight and why it never happened, William Regal explains what WWE is looking for in new talent in a fascinating interview, notes on the future of Smackdown, who are planned to be focal point of NXT, Ziggler, Cody Runnels, update on Tyson Kidd, key WWE exec gets fired and new major WWE stock purchase by one of the richest men in Holland.

    We also look at an update on several legal proceedings involving WWE suits, notes on Tough Enough, as well as a rundown of the weekend NXT and WWE house shows with business notes on the shows.

    We also look at this year’s UFC induction ceremony, how it has changed, its future goals, and the speeches by Bas Rutten, B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes Frank Trigg, Lori Blatnick and many others.  We look at the histories of all the inductees as well.

    We also have more on Fedor Emelianenko being shopped around for a comeback at the age of 38.  We look at who he is, what he said just a few months ago about a comeback, if it is realistic to expect a match with Brock Lesnar, what Fedor said directly a few months ago about a match with Lesnar, as well as how UFC or Bellator can use him.

    We also look at UFC’s Sunday show in Las Vegas and business notes on the show.

    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.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –A look at the big weekly event at Arena Mexico

    –Build to CMLL’s big summer show

    –A major big show controversy and a lot of buck passing involved

    –Top matches for this year’s TripleMania

    –A look at this past week’s AAA TV taping

    –Wrestling returns to Royal Albert Hall in London

    –A major star celebrates 30th anniversary of his pro debut

    –Third generation legend makes debut

    –Wrestle-1 announces its own tournament

    –Coverage of Wrestle-1 show from the past week

    –Notes on the G-1 debut card

    –Shinya Hashimoto death anniversary show

    –More on Dusty Rhodes and one of his most famous angles

    –A look at the build of Starrcade 85

    –GFW’s road shows and TV tapings

    –A look at the Waterloo wrestling Hall of Fame and this year’s inductions

    –A match of the year candidate

    –Former WWE star falls into more problems

    –One match which features champions from New Japan, a top star of Evolve, the TNA world champion, a Lucha Underground champion, anther TNA wrestler as well as a WWE wrestler and an ROH wrestler all in the same match

    –A look at Tommy Dreamer’s next show

    –Update on Alberto Del Rio

    –Update on Lucha Underground

    –Movie being made about a Lucha Underground star

    –More on ROH over WrestleMania weekend

    –This week’s upcoming ROH show in Las Vegas

    –A look this past week’s ROH show

    –More on the future of TNA

    –Update on Davey Richards

    –Something to watch for when it comes to UFC fans

    –Update on Travis Browne situation

    –This week’s UFC show on FS 1 and Fight Pass Titan show

    –More on C.M. Punk and his debut

    –More on fighters and prospective TV show ideas

    –Cris Cyborg, UFC and Invicta

    –New UFC fights

    –Lawsuit filed regarding Bellator

    –This week’s Bellator show

    –Notes on how new Bellator announcer used to write for a wrestling newsletter

    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

    • For this weekend, we’ll be doing shows on Saturday and Sunday, with the Saturday show covering UFC and Sunday show covering WWE (probably not New Japan).
    • There have been several articles written last night and today regarding a UFC show in December at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, the site of WrestleMania.  Kevin Iole reported that the Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor fight would likely be on 12/5 at the stadium, while Ariel Helwaini reported that fight as being at the stadium, but said the date would be different.
    • “Trainwreck,” the Amy Schumer movie that has gotten tremendous reviews and features John Cena, is being predicted for a $25 million opening weekend.
    • Ronda Rousey was the fourth most searched term on the Internet Wednesday with more than 200,000 total searches.
    • Based on TV taped last night, the top matches for the 8/22 NXT show in Brooklyn are Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens for the NXT title, Sasha Banks vs. Bayley for the women’s title, Jushin Liger vs. Tyler Breeze and Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin.
    • Today is the 27th anniversary of the death of Bruiser Brody, who was stabbed to death by Jose Gonzalez in the shower at Juan Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon prior to a wrestling show.  It’s almost impossible to believe not only that Gonzalez came back and was a major star, but he is still wrestling 27 years later and most fans and people in Puerto Rico don’t even know the incident ever happened.
    • The St. Lucie, FL Mets baseball team is having NXT Night on Wednesday with NXT performers at the game.
    • WWE’s Robbie Brookside sent out a tweet about a tryout camp at the Performance Center which included Tim Wiese, who was a member at one time of the German national soccer team as a goalkeeper.  Brookside then deleted the tweet. (thanks to Tim Oster)
    • For Canada, Saturday’s UFC will have the prelims from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on The Fight Network and the main card will be on TSN 2.
    • CMLL on Tuesday night in Guadalajara:  Magnum & Temblor b Mr. Trueno & Rey Trueno, Demus 3:16 & Pequeno Olimpico & Pierrothito b Meteoro & Stukita & Ultimo Dragoncito, Kraneo & Olimpico & Ripper b Brazo de Plata & Fuego & Stuka Jr., Maximo b Rey Escorpion to retain the CMLL heavyweight title due to help from Ultimo Guerrero, Euforia & Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero b Mistico & Volador Jr. & Valiente (thanks to Kris Zellner)
    • The third season of “Amazing Race Canada” airing on CBC features Ontario pro wrestlers Nick Foti and Matt Guinta and UFC fighter Elias Theodorou.  Theodorou’s team was the first one eliminated.  The wrestlers are still in the competition and doing well (thanks to Steven Grant)
    • Bibiano Fernandes faces Toni Tauru tomorrow in Yangon, Myanmar in the main event of the One Championship show.
    • There will be a PBC show on CBS at 2 p.m. tomorrow followed by more fights at 8 p.m. on Showtime.  The CBS main event is Carl Frampton vs. Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. and the Showtime main event is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Marcos Reyes.
    • “Trainwreck” opens on 8/6 in Australia (thanks to  James Stanios)
    • ROH tickets for WrestleMania week are on sale right now for Ringside members.
    • Hirooki Goto will be debuting a new ring outfit based on the “God of Thunder” during the G-1 Climax tournament.
    • On the Bob Backlund book we wrote about yesterday, the book will be more than 500 pages with 16 pages of photos from Backlund’s personal collection.
    • Nick Aldis, formerly Magnus, is releasing a book called “The Superstar Body,” which is a book and physical training manual.   
    • On the MSN home page Kurt Angle’s surgeries are noted as “ex-WWE champ hospitalized.”  Angle is home, and was home yesterday and seems to be doing well. (thanks to Neal Hager)   
    • A really strange deal is that Mike Jones, better known as Virgil with Ted DiBiase (another spoof at Dusty Rhodes), is doing a Go Fund Me campaign with the goal of making him a millionaire.  It’s been open for 17 days and thus far he’s raised $70.
    • Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick and Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. has been announced for the 8/16 Evolve show at the NYWC Sportatorium on Long Island.  Thatcher vs. Sabre Jr. and Johnny Gargano vs. Ethan Page in an anything goes match was announced for 8/15 in New York.
    • American Combat Wrestling tonight in New Port Richey, FL at the Kontos Event Center.

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

    1973 – Sandy Parker & Masked Lee beat Jumbo Miyamoto & Mariko Akagi in Yokohama to win the WWWA tag titles

    1987 – Mile Zrno beat Steve Wright in Vienna, Austria to win the CWA middleweight title

    1988 – Dandy beat Kung Fu in Mexico City to win the NWA middleweight title

    1990 – Terry Gordy beat Stan Hansen to win the Triple Crown

    1992 – Felino beat America in Cuernavaca to win the CMLL middleweight title

    2002 – Brian Adams & Bryan Clarke beat Keiji Muto & Taiyo Kea in Osaka to win the All Japan world tag team title

    2004 – Deuce & Domino beat Paul London & Brian Kendrick in Milan to win the WWE world tag title

  • On this day in pro wrestling history, Kangaroos, Gagne vs. Kiniski in Hawaii, Gordy wins Triple Crown, Hogan wins WCW title from Flair at Bash at the Beach, famous Punk vs. Cena Chicago bout

    By Brian Hoops

    1941 – In Kansas City; World Heavyweight Champion Lee Wykoff beat Dorv Roche in 2 falls. 

    1950 – Johnny Valentine defeated Danny Dusek for the Florida NWA
    Southern Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida.

    1957 – Killer Kowalski defeated Gene Kiniski to win the Montreal
    Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Title in Montreal, Quebec

    1962 – In Minneapolis, MN; Verne Gagne & Doug Gilbert beat Mr. M & Bob Geigel in 2 out of 3 falls; Doug Gilbert beat Jackie Nichols and Ilio DiPaolo beat Stan Kowalski

    1964 – Mr. Moto and Nikita Mulkovich defeated Robert Duranton and Shag
    Thomas for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Title in Honolulu, Hawaii.

