The Destination America numbers for last night were slightly up from week, with TNA up 9% mostly on the first show, and ROH up 10%, entirely due to the replay show.
8 p.m. ROH 161,000 viewers
9 p.m. TNA 330,000 viewers
11 p.m. ROH 138,000 viewers
Midnight TNA 74,000 viewers
The Destination America numbers for Wednesday were slightly up from week, with TNA up 9% mostly on the first show and ROH up 10% entirely due to the replay show.
– 8 p.m. ROH 161,000 viewers
– 11 p.m. ROH 138,000 viewers
Total: 299,000 viewers
– 9 p.m. TNA 330,000 viewers
– Midnight TNA 74,000 viewers
Total: 404,000 viewers
By dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>Dave Meltzer
Smackdown tonight on Syfy:
Ryback vs. The Miz non-title
Jack Swagger vs. King Barrett
Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler non-title
Paige vs. Alicia Fox
Roman Reigns & Randy Orton & Neville vs. Sheamus & Kane & Kofi Kingston
Last week the big story was the tease of a Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar match at WrestleMania. This week we have a double issue because of such a busy news week, with our lead story talks about the background of that promo and why the match isn’t happening. We have the background of Austin, Lesnar, Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon, what led to the promo on the WWE Network, why Vince McMahon was unhappy about it, and what happened from there including Austin talking about the situation.
We also have the first look at the Wednesday night wrestling wars with ROH & TNA, an update on MMA in New York, coverage of one of UFC’s best shows in recent years, New Japan’s summer look at including the G-1 Climax and Super Juniors tournament along with a history of the New Japan junior heavyweight division, as well as full coverage of the Hall of Fame and the new season of Tough Enough.
The Latest Wrestling Observer: June 15, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Latest on Austin-Lesnar, Destination America, NY MMA
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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 Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar. We look at Austin’s comments regarding what he said last week, we look at the background, we look at why Vince McMahon wasn’t happy about what happened, we look at what this seems to end speculation on, where the Texas death match comment came from and what we don’t know about the situation and why the book seems closed on the match.
We’ve got full details on the first week of both ROH & TNA together on Destination America. We look at the audience for both groups, and what the quarter hours told about both groups. We look at what the ratings seem to have indicated about both ROH and TNA and their audiences, as well as the next time this should be evaluated.
We also look at Money in the Bank, the WWE Network special on 7/4 from Japan with the lineup. We also look at the rest of the tour, an idea floated for the Slammys, what Vince McMahon wants out of the live talk shows on the WWE network, update on Tyson Kidd, why the stock is rising, Dwayne Johnson entertainment news, how the Kevin Steen action figure triggered so many things, return of Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman, special guest on Raw next week, Austin signs a new deal, and lots of the recent WWE tryout camp.
We also look at the Jessicka Havok situation.
We also look at all the NXT and WWE house show notes and business notes from the past week.
We look at the new attempt to pass legislation in New York to legalize MMA, how this affects pro wrestling in the state as well as boxing, why MMA has to agree to certain things that are inherently unfair in a last ditch effort to get into the state. We also look at a unique law regarding attendance at events in the bill, as well as what rules are in place to promote pro wrestling in New York.
We’ve got coverage of one of the year’s best events, Saturday’s UFC show in New Orleans. We look at the record tied, the career of Dan Henderson, the career of Brian Ebersole, as well as business notes and full coverage of the show.
We also look at New Japan’s G-1 Climax tournament, who is in, who is out, what is says about current booking, the big shows on the tour, coverage of the show, prior winners, handicapping the tournament, why the winner is already planned out and how far in advance booking is, as well as the next few shows on New Japan World and the Dominion PPV show.
We also have coverage of this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament, why the interest level was down, business notes on the tournament, a look at the great finale match, as well as coverage of the final shows. We also have a history of the New Japan junior heavyweight division, including the stars that build the division and the 1996 heyday period.
We’ve got full coverage of the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremonies last month in Amsterdam, NY, with the awards, presentations, and a look at talent like Jumbo Tsuruta, Rick Martel, Vivian Vachon, Whipper Watson, Pedro Morales, The Freebirds and Curt Hennig.
We also look at the new season of Tough Enough, who was and wasn’t picked to be part of the show, notes on why the winners are going to have it tough and not winning may to advantageous, as well as notes and backgrounds of some of the people involved.
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 this year’s Busca de un Idolo tournament’s first shows
–What happens in pro wrestling the night before UFC
–Problems between companies in Mexico regarding CMLL pulling talent
–Notes on Verano de Escandalo and U.S. iPPV and the card
–First notes on TripleMania
–What mach may be headlining this year’s TripleMania
–Upcoming AAA TV
–The debut of the three generations of green mist trio
–Dragon Gate two big shows coming this week
–All Japan’s big event for the week
–A tag team of stars from two different promotions has a long reign as tag champions gone
–More on the new Japan NOAH relationship and how this relates to the New Japan World service
–New Japan scouting talent in the U.S. this summer
–New Japan’s upcoming shows in Singapore
–Satoru Sayama health update
–Notes on the beginning shows of Global Force Wrestling
–Notes on the lineups and what is and isn’t important about these events
–Special celebrity guest added
–An unselfish act acts an aspiring pro wrestling career
–Another streaming service expected to start featuring 800 hours of a lost library
–Chris Hero’s three hour gauntlet match and full details
–Bill Goldberg talks about a potential pro wrestling farewell match and what could stand in the way
–Who Goldberg still keeps in touch with in wrestling
–Goldberg talks Brock Lesnar
–A look at the big show at Citifield in New York this past week
–A look at what TNA angle was revived on the show and how Goldberg fit in
–A.J. Styles vs. Lionheart match coverage, back story, and why the crowd was so hot
–Kris Travis talks return from cancer
–Tons of indie big show news
–A suspended senator in Canada participates in a pro wrestling show
–Early ROH champion moving into MMA
–Son of former Oregon star suspect in a beating death
–Wrestling star in talks for a national cable television show unique deal
–Update on the next ROH PPV
–A look at the weekend ROH events
–Why they did the Mickie James angle
–TNA gets another international deal
–UFC’s Labor Day weekend show announced
–Two new title fights announced
–Comparing Bader vs. Gustafsson as challengers for Cormier
–When Cormier is targeting his first title defense
–What Bader needs to do to get a title shot
–Update on Anderson Silva and his suspension hearing, as well as Nick Diaz
–Ben Rothwell accuses Cain Velasquez of PEDs and Velasquez responds
–Former UFC star gets TV major network announcing gig
–An interesting question that the courts may have to decide regarding UFC contract clause
–Lots of new UFC fights
–Notes on Shamrock vs. Kimbo
–The first head to be cut off in new stronger penalties for PED usage
–War Machine has court outburst
–TV martial arts star with pro wrestling ties in bad health
–Fighter comes back from nearly being stabbed to death to win a small promotion world title
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.
THURSDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
Carly Marshall due to a knee injury
Kevin Penczek
Jason Vazquez
Ava Knight-Salicka
Lorenzo Davis II
Adam Ohriner
Krishany San Jorge
Philip Guilford
June 26 – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata plus highlights of Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma and A.J. Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada
July 3 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata plus highlights of Yuji Nagata vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Tetsuya Naito vs. A.J. Styles and Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson
July 10 – Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada plus highlights of Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale and Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
July 17 – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii plus highlights of Minoru Suzuki vs. A.J. Styles and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto
July 24 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura plus highlights of Tomoaki Honma vs. Katsuyori Shibata and Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi
July 31 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki plus highlights of Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bad Luck Fale, A.J. Styles vs. Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
August 7 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. A.J. Styles
August 14 – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada
All of these shows are great. July 17 has two match of the year candidates and the other shows almost all have at least one.
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1973 – Masked Lee & Sandy Parker beat Jumbo Miyamoto & Mariko Akagi in Sasebo to win the WWWA tag titles
1976 – Umanosuke Ueda beat Rusher Kimura in Ibaragi to win the IWE title
1977 – Rollerball Mark Rocco beat Bert Royal in Manchester to win the British heavy middleweight title
1980 – Alan Dennison beat Jim Breaks in London to win the British welterweight title
1981 – Takashi Ishikawa & Akio Sato beat David & Kevin Von Erich in Tokyo to win the All-Asia tag titles
TODAY’S PRO WRESTLING VIDEOS
WWE
6/8/15 WWE RAW “Fallout”: The Big Dog Owns The Yard
6/8/15 Top Ten WWE RAW Moments
WWE Canvas 2 Canvas-Rhyno Gores Through The Canvas
6/10/15 Emotional Rusev Crashes Lana’s Interview
MISC. STUFF
Top 5 Moves Of Oleg The Usurper
Bobby Roode On “The Apter Chat”
Dean Malenko On “The Apter Chat”
Jake “The Snake” Roberts On “The Apter Chat”
CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go (Episode 419)
Dad You Don’t Work, You Wrestle (Episode 123)
AnarchyPro “Internet Beatdown” (Webisode 12)
FULL WRESTLING SHOWS
4/18/15 CWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling’s “High Tension” Live
TNA
The Question Mark (Episode 11)
What Does Rockstar Spud Think His Chances Are Of Winning The World Title?
Kenny King And MVP Talk About Bringing the X Division Title Back To The BDC
Brooke Comments On Being First To Defeat A Dollhouse Member
A Look At The X Division Qualifying Matches At #DestinationX
LUCHA UNDERGROUND
Outside With Vampiro: Linda Vista Community Hospital
INDY TV SHOWS
West Virginia Championship Wrestling TV (Episode 231)
Premiere Wrestling Experience TV (Episode 1)
Premiere Wrestling Experience TV (Episode 2)
Premiere Wrestling Experience TV (Episode 3)
Covey Pro Wrestling TV (Episode 209)
West Coast Wrestling Connection TV (Episode 54)
Pro Wrestling Syndicate TV (Episode 23)
5/22/15 Future Stars Of Wrestling “High Octane” TV
Anarchy Wrestling TV (Episode 487)
America’s Most Liked Wrestling TV (Season 1, Episode 8)
GLOBAL FORCE WRESTLING
#GFWGRANDSLAM Tour Recap From Waterloo, Iowa
TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall) 12:00 AM ET
RAW FLASHBACK The Undertaker is set to face Kama but Ted Dibiase may have a change of plans. WWE Champion Bret Hart joins The Brother Love Show.
1:00 AM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
1:30 AM ET
WWE UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG Renee Young chats with the King of the Ring Bad News Barrett, discussing everything from music, marine biology and everything in between!
1:45 AM ET
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves experiences a culture shock at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, getting caught up in the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
2:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Infamous Intercontinental Champions of all time!
3:00 AM ET
WWE MONEY IN THE BANK 2013 Can John Cena overcome the brute strength of Mark Henry or will the world’s strongest man finally capture the WWE Championship?
6:00 AM ET
WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!
7:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS What starts as a couples road trip for Eva and Ariane ends in an all out blowout, and Bryan is keeping tabs on Brie.
8:00 AM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
8:30 AM ET
WWE UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG Renee Young chats with the King of the Ring Bad News Barrett, discussing everything from music, marine biology and everything in between!
8:45 AM ET
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves experiences a culture shock at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, getting caught up in the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
9:00 AM ET
WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!
10:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS What starts as a couples road trip for Eva and