    1965 – The Assassins (Guy Mitchell and Joe Tomasso) defeated Boris and
    Nicoli Volkoff to win the WWA World Tag Team Title in Indianapolis, Indiana.

    1967 – Tim and Rip Tyler defeated Bobby Fields and Ken Lucas for the NWA
    Gulf Coast Tag Team Title in Panama City, Florida.

    1968 – Johnny Barend and Magnificent Maurice defeated Peter Maivia and
    Billy White Wolf to win the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Title in Honolulu, Hawaii.

    1970 – The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Don Kent) defeated Dick
    the Bruiser and Bill Miller for the WWA World Tag Team Title in Indianapolis, Indiana.

    1970 – Paul DeMarco defeated Nick Bockwinkel for the Georgia State Title
    in Atlanta, Georgia

    1971 – In Chicago, Illinois; Hans Schmidt & Baron Von Raschke beat AWA Tag Team Champions Red Bastien & Hercules Cortez by dq, Wilbur Snyder beat Mad Dog Vachon, Nick Bockwinkel beat Ernie Ladd dq and Billy Robinson beat Big K

    1973 – Bob Armstrong and Bill Dromo defeated The Super Infernos for the
    NWA Macon Tag Team Title in Macon, Georgia

    1974 – In Honolulu, Hawaii at the HIC Center; AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Gene Kiniski, Ivan Putski & Sam Steamboat beat Peace Brothers and Ed Francis beat Masked Marvel

    1976 – Pampero Firpo defeated The Sheik to win the NWA United States
    Heavyweight Title in Detroit, Michigan

    1976 – In St. Paul, Minnesota; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Buddy Wolff, Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Heenan and The Crusher beat Bobby Duncum

    1977 – In Green Bay, Wisconsin; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Pedro Morales, Verne Gagne & Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum & Bobby Heenan, Super Destroyer beat Billy Robinson by dq and Ray Stevens beat Roger Kirby

    1983 – Ron Garvin defeated The Iron Sheik in Atlanta, Georgia to win the
    NWA National Television Title.

    1987 – Rufus R. Jones defeated Porkchop Cash in Kansas City, Kansas to
    win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title.

    1990 – Terry Gordy defeated Stan Hansen for the AJPW Triple Crown Title
    in Ishikawa, Japan,

    1993 – Brian Lee defeated Tracy Smothers for the SMW Heavyweight Title
    in Johnson City, Tennessee

    1994 -Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair to win the WCW World Heavyweight
    Title. Also, Paul Roma & Paul Orndorff defeated Cactus Jack & Kevin
    Sullivan to win the WCW World Tag Team Title and WCW United States Champion Steve Austin defeated Ricky Steamboat in Orlando, Florida.

    2002 – The Dogg Pound (Shelton Benjamin and Redd Dogg (Rodney Mack)
    defeated Flash Flanagan and Trailer Park Trash to win the OVW Southern
    Tag Team Title in Jeffersonville, Indiana

    2002 – Kronik (Brian Adams and Bryan Clarke) defeated Taiyo Kea and
    Keiji Muto for the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Title in Osaka, Japan.

    2005 – At the TNA PPV, No Surrender in Orlando, Florida; A.J. Styles pinned Sean Waltman, TNA X Division Champion Christopher Daniels pinned Petey Williams to retain the title and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Raven pinned Abyss to retain the title. 

    2006 – In Sapparo, Japan; Real Wild Child (Manabu Nakanishi and Takao Omori) defeated Shiro Koshinaka and Togi Makabe to become the interim IWGP Tag Team Champions and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Giant Bernard to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Title.

    2007 – In Laredo, Texas during taping of Smackdown; The Great Khali won a 20-man battle royal to win the vacant World Heavyweight Title.

    2011 – At the Money in the Bank PPV from Chicago, Illinois; CM Punk defeated John Cena to win the WWE Title.

  • THURS UPDATE: TNA to re-edit shows, Undertaker & Sting, Fedor, Historian death, Ziggler, Swick, Angle

    By Dave Meltzer

    Smackdown tonight on Syfy:

    Lucha Dragons vs. New Day

    Jack Swagger vs. King Barrett

    Cesaro vs. Rusev

    Neville vs. Stardust

    Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus & Big Show

    The Conor McGregor phenomenon and the new direction of women in WWE and a history of women in WWE are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  The issue is on the site right now at July 20, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 189 report, WWE calls up NXT women

    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 www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

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    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 talks about the Conor McGregor phenomenon, how it ushered in the new era of UFC, the business notes on the show, McGregor’s popularity in Ireland, why iPPV numbers probably set records, U.K. reaction, what to learn from McGregor vs. Mendes, how risky a gamble this fight was, similar gambles from the past, the story of the fight, McGregor vs. Aldo next, Ultimate Fighter and a full rundown of UFC 189.

    We also look at WWE’s bringing up Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks this past week, and a look back at the history of women performers in WWE dating back to the Wendi Richter vs. Fabulous Moolah match in 1984.  We look at the forgotten best women’s matches in main roster history and best workers, and failed attempt to market athletic women, what really happened with Aja Kong, We also look at the different ways this can go, how the angles changed, how the angle was done, as well as how UFC made it work and what was the same and different.

    We also look at what may be UFC’s biggest event of 2016, the UFC 200 show.

    We also look at the NXT show in Brooklyn and the busy weekend in the New York area, notes on when the next WWE network number will be released and what it would be up to, as well as break-even, and the peak number.  We look at advance sales for Battleground and the card, Lennox Lewis admits to almost doing a mixed match with Brock Lesnar in 2003, the story behind that fight and why it never happened, William Regal explains what WWE is looking for in new talent in a fascinating interview, notes on the future of Smackdown, who are planned to be focal point of NXT, Ziggler, Cody Runnels, update on Tyson Kidd, key WWE exec gets fired and new major WWE stock purchase by one of the richest men in Holland.

    We also look at an update on several legal proceedings involving WWE suits, notes on Tough Enough, as well as a rundown of the weekend NXT and WWE house shows with business notes on the shows.

    We also look at this year’s UFC induction ceremony, how it has changed, its future goals, and the speeches by Bas Rutten, B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes Frank Trigg, Lori Blatnick and many others.  We look at the histories of all the inductees as well.

    We also have more on Fedor Emelianenko being shopped around for a comeback at the age of 38.  We look at who he is, what he said just a few months ago about a comeback, if it is realistic to expect a match with Brock Lesnar, what Fedor said directly a few months ago about a match with Lesnar, as well as how UFC or Bellator can use him.

    We also look at UFC’s Sunday show in Las Vegas and business notes on the show.

    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.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –A look at the big weekly event at Arena Mexico

    –Build to CMLL’s big summer show

    –A major big show controversy and a lot of buck passing involved

    –Top matches for this year’s TripleMania

    –A look at this past week’s AAA TV taping

    –Wrestling returns to Royal Albert Hall in London

    –A major star celebrates 30th anniversary of his pro debut

    –Third generation legend makes debut

    –Wrestle-1 announces its own tournament

    –Coverage of Wrestle-1 show from the past week

    –Notes on the G-1 debut card

    –Shinya Hashimoto death anniversary show

    –More on Dusty Rhodes and one of his most famous angles

    –A look at the build of Starrcade 85

    –GFW’s road shows and TV tapings

    –A look at the Waterloo wrestling Hall of Fame and this year’s inductions

    –A match of the year candidate

    –Former WWE star falls into more problems

    –One match which features champions from New Japan, a top star of Evolve, the TNA world champion, a Lucha Underground champion, anther TNA wrestler as well as a WWE wrestler and an ROH wrestler all in the same match

    –A look at Tommy Dreamer’s next show

    –Update on Alberto Del Rio

    –Update on Lucha Underground

    –Movie being made about a Lucha Underground star

    –More on ROH over WrestleMania weekend

    –This week’s upcoming ROH show in Las Vegas

    –A look this past week’s ROH show

    –More on the future of TNA

    –Update on Davey Richards

    –Something to watch for when it comes to UFC fans

    –Update on Travis Browne situation

    –This week’s UFC show on FS 1 and Fight Pass Titan show

    –More on C.M. Punk and his debut

    –More on fighters and prospective TV show ideas

    –Cris Cyborg, UFC and Invicta

    –New UFC fights

    –Lawsuit filed regarding Bellator

    –This week’s Bellator show

    –Notes on how new Bellator announcer used to write for a wrestling newsletter

    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 have a couple of new shows up on the site, one with Tom Lawlor talking last night’s UFC and the latest pro wrestling news, and another with Bruce Mitchell talking conventions, the Waterloo Hall of Fame and ironies about what the business was and is.
    • TNA has had to stop showing all footage with Hernandez, which means all footage of the Beatdown Crew going forward after getting a cease and desist letter from Lucha Underground, who claimed either he was still under contract, or if not, under a non-compete, but either way was not legally able to be wrestling at this time on television for TNA.
    • As noted in:Update on Undertaker and Sting in WWE and on Wrestling Observer Radio 7/15: Huge news show, Sting, Undertaker, Conor McGregor, UFC Fight Night, both Undertaker and Sting are scheduled for SummerSlam.  As of the last word, both were scheduled for matches on the show.  Undertaker is expected to start his angle for the show in the next few days.
    • Vadim Finkelchtein said today that he was surprised when he was told Fedor Emelianenko wanted to come back, saying he only told him about a week ago that he might come back and he told him he wanted to come back just a few days ago.
    • Very sorry to report on the death of Fred Hornby, one of pro wrestling’s most noted historians.  Hornby’s research led to the original Buddy Rogers record book as well as the history of wrestling in Madison Square Garden book, and tons of other books.  He passed away yesterday after entering into hospice care a few days ago.   
    • In an interview with SavageHenry Magazine, Dolph Ziggler said he was in the process of finalizing his contract renewal with WWE after considering taking time off wrestling.  He said he’s got a few months left on his current contract but decided to sign a new deal saying he loves the business more than anything.
    • Kurt Angle is home and recovering from his emergency surgery yesterday which is described in Angle undergoes emergency second surgery
    • After his loss to Alex Garcia on Saturday night, Mike Swick has announced his retirement.  He said he was healthy and injury free for the first time in eight years, but realized he was older and not what he used to be and said he knows he’s done.  He said he will continue to run his AKA Thailand gym.
    • Josh Barnett, Maryse Mizanin and Chris Jericho are all in the new Sharknado film which airs on 7/22 on Syfy.
    • WWE stock is back over $17 a share, closing today at $17.06 after a gain of 10 cents per share.
    • For those attending WrestleMania, rooms at the Hyatt Regency, the site of WrestleCon, are going fast.  There is also a secondary host hotel for the overflow at the Springhill Suites in Dallas.  
    • For the Saturday and Sunday UFC shows:

    Jack Encarnacao, Josh Nason, Mike Sawyer, Steve Juon and John Pollock went 5-2

    David Bixenspan and Frontrow Brian went 4-3

    I went 3-4

    Mike Sempervive went 2-5

    For last night’s show:

    Me, Mike Sawyer and Jack Encarnacao went 5-0

    Josh Nason, Mike Sempervive, John Pollock and Frontrow Brian went 4-1

    Steve Juon and David Bixenspan went 3-2

    • Six episodes of Global Supercard Wrestling air tonight on ESPN Classics (thanks to Victor Martinez)
    • According to Comic Book Movies, Adam “Edge” Copeland is currently filming an episode of “The Flash” for CW.  He will play a masked villain.
    • The 8/22 WWE NXT Takeover special in Brooklyn has already sold more tickets in the pre-sale than the previous record for NXT of 4,700 set for the San Jose show two nights before WrestleMania. 
    • Bellator has announced an 8/28 show in Temecula, CA at the Pechanga Resort & Casino with Melvin Guillard (32-14-2, 2 no contests) vs. Brandon Girtz (11-4) and Saad Awad (18-6) vs. Patricky Pitbull Freire (13-6). 
    • The brother of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, makes his debut for WSOF on 8/1 in Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood.  The main event on that show is Rousimar Palhares vs. Jake Shields to the welterweight title.
    • GOUGE on 7/18 in Fuquay Varina, NC at the Draft Line Brewing Company.
    • AAW tomorrow night in Merrionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street has Ethan Page vs. Johnny Gargano, Dave & Jake Crist vs. Devin & Mason Cutter, Matt Cage vs. Shane Hollister, Chris Hero vs. Tommaso Ciampa and more.  
    • WWE returns to Montreal on 9/18 at the Bell Centre.
    • Blue Demon Jr. & Alebrije vs. Pentagon Black & Pierroth headline 7/26 in Houston at Club LaBoom
    • ECWA on Saturday night in Woodbury Heights, NJ at the Community Center.
    • ECCW on 8/7 in Port Coquitlam, BC will all net proceeds going to Sam Donovan and her family.  Donovan was diagnosed with leukemia for the second time in a year and is awaiting a bone marrow transplant.  Sam’s parents have moved to a Ronald McDonald House and this is to help pay their expenses.
    • ECCW will have shows from 7/31 to 8/3 at the Agrifair in Abbotsford, BC,.  All shows are free with fair admission.
    • ACE Anarchy on 8/8 in Wallington, NJ at the Morgan Jr. Arena with Ethan Carter III of TNA vs. Ricky Reyes of Lucha Underground.
    • Former WWE creative team member Kevin Eck talks banned words
    • Trailer for the movie “Sisters,” which includes John Cena
    • An interesting issue that is no doubt adversely impacting the WWE Network as well
    • An interview with Gabi, latest contestant eliminated from Tough Enough
    • Conor McGregor on an MMA Forum four years ago
    • Destiny Wrestling on 8/30 in Mississauga, ONT at the Dan Kolov Arena at Santino Marella’s Gym featuring Team 3-D, Kongo Kong, Robbie McAllister, PJ Black, Kevin Cross and more.
    • World League Wrestling from last night in Troy, MO:  Brandon Espinosa b Jon Webb, Mike Outlaw won three-way over Dustin Bozworth and John E. Rock, Leland Race & Trevor Murdoch b Justin D’Air & Kyle Roberts (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
    • One Championships announced these new six dates:

    9/1 in Shanghai, China

    9/27 in Jakarta, Indonesia

    10/9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    11/7 in Macau, China

    11/13 in Singapore

    12/11 in Manila, The Philippines

    • Grand Slam Wrestling on 8/8 in Moosic, PA at the Moosic Youth Center. 
    • Lucha Libre on 8/23 in Toronto at the Royal Canadian Legion Longbranch 101 with Shelly Martinez, Ricky Reyes, Lince Dorado, Mr. 450 and Los Ben Dejos.
    • Victory Commonwealth Wrestling on 8/16 at 2 p.m. in Ajax, ONT at Yuk Yuk’s.
    • All Star Wrestling on 7/24 in Cloverdale, BC at the Alice McKay Building will be honoring Vance Nevada, Bob Steele, Moondog Ed Moretti, Roy McClarity and Don Leo Jonathan, on a show headlined by Gangrel vs. Moondog Manson in a dog collar chain match.
    • Big West Wrestling on 7/17 in Kelowna, BC at Lake City Bowling & Billiards.
    • The much delayed Bob Backlund autobiography is now slated for a mid to end of September release.  This was a change from late August, but the people involved with the project are saying that they don’t anticipate any further delays.  (thanks to Richard Wierzbowski)
    • The Toronto Sun ran a story on wrestlers, boxers and judokas from the Venezuelan national team spending a few weeks prior to the Pan American Games training at Santino Marella’s Gym.  The story noted that several of the wrestlers and judokas were big pro wrestling fans who knew who Marella was.  Marella said he was called by a Pan Am games official a few months ago about opening his gym to combat sports athletes from another country and he was all for it.  He said several of the Venezuelan athletes attended a beginning pro wrestling class for fun as well.

    Click here for the WWE Network schedule

    BACK TO THIS DAY IN WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)

    1976 – Carlos Plata beat Adorable Rubi in Mexico City to win the NWA light heavyweight title

    1978 – Bobby Lee beat Solar in Monterrey to win the UWA welterweight title

    2000 – Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi (who works this week for ROH) beat Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita in a tournament finals for the vacant WWWA tag titles

    2003 – KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji beat Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahama in a tournament final in Osaka to crown the first GHC jr. tag champs

    2004 – Santino Marella beat Umaga in Milan, Italy to win the IC title

    2010 – Hector Garza & Mr. Aguila beat La Sombra & Volador Jr. in Mexico City to win the CMLL tag titles

    TODAY’S VIDEOS

    WWE/NXT

    5 Things-5 Superstars Who Beat The Undertaker

    7/13/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  The Tough Enough Competitors React To Being At RAW

    7/13/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  The Bella Twins Meet The Tough Enough Competitors

    7/13/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  ZZ And Patrick Feel The Love From The WWE Universe

    7/13/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Chris Jericho Warms Up The Orlando Improv Crowd

    7/14/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Coaches Lend Their Week 4 Predictions

    7/14/15 WWE RAW “Fallout”:  Kane Is Stretchered Out Of RAW

    7/14/15 WWE RAW “Fallout”:  Stepanie McMahon Congratulates The NXT Divas On Their RAW Debut

    What’s Wrong With This Video?  2011 Royal Rumble Match

    What’s Wrong With This Video?  2011 Royal Rumble Match-Revealed!

    WWE Canvas 2 Canvas:  The Glamazon Hits The Canvas

    7/13/15 Top Ten RAW Moments

    MISC. STUFF

    Tessa Blanchard on “The Apter Chat”

    West Virginia Championship Wrestling “Spotlight” (Episode 123)

    CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go (Episode 424)

    LUCHA UNDERGROUND

    The Vampiro Monologues:  How To Become A Pro Wrestler

    The Road To Ultima Lucha:  Pentagon Jr.

    INDY TV SHOWS

    West Coast Wrestling Connection TV (Episode 59)

    3XWrestling “All Stars Of The Midwest” TV (Episode 24)

    Anarchy Wrestling TV (Episode 492)

    America’s Most Like Wrestling TV (Season 1, Episode 11)

    Action Coast Empire TV (Episode 7)

    7/13/15 Snakepit Adelaide Pro Wrestling “Powerslam” TV

    TNA

    The Question Mark (Episode 16)

    TNA IMPACT Wrestling Visits To Camp Boggy Creek

  • ‘Wednesday Night Wars’ wrestling ratings

    Here are your Destination America ratings for Wednesday:

    – ROH at 8 p.m. 80,000 viewers (by far the record low)
    – TNA at 9 p.m. 293,000 viewers (one of the lower numbers)
    – ROH at 11 p.m. 89.000 viewers
    – TNA at midnight 72,000 viewers

  • WED. UPDATE: UFC tonight (again), Alberto El Patron comments on no-show, and more

    by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.comFollow @davidbix

    TV/major show notes notes for tonight:

    For the first time since Wednesday became the night of too many shows, UFC has a live Fight Night card from San Diego on Fox Sports 1:

    Main Card on Fox Sports 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET

    Frank Mir (262) vs. Todd Duffee (241)

    Josh Thomson (155.5) vs. Tony Ferguson (156)

    Holly Holm (135) vs. Marion Reneau (134.5)

    Scott Jorgensen (135) vs. Manvel Gamburyan (135)

    Kevin Lee (156) vs. James Moontasri (155)

    Alan Jouban (170.5) vs. Matt Dwyer (169)

    Prelims on Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET

    Sam Sicilia (146) vs. Yaotzin Meza (145.5)

    Jessica Andrade (134.5) vs. Sarah Moras (135.5)

    Rani Yahya (135.5) vs. Masanori Kanehara (136)

    Igor Araujo (171) vs. Sean Strickland (171)

    Prelims on UFC Fight Pass at 7:00 p.m. ET (Same time slot as the pre-fight show on Fox Sports 1)

    Kevin Casey (185.5) vs. Ildemar Alcantara (185.5)

    Andrew Craig (170.5) vs. Lyman Good (170)

    While short on name value past Mir and, to an extent, Thomson and Holm, this is a fun card on paper and the top three fights all have some divisional relevance. The main event is a havyweight fight that should deliver some quick fireworks on top of being a potential ticket to the top 10 for Dufee as well as a chance for Mir to prove he really has healed up and improved his training. Everything on the main card has the potential to be at least fun, with Jouban-Dwyer being a potentially fantastic action fight on piper. The top lightweights are almost always entertaining, as well, and Thomson-Ferguson should be no exception. Even on the prelims, Sicilia and Andrade are always entertaining, plus Yahya-Kanehara could potentially be a great grappling-heavy fight.

    As for the usual weekly shows:

    NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network has Blake and Murphy vs. Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins in a non-title match, Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte for the NXT Women’s Championship, a Sami Zayn appearance, and more.

    Lucha Underground airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on El Rey. Things are getting serious! For the first time ever, Lucha Underground Champion Prince Puma will face-off with his Ultima Lucha challenger, Mil Muertes. Super Fly and Sexy Star bring the heat in the ring, while Vampiro confronts Pentagon Jr., and Killshot battles it out in an intense match against King Cuerno. Tune in on Wednesday, July 15th at 8:00PM ET/PT on El Rey Network to see who comes out as winners!

    ROH at 8:00 p.m. ET on Destination America has Matt Sydal vs. Adam Page, Silas Young vs. Will Ferrara, and Jay Lethal (c) vs. Mark Briscoe for the ROH Television Title.

    Impact Wrstling at 9:00 p.m. on Destination America has all three singles titles on the line, the reveal of the new authority figure, and an update on Kurt Angle.

    **** 

    The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with an extensive look at the new NWA Classics streaming service, the Houston Wrestling library, and Houston’s place in wrestling history. Among the topics covered are:

    * What made Houston Wrestling unique and how the town evolved.

    * What’s on the NWA Classics service so far and why it’s awesome.

    * What other libraries are still around?

    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 AmericanCanadian, 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. 

    **** 

    We’ve got a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week, highlighted by part two of our look at the career and life of Dusty Rhodes.  This focuses on his babyface turn in Florida, his quest for the title, his rise to national prominence, and his feuds with Terry Funk, Superstar Billy Graham and Ole Anderson.  Plus, we look at this year’s G-1 Climax tournament, New Japan Dominion, lots of injury notes regarding some of WWE and TNA’s biggest stars, WWE lawsuit, Beast in the East and much more.

    The Latest Wrestling Observer:  July 13, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Dusty Rhodes bio part 2, back to back major shows in Japan

    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 www.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 this week looks at the babyface heyday of Dusty Rhodes as a touring attraction.  We look at how the business was in the 70s, the changes in the business in the Southeast and why, the rise of pro wrestling on cable television, his departure from World Championship Wrestling, and his first babyface run that people have forgotten.

    We look at the heyday of Championship Wrestling from Florida, the work of Gordon Solie, Eddie Graham, and Rhodes arrival in Florida in 1973.  We look at the angle that changed Rhodes’ career, the transition from Jack Brisco to Dusty Rhodes as the big star in Florida and how that changed the business, the Dusty Rhodes vs. Terry Funk I Quit match, the relationship between Rhodes and Funk, Dusty Rhodes’ first two NWA title runs, how the NWA title changed during the 70s and why and Rhodes’ quest for the title.  We also look at who Rhodes worked with, and his travels around the globe during his heyday, including some unique matches and opponents that most Americans don’t realize ever took place.

    We look at his Madison Square Garden feud with Superstar Billy Graham, pro wrestling at the Omni in Atlanta, Dusty Rhodes on TBS and the role pro wrestling made in the early history of cable television, as well as the famous angle where Ole Anderson & Ivan Koloff kicked off their feud with Rhodes that set cable records.

    We look at the famous Ole Anderson interview after turning on Dusty Rhodes and why their angle is so fondly remembered, The last Tangle in Tampa, the night that cable television changed the history of pro wrestling, the end of Roy Shire’s promotion, and the second world title run.

    We also have a look at the G-1 Climax tournament for this year, including the favorites, all the matches, as well as full coverage of the Dominion show from Osaka with Kazuchika Okada beating A.J. Styles for the IWGP title.

    We’ve got a look at WWE’s latest legal action, including filing suit against four wrestlers in Connecticut.  We also look at the cases of wrestlers who are suing WWE.

    We’ve also got complete coverage of Beast from the East, how the show came together, why Brock Lesnar was on the show, and match-by-match rundowns with star ratings and poll results.

    We also have more on the NXT show in Brooklyn before SummerSlam, how it will be promoted, a scary note on how bad the Tyson Kidd injury could have been, Battleground update, Dolph Ziggler storyline notes, more WWE injury notes, thoughts on Cesaro, Big Show talks about his demotion to OVW, Thoughts on the memo from five years ago with the notes for WWE announcers and how things have changed since then, Brie Bella talks NXT women coming up as well as vague notes on Daniel Bryan’s injury, thoughts on Bryan’s future as well as an update on Bruno Sammartino after back surgery.

    We also look at the Sports Illustrated article on pro wrestling this week, social media numbers, Ambrose movie release, why Regal was in Japan, WWE’s Japan tryouts, Piper leaving Podcast One, Austin talking Piper leaving Podcast One, longtime WWE writer takes new job, notes on Randy Orton, USA Network take on Tough Enough, Jamie Noble and Becky Lynch injury updates, WWE stock, movies with WWE talent, lots of Tough Enough news, as well as notes from all the weekend live events, business notes and highlights from all the shows.

    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.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –CMLL running a free live stream this week

    –Notes from the latest shows at Arena Mexico

    –Controversy coming from a womens’ hair vs. hair match

    –Notes from this past week’s AAA TV taping

    –A look at the monthly Dragon Gate show at Korakuen Hall

    –A look at the next two Dragon Gate iPPV shows

    –A look at the last Pro Wrestling NOAH show at Korakuen Hall

    –Notes on Tetsuya Naito’s apparent heel turn

    –New Japan’s last Korakuen Hall show

    –Zero-One Fire Festival notes

    –Notes on the heyday of OVW

    –A look at the upcoming GFW shows

    –Hulk Hogan lawsuit news

    –A look at the careers and lives of who are believed to be the two oldest living pro wrestlers

    –A look at a former WWE star who will star in a reality show piggy backing off Total Divas

    –Former AAA star has a major accident

    –Notes on the next PWG show

    –Wrestling returns to Royal Albert Hall in London

    –Update on Lucha Underground

    –NXT and ROH go head-to-head in Brooklyn and what ROH is running

    –Notes on return of Austin Aries to ROH nest week

    –Notes on Andy Barton leaving TNA

    –Update on Kurt Angle

    –Thoughts on the GFW deal

    –Notes on Gilbert Melendez failing his drug test

    –Dana White talks about how much Aldo would have made if he had fought McGregor

    –Update on Jon Jones

    –Notes on all the UFC shows this week

    –Notes on the IV ban

    –UFC fighter retires

    –Crazy street fight story involving a former UFC fighter and a current one

    –Notes on charges against the husband of Britney Palmer

    –Notes on fighters cut from UFC

    –Jose Aldo drug test note

    –Sonnen pranks Mendes just before the fight

    –Notes on Jacare Souza

    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.

    Our most requested issues in our history are:

    *November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)

    *December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)

    *August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)

    *March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a

    *October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)

    *July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)

    *February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)

    *May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)

    *January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)

    *February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)

    *March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)

    *April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)

    *May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)

    *June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)

    *June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)

    *July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)

    *August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)

    *September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)

    *October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)

    *January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)

    *February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)

    *February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)

    *March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)

    *March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)

    *July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)

    *July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)

    *August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)

    *August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)

    *October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)

    *November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)

    *January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)

    *March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)

    *May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)

    *June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)

    *July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

    *August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)

    *September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)

    *October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)

    *November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

    *December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)

    *January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)

    *January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)

    *April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)

    *April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)

    *July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)

    *September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)

    *October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)

    *November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)

    *November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)

    *November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)

    *December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)

    *January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)

    *March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)

    *March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)

    *March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)

    *April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)

    *July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)

    *October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)

    *November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .

    *December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)

    *January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)

    *March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)

    *April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)

    * September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)

    * September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)

    * September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)

    You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.

    We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..

    To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.

    ****

    Wednesday Daily Update

    — Last night, Alberto El Patron tweeted this statement about his no-show of an austism charity benefit card in Pasadena, Texas over the weekend:

    Due to personal reasons I wasn’t able to attend the event of @ClutchCityProd they did everything in their power to have me there.

    When nobody was able to get in touch with him about his whereabouts, there was some concern until Monday, when AAA told Medio Tiempo that the office had spoken to him and he was safe at home.

    TNA issued a press release announcing that they’re partnering with AO1 Productions, “an industry-leading global production company,” to produce their shows with Ron and Don Harris. Given their recent public issues with paying production contractors on time, that’s…interesting.

    — Meanwhile, WWE is launching WWE Network as a traditional satellite TV channel in Malaysia. This really has nothing to do with anything, butMalaysia was, at one point (and it may still very well be), a hotbed for pirated WWE videos on VHS, DVD, and VCD, even releasing Over the Edge ’99 (the show where Owen Hart died) back in the day.

    — CZW issued this press release today:

    Combat Zone Wrestling, LLC and Stonecutter Media Ltd sign Pay-Per-View Distribution Deal

    July 13, 2015 – This weekend in the historic 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia, Stoncutter Media, Ltd president Steve Karel and CZW President David “DJ Hyde” Markland and CZW Vice President Tyrone “Maven Bentley” Scott Signed a deal with Stonecutter Media LTD for the exclusive rights to distribute Combat Zone Wrestling’s Live National Pay Per Views on all major Cable, Satellite, and Digital TV providers in the United States and Worldwide.

    Since early 2014, Combat Zone Wrestling, LLC ( CZW) has licensed Stonecutter Media Ltd.’s “Wrestling’s Bloodiest Wars” on demand pay-per-view franchise, (currently airing on INdemand, Vubiqity, Directv, DIsh Network and Shaw) with the trademark “ultraviolence” that has become synonymous with CZW.

    Future Combat Zone Wrestling Pay Per View airings will be announced soon.

    Karel and his company are best known for working with ECW during its heyday.

    Crazy story about a male indie wrestler posing as a woman to take a dive in a fixed MMA fight in 2003 as part of one of Wes Sims’ Hammer House Fighting Championship cards. The card took place in Ohio, for whatever it’s worth.

    — Dave has three new articles that went up at MMAFighting last night on Fedor Emelianenko’s potential return to MMA, the UFC 189 prelim ratings, and the five fighters whose fortunes changed at UFC 189.

    Dylan Hales and I have a new edition of The Trade Marks podcast talking NWA Classics, the relaunch of Whoo! Wrestling, and the Hulk Hogan/Gawker/FBI mess.

    Brandon Howard has a fantastic article about the language of WWE at Voices of Wrestling. Make point to read this one.

    Scott Fishman talks to Tough Enough’s Gabi in her post-elimination interview for Channel Guide Magazine.

    — Destiny wrestling proudly presents SUMMER HEAT Sunday August 30. Tickets range from $25 – $100. The show will be at the Don Kolov Arena on 4880 Tomken Road in Mississauga, ON with doors opening at 2:00 PM. Special guests former ECW/TNA/WWE tag team champions The Dudley Boyz/TEAM 3D, plus the return of Kongo Kong, former WWE star Highlander Rob, and the new Destiny Champion PJ BLACK/former WWE star Justin Gabriel. 

  • TUES. UPDATE: WWE announces next quarterly report, CM Punk on striking, and more

    by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.comFollow @davidbix

    TV/major show notes notes for tonight:

    Tough Enough airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on USA Network. Ten competitors remain, as WWE Tough Enough returns for week 4, tonight on USA Network. After Dianna’s departure, the barracks receive a shakeup in the form of her replacement, Chelsea Green. Then, the hopefuls are visited by royalty when WWE Superstar King Barrett® makes a special appearance to demonstrate the importance of connecting with the audience through the art of the “interview”.  The competitors then have a chance to develop their microphone skills with a trip to Orlando Improv. For a look at this week’s episode, click here.

    Total Divas airs at 9:00 p.m. ET on E! Total Divas, continues with an inside look at WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania®. The Divas have an action-packed week leading up to the big event, and it’s off to a rocky start. In her attempt to start a family, Brie Bella® is fearful that she and her husband, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan®, may be facing fertility issues. WWE Diva Natalya™ is still worried about her father’s health and Paige™ discovers she’s unprepared to get into the ring at WrestleMania. For a sneak peek at tonight’s episode, click here.

    SmackDown and Main Event will be taped on tonight in Birmingham. If you’re attending and would like to write in a spoiler report, please send it to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

    **** 

    The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with an extensive look at the new NWA Classics streaming service, the Houston Wrestling library, and Houston’s place in wrestling history. Among the topics covered are:

    * What made Houston Wrestling unique and how the town evolved.

    * What’s on the NWA Classics service so far and why it’s awesome.

    * What other libraries are still around?

    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 AmericanCanadian, 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. 

    **** 

    We’ve got a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week, highlighted by part two of our look at the career and life of Dusty Rhodes.  This focuses on his babyface turn in Florida, his quest for the title, his rise to national prominence, and his feuds with Terry Funk, Superstar Billy Graham and Ole Anderson.  Plus, we look at this year’s G-1 Climax tournament, New Japan Dominion, lots of injury notes regarding some of WWE and TNA’s biggest stars, WWE lawsuit, Beast in the East and much more.

    The Latest Wrestling Observer:  July 13, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Dusty Rhodes bio part 2, back to back major shows in Japan

    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 www.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 this week looks at the babyface heyday of Dusty Rhodes as a touring attraction.  We look at how the business was in the 70s, the changes in the business in the Southeast and why, the rise of pro wrestling on cable television, his departure from World Championship Wrestling, and his first babyface run that people have forgotten.

    We look at the heyday of Championship Wrestling from Florida, the work of Gordon Solie, Eddie Graham, and Rhodes arrival in Florida in 1973.  We look at the angle that changed Rhodes’ career, the transition from Jack Brisco to Dusty Rhodes as the big star in Florida and how that changed the business, the Dusty Rhodes vs. Terry Funk I Quit match, the relationship between Rhodes and Funk, Dusty Rhodes’ first two NWA title runs, how the NWA title changed during the 70s and why and Rhodes’ quest for the title.  We also look at who Rhodes worked with, and his travels around the globe during his heyday, including some unique matches and opponents that most Americans don’t realize ever took place.

    We look at his Madison Square Garden feud with Superstar Billy Graham, pro wrestling at the Omni in Atlanta, Dusty Rhodes on TBS and the role pro wrestling made in the early history of cable television, as well as the famous angle where Ole Anderson & Ivan Koloff kicked off their feud with Rhodes that set cable records.

    We look at the famous Ole Anderson interview after turning on Dusty Rhodes and why their angle is so fondly remembered, The last Tangle in Tampa, the night that cable television changed the history of pro wrestling, the end of Roy Shire’s promotion, and the second world title run.

    We also have a look at the G-1 Climax tournament for this year, including the favorites, all the matches, as well as full coverage of the Dominion show from Osaka with Kazuchika Okada beating A.J. Styles for the IWGP title.

    We’ve got a look at WWE’s latest legal action, including filing suit against four wrestlers in Connecticut.  We also look at the cases of wrestlers who are suing WWE.

    We’ve also got complete coverage of Beast from the East, how the show came together, why Brock Lesnar was on the show, and match-by-match rundowns with star ratings and poll results.

    We also have more on the NXT show in Brooklyn before SummerSlam, how it will be promoted, a scary note on how bad the Tyson Kidd injury could have been, Battleground update, Dolph Ziggler storyline notes, more WWE injury notes, thoughts on Cesaro, Big Show talks about his demotion to OVW, Thoughts on the memo from five years ago with the notes for WWE announcers and how things have changed since then, Brie Bella talks NXT women coming up as well as vague notes on Daniel Bryan’s injury, thoughts on Bryan’s future as well as an update on Bruno Sammartino after back surgery.

    We also look at the Sports Illustrated article on pro wrestling this week, social media numbers, Ambrose movie release, why Regal was in Japan, WWE’s Japan tryouts, Piper leaving Podcast One, Austin talking Piper leaving Podcast One, longtime WWE writer takes new job, notes on Randy Orton, USA Network take on Tough Enough, Jamie Noble and Becky Lynch injury updates, WWE stock, movies with WWE talent, lots of Tough Enough news, as well as notes from all the weekend live events, business notes and highlights from all the shows.

    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.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –CMLL running a free live stream this week

    –Notes from the latest shows at Arena Mexico

    –Controversy coming from a womens’ hair vs. hair match

    –Notes from this past week’s AAA TV taping

    –A look at the monthly Dragon Gate show at Korakuen Hall

    –A look at the next two Dragon Gate iPPV shows

    –A look at the last Pro Wrestling NOAH show at Korakuen Hall

    –Notes on Tetsuya Naito’s apparent heel turn

    –New Japan’s last Korakuen Hall show

    –Zero-One Fire Festival notes

    –Notes on the heyday of OVW

    –A look at the upcoming GFW shows

    –Hulk Hogan lawsuit news

    –A look at the careers and lives of who are believed to be the two oldest living pro wrestlers

    –A look at a former WWE star who will star in a reality show piggy backing off Total Divas

    –Former AAA star has a major accident

    –Notes on the next PWG show

    –Wrestling returns to Royal Albert Hall in London

    –Update on Lucha Underground

    –NXT and ROH go head-to-head in Brooklyn and what ROH is running

    –Notes on return of Austin Aries to ROH nest week

    –Notes on Andy Barton leaving TNA

    –Update on Kurt Angle

    –Thoughts on the GFW deal

    –Notes on Gilbert Melendez failing his drug test

    –Dana White talks about how much Aldo would have made if he had fought McGregor

    –Update on Jon Jones

    –Notes on all the UFC shows this week

    –Notes on the IV ban

    –UFC fighter retires

    –Crazy street fight story involving a former UFC fighter and a current one

    –Notes on charges against the husband of Britney Palmer

    –Notes on fighters cut from UFC

    –Jose Aldo drug test note

    –Sonnen pranks Mendes just before the fight

    –Notes on Jacare Souza

    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.

    Our most requested issues in our history are:

    *November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)

    *December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)

    *August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)

    *March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a

    *October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)

    *July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)

    *February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)

    *May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)

    *January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)

    *February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)

    *March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)

    *April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)

    *May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)

    *June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)

    *June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)

    *July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)

    *August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)

    *September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)

    *October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)

    *January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)

    *February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)

    *February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)

    *March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)

    *March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)

    *July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)

    *July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)

    *August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)

    *August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)

    *October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)

    *November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)

    *January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)

    *March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)

    *May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)

    *June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)

    *July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

    *August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)

    *September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)

    *October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)

    *November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

    *December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)

    *January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)

    *January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)

    *April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)

    *April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)

    *July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)

    *September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)

    *October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)

    *November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)

    *November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)

    *November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)

    *December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)

    *January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)

    *March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)

    *March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)

    *March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)

    *April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)

    *July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)

    *October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)

    *November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .

    *December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)

    *January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)

    *March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)

    *April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)

    * September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)

    * September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)

    * September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)

    You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.

    We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..

    To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.

    ****

    Tuesday Daily Update

    — WWE announced that they will report their second quarter 2015 financials on Thursday, July 30th. Vince McMahon and George Barrios will host the usualconference call that day at 11:00 a.m. ET to go over everything.

    — Statement from Clutch City Productions on Alberto El Patron no-showing their card in Pasadena, Texas over the weekend without notice:

    We have received word from Alberto’s camp and were provided with information as to why he did not appear at the “Bustin for Autism” event last night in Houston (Pasadena) TX. Although we have documentation that will clearly define the situation in full we are choosing to keep this a private matter at this time. However, we are anticipating that Alberto’s camp will release a statement and take action to rectify the situation.

    AAA told Mediotiempo yesterday that Alberto is at home and doing fine.

    — At a media scrum over the weekend, CM Punk said that Duke Roufus is telling him his best area right now is his striking. Which may say what a lot of people figured about his jiu jitsu.

    — UFC announced Joseph Benavidez vs. Henry Cejudo at UFC 191 on September 5th in Las Vegas. Presumably, the winner gets a title shot against the winner of the upcomimg Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson vs. John Dodson II fight for the flyweight title. Big, big step up in competition for Cejudo, but if he wins, then he’s absolutely ready for a title shot, as only Johnson and Dominick Cruz have defeated Benavidez in his entire career.

    Bruce Tharpe posted on Facebook that the NWA Classics Roku channel is now in the testing stage and should be ready before long.

    — At the UFC Fan Expo, there was a Metro PCS-sponsored booth where fans could send a video message to Ronda Rousey. Cris Cyborg decided to make use of it. That’s actually pretty amusing.

    The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast talked to Sam Shaw about just about everything you’d want to hear: His TNA release, TNA pay issues, the original of the Samuel Shaw gimmick, and much more. Quote on how the Samuel Shaw gimmick kind of slowly fizzled out:

    I was pitching ideas left and right. I feel that maybe coming in and having such a strong presence as the character I was portraying it may have put me up against the wall from a creative sense, I was known as the “creepy bastard” and just the “creepy guy”. What was he going to do just creep on the knockouts and move on to the next one? It’s basically what a psycho does just repeats the same thing over and over again but I think there were so many different directions the character could have gone and I feel like there was so much longevity to the character and in a lot of ways the writers did too and that’s why they kept me around for so long.  They just didn’t have anything at the moment and they kept signing new guys and new talent was coming in and they were ready to move forward with other guys and I was sort of sitting at home not doing anything but was ready, willing and able to do something.

    On the newest episode of our friend Kris Zellner’s Exile on Badstreet podcast, Kris is joined by Graham Cawthon (The History of WWE) & Parv (Titans of Wrestling) to discuss the Battles of Bob Backlund from 1980-83 where we go over his opponents in depth.

    WWE Network Schedule Wednesday, July 15,2015  (Thanks Bert Duckwall)

    12:00 AM ET
    WWE TOUGH TALK Join The Miz as he recaps all of the TOUGH ENOUGH highlights and sits down with the eliminated competitor whose WWE journey came to an end.

    12:30 AM ET
    THE WWE LIST Not everything can be found on Google. Shocking Title Changes gives rank to some of the most OMG Title Matches of all time!

    1:00 AM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR Mick Foley’s unorthodox style makes him an unlikely success story and a unique weapon for WWE in their war with WCW.

    2:00 AM ET
    TUESDAY NIGHT TITANS Vince McMahon hosts Tuesday Night Titans with Lord Alfred Hayes. Guests include Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Bob Orton.

    3:00 AM ET
    TUESDAY NIGHT TITANS Vince McMahon hosts Tuesday Night Titans with Lord Alfred Hayes. Guests include Mr. Fuji, Jim Neidhart, Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo.

    4:00 AM ET
    PRIME TIME WRESTLING Join Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan for Prime Time Wrestling featuring Adrian Adonis, the Honky Tonk Man, and more in action!

    6:00 AM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR Mick Foley’s unorthodox style makes him an unlikely success story and a unique weapon for WWE in their war with WCW.

    7:00 AM ET
    WWE TOUGH TALK WWE Tough Talk from Full Sail University in Orlando, FL. Host, The Miz, is joined by Daniel Bryan, Paige, and Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan.

    7:30 AM ET
    THE WWE LIST Not everything can be found on Google. Shocking Title Changes gives rank to some of the most OMG Title Matches of all time!

    8:00 AM ET
    LEGENDS HOUSE The Legends head to Sin City and the hijinks begin! After some ‘manscaping,’ they partake in a Chippendales show you have to see to believe!

    9:00 AM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR Mick Foley’s unorthodox style makes him an unlikely success story and a unique weapon for WWE in their war with WCW.

    10:00 AM ET
    WWE TOUGH TALK Join The Miz as he recaps all of the TOUGH ENOUGH highlights and sits down with the eliminated competitor whose WWE journey came to an end.

    10:30 AM ET
    THE WWE LIST Not everything can be found on Google. Shocking Title Changes gives rank to some of the most OMG Title Matches of all time!

    11:00 AM ET
    LEGENDS HOUSE The Legends head to Sin City and the hijinks begin! After some ‘manscaping,’ they partake in a Chippendales show you have to see to believe!

    12:00 PM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR Mick Foley’s unorthodox style makes him an unlikely success story and a unique weapon for WWE in their war with WCW.

    1:00 PM ET
    WWE TOUGH TALK Join The Miz as he recaps all of the TOUGH ENOUGH highlights and sits down with the eliminated competitor whose WWE journey came to an end.

    1:30 PM ET
    THE WWE LIST Not everything can be found on Google. Shocking Title Changes gives rank to some of the most OMG Title Matches of all time!

    2:00 PM ET
    LEGENDS HOUSE The Legends head to Sin City and the hijinks begin! After some ‘manscaping,’ they partake in a Chippendales show you have to see to believe!

    3:00 PM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Mysterious Superstars of all time!

    4:00 PM ET
    WWE UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG Renee Young gets her superhero on. Join the Unfiltered host as she hangs out with star Paul Rudd and the cast of Marvel’s Ant Man!

    4:15 PM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Brie regrets quarreling with her husband when he delivers devastating news. Nikki’s secret has John fearing the end of their relationship.

    5:00 PM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Brie and Bryan’s wrestling careers are in jeopardy, and Brie’s attempt to save their future puts Nikki in a tough spot with John

    6:00 PM ET
    SWERVED R-Truth gets a lesson in gym safety, a frisky granny invades Axxess and Kofi locks the champ out of Extreme Rules.

    6:30 PM ET
    SWERVED R-Truth is a Bad Ass Elephant, Fandango treats Heath Slater and The Ascension to lunch and Kofi and Xavier get into an all out prank war.

    7:00 PM ET
    WWE BEYOND THE RING He’s the greatest manager in the history of sports entertainment. Relive The Brain’s magnificent career in Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan.

    8:00 PM ET
    WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow – this is NXT!

    9:00 PM ET
    WWE UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG Renee Young gets her superhero on. Join the Unfiltered host as she hangs out with star Paul Rudd and the cast of Marvel’s Ant Man! 

    9:15 PM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Brie regrets quarreling with her husband when he delivers devastating news. Nikki’s secret has John fearing the end of their relationship.

    10:00 PM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Brie and Bryan’s wrestling careers are in jeopardy, and Brie’s attempt to save their future puts Nikki in a tough spot with John

    11:00 PM ET
    WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow – this is NXT!

  • MON. UPDATE: Raw, Alberto MIA, UFC numbers, Battleground bout, Cena movie news, Jarrett taping lineup

    By Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for your thoughts on Saturday night’s UFC 189 show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    We’re looking for live reports from Raw in Atlanta with dark matches, Superstars matches and anything else not evident from the live show to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    We’re also looking for reports from the WWE show yesterday in Knoxville and the GFW show in Erie, PA.

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Birmingham.

    We’ve got a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week, highlighted by part two of our look at the career and life of Dusty Rhodes.  This focuses on his babyface turn in Florida, his quest for the title, his rise to national prominence, and his feuds with Terry Funk, Superstar Billy Graham and Ole Anderson.  Plus, we look at this year’s G-1 Climax tournament, New Japan Dominion, lots of injury notes regarding some of WWE and TNA’s biggest stars, WWE lawsuit, Beast in the East and much more.

    The Latest Wrestling Observer:  July 13, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Dusty Rhodes bio part 2, back to back major shows in Japan

    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!

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    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 this week looks at the babyface heyday of Dusty Rhodes as a touring attraction.  We look at how the business was in the 70s, the changes in the business in the Southeast and why, the rise of pro wrestling on cable television, his departure from World Championship Wrestling, and his first babyface run that people have forgotten.

    We look at the heyday of Championship Wrestling from Florida, the work of Gordon Solie, Eddie Graham, and Rhodes arrival in Florida in 1973.  We look at the angle that changed Rhodes’ career, the transition from Jack Brisco to Dusty Rhodes as the big star in Florida and how that changed the business, the Dusty Rhodes vs. Terry Funk I Quit match, the relationship between Rhodes and Funk, Dusty Rhodes’ first two NWA title runs, how the NWA title changed during the 70s and why and Rhodes’ quest for the title.  We also look at who Rhodes worked with, and his travels around the globe during his heyday, including some unique matches and opponents that most Americans don’t realize ever took place.

    We look at his Madison Square Garden feud with Superstar Billy Graham, pro wrestling at the Omni in Atlanta, Dusty Rhodes on TBS and the role pro wrestling made in the early history of cable television, as well as the famous angle where Ole Anderson & Ivan Koloff kicked off their feud with Rhodes that set cable records.

    We look at the famous Ole Anderson interview after turning on Dusty Rhodes and why their angle is so fondly remembered, The last Tangle in Tampa, the night that cable television changed the history of pro wrestling, the end of Roy Shire’s promotion, and the second world title run.

    We also have a look at the G-1 Climax tournament for this year, including the favorites, all the matches, as well as full coverage of the Dominion show from Osaka with Kazuchika Okada beating A.J. Styles for the IWGP title. 

    We’ve got a look at WWE’s latest legal action, including filing suit against four wrestlers in Connecticut.  We also look at the cases of wrestlers who are suing WWE.

    We’ve also got complete coverage of Beast from the East, how the show came together, why Brock Lesnar was on the show, and match-by-match rundowns with star ratings and poll results.

    We also have more on the NXT show in Brooklyn before SummerSlam, how it will be promoted, a scary note on how bad the Tyson Kidd injury could have been, Battleground update, Dolph Ziggler storyline notes, more WWE injury notes, thoughts on Cesaro, Big Show talks about his demotion to OVW, Thoughts on the memo from five years ago with the notes for WWE announcers and how things have changed since then, Brie Bella talks NXT women coming up as well as vague notes on Daniel Bryan’s injury, thoughts on Bryan’s future as well as an update on Bruno Sammartino after back surgery.

    We also look at the Sports Illustrated article on pro wrestling this week, social media numbers, Ambrose movie release, why Regal was in Japan, WWE’s Japan tryouts, Piper leaving Podcast One, Austin talking Piper leaving Podcast One, longtime WWE writer takes new job, notes on Randy Orton, USA Network take on Tough Enough, Jamie Noble and Becky Lynch injury updates, WWE stock, movies with WWE talent, lots of Tough Enough news, as well as notes from all the weekend live events, business notes and highlights from all the shows.

    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.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –CMLL running a free live stream this week

    –Notes from the latest shows at Arena Mexico

    –Controversy coming from a womens’ hair vs. hair match

    –Notes from this past week’s AAA TV taping

    –A look at the monthly Dragon Gate show at Korakuen Hall

    –A look at the next two Dragon Gate iPPV shows

    –A look at the last Pro Wrestling NOAH show at Korakuen Hall

    –Notes on Tetsuya Naito’s apparent heel turn

    –New Japan’s last Korakuen Hall show

    –Zero-One Fire Festival notes

    –Notes on the heyday of OVW

    –A look at the upcoming GFW shows 

    –Hulk Hogan lawsuit news

    –A look at the careers and lives of who are believed to be the two oldest living pro wrestlers

    –A look at a former WWE star who will star in a reality show piggy backing off Total Divas

    –Former AAA star has a major accident

    –Notes on the next PWG show

    –Wrestling returns to Royal Albert Hall in London

    –Update on Lucha Underground

    –NXT and ROH go head-to-head in Brooklyn and what ROH is running

    –Notes on return of Austin Aries to ROH nest week

    –Notes on Andy Barton leaving TNA

    –Update on Kurt Angle

    –Thoughts on the GFW deal

    –Notes on Gilbert Melendez failing his drug test

    –Dana White talks about how much Aldo would have made if he had fought McGregor

    –Update on Jon Jones

    –Notes on all the UFC shows this week

    –Notes on the IV ban

    –UFC fighter retires

    –Crazy street fight story involving a former UFC fighter and a current one

    –Notes on charges against the husband of Britney Palmer

    –Notes on fighters cut from UFC

    –Jose Aldo drug test note

    –Sonnen pranks Mendes just before the fight

    –Notes on Jacare Souza

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    MONDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw, UFC and taking your e-mail questions to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
    • Alberto el Patron has apparently gone AWOL.  He was supposed to be at last night’s Lone Star Championship Wrestling show, a Bustin 4 Autism charity show, in Pasadena, TX, and didn’t appear.  He gave no word ahead of time that he wouldn’t be there.  A number of people at the show had his number and called him and couldn’t get in touch with him.  The promotion today released a statement that they still haven’t heard from him.  Clutch City Productions made the deal with Alberto.  In their release, they asked him to return the deposit paid him and the travel money lost by the charity for his flight he didn’t board.    
    • For Google searches, Conor McGregor with 1 million searches was No. 1 on Saturday, ahead of Roger Federer and Serena Williams at 500,000.  Robbie Lawler was No. 6 among individuals with 100,000 and Keith Thurman was No. 12 among individuals.  On twitter, UFC 189 (4.28 million unique tweeting) was behind the Wimbledon men’s finals (5.16 million) and women’s finals (5.83) million as the top subjects in sports and TV for the weekend.  The UFC 189 numbers were below that of UFC 182, which was the Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier show.
    • Charlotte and Sasha Banks are backstage at Raw.  This is the Battleground go-home show.  The rating will be impacted in some form by baseball’s Home Run Derby tonight.  The cast of Tough Enough with Lita are also backstage, having taken a bus ride from Orlando to Atlanta.
    • Randy Orton vs. Sheamus is official for Battleground on Sunday.
    • The baseball All-Star game probably won’t help the rating for Tough Enough and Total Divas tomorrow, although due to the difference in audience makeup, it really shouldn’t hurt Total Divas much.  
    • The movie “Trainwreck,” where John Cena has a cameo as the muscular boyfriend of Amy Shumer (the star of the movie about her relationships) comes out on Friday.  Cena has good buzz for this role.
    • The Daniel Bryan autobiography, which is very good, will be out a week from tomorrow.  He will be doing some book signings and media to back up the release.
    • New Japan World is free for the next week, to build up an audience for G-1 which starts a week from today.  The free period ends on the 19th.
    • A.J. Styles has signed a deal with Figures Toy Company for an action figure for a new line that includes The Young Bucks, Doc Gallows, Amber Gallows and Kenny Omega. (thanks to Chris DePetrillo)
    • George Murdoch, using his TV name of Tyrus, was on Fox News talking about the Ariana Grande apology and the Confederate flag being lowered in South Carolina.  It was  total comedy segment.
    • Matches announced for the GFW tapings on 7/24 in Las Vegas are Brian Myers vs. Chris Mordetzsky, Kongo Kong vs. Nick Aldis and a Bobby Roode match in the heavyweight title tournament, Chris Sabin & Kushida vs. Reno SCUM in the tag title tournament, PJ Black vs. Seiya Sanada and Jigsaw vs. Sonjay Dutt in the NEX GEN title tournament and Christina Von Eerie vs. Mickie James vs. Lei’D Tapa in the women’s tournament,.  Also announced is a six way Lucha Libre match with Bestia 666 vs. Blood Eagle vs. Steve Pain vs. Zokre vs. Phoenix Star vs. Misterioso Jr.
    • The WWE succeeded in getting the California lawsuits filed against them by Russ McCullough, Ryan Sakods and Matt Wiese moved out of the state and to Connecticut.
    • Steve Amell of Green Arrow fame was at the San Diego Comic Con and was constantly talking about WWE.  He has wanted to do something with the promotion.  He said he would probably be doing something with WWE, but doesn’t know if that means a match.  He also cut what he called a WWE promo that was taped.  The Miz made a remark about the promo saying he’s green but he’ll get there someday. 
    • On the CTV news in Vancouver on Friday, a sumo, Brodi Henderson, was featured in talking about him becoming a rising star in Japan.  They mentioned how he’s following in the footsteps of the like John Tenta, a British Columbia native who was a star in sumo before going into pro wrestling (thanks to Ed Ludwig)
    • Pro Wrestiing Eclipse from yesterday in Oshawa, ONT:  John Atlas b Crimson X, Tyler Tirva b Joshua James, Cody Deaner b Catalyst, Bee Machine b Jim Nye, Jennifer Blake b Kaitlin Diemnod with Xandra Bale as heel ref, Tyler Tirva won the Champions Cup over Jim Nye, John Atlas and Cody Deaner.  Next show is 8/16 at the Oshawa Legion with Tirva vs. Atlas and Diemond & Jewel Malone vs. Blake & Bale, plus Roderick Strong and Johnny Devine appear.
    • Roddy Piper headlines for Maryland Championship Wrestling on Saturday night for the 15th annual Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup tournament.  Past winners of this tournament have included Christian York, Sami Callihan, Joey Mercury, Adam Cole and Luke Hawx.  The show takes place at the MCW Arena in Joppa, MD.  The lineup includes a live Piper’s Pit, plus Kai Katana vs. Lio Rush, Brandon Scott vs. Chuck Lennox, Matt Cross vs. Bo Nekoda, Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards vs. Punk Rock All-Stars, Shane Strickland vs. Eddie Smooth, Velvet Sky & Angelina Love & Madison Rayne (Beautiful People reuniting) vs. Amber Rodriguez & Kimber Lee & Veda Scott, Hell Cats vs. Napalm & Solo, Bruiser vs. King McBride and the winners of the first five matches (the singles matches and whoever scores the fall in the tag match) meet in a six-way for the Shamrock Cup.  There will be a meet and greet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. with Piper, Wolves and Beautiful People.
    • Preston City Wrestling had a free outdoor Tribute to the Troops show in Preston, England on Saturday:  Dave Mastiff b Chris Masters to win PCW title, Bubblegum b Rockstar Spud, Sha Samuels b Ken Anderson, Martin Kirby won a Money in the bank match over Lionheart, Joey Hayes, Dean Allmark, Charlie Garrett and El Ligero, Noam Dar b Ryan Smile and Team 3-D b Team single in a tables match.  After the match Bully Ray & Devon climbed on a tank.  Velvet Sky & Viper b Toni Storm & April Davids.  There was a huge crowd there  (thanks to Steve Maginnis)
    • Legacy Fighting Championships on AXS TV on 7/24 at the Bayou Music Center. 
    • Magic Mike XXL was No. 3 in its debut in Australia over the weekend.  It was No. 6 in the U.S. this past weekend at $9.64 million. (thanks to James Stanios)
    • Gavin Sterritt, who was scheduled to face Brennan Ward on Friday’s Bellator show at the Mohegan Sun Casino, pulled out of the fight and was cut by the promotion.  Roger Carroll, who has a 16-11 record, will be the replacement.  Sean Grande starts as the play-by-play voice of Bellator with this show.
    • Next year’s Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame weekend will be July 14 to July 16 in Waterloo, IA.  All access passes that usually cost $100 will be $80 if ordered by 8/1.  The Cauliflower Alley Club presented the Hall of Fame a check for $1,000 as a donation by J.J. Dillon.  Kurt Angle, coming out of surgery, was there over the weekend.  Honored were Greg Wojciechowski, Jim Londos (whose daughter attended), Brian Blair, Beth Phoenix, Wade Keller and Matt Lindland, all of whom also appeared, as did Bill Tragos, the son of George Tragos, and Charlie Thesz, the wife of Lou Thesz.  
    • ODB interview talking about her career and such

    TODAY’S WWE VIDEOS 

    INDY TV SHOWS

    West Virginia Championship Wrestling TV (Episode 236)

    Covey Pro Wrestling TV (Episode 213)

    Powerbomb Championship Wrestling TV (Episode 33)

    7/11/15 NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling TV

    WWE/NXT

    WWE Fury:  33 Stinging Singapore Cane Strikes

    WWE Top Ten:  Vehicular Demolitions

    7/10/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  The Competitors Get Big News

    7/10/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  The Barracks Plays Heads Up!

    7/11/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Step Inside The Ring With Billy Gunn

    7/12/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Patrick Fails To Heat Up With Giorgia

    WWE Network:  Swerved (Episode 1)

    7/10/15 Kevin Owens Comments On His First Mattel Action Figure At San Diego Comic-Con

    7/10/15 Charlotte Is Overwhelmed While Describing Her First Mattel Action Figure

    7/10/15 Finn Balor Discusses His San Diego Comic-Con International Experience

    7/10/15 Sami Reflects On NXT Amazing Growth At San Diego Comic-Con

    7/9/15 Top 10 Smackdown Moments

    MISC. STUFF

    7/10/15 CHIKARA Event Center

    Top 40 Moves Of Chuck Taylor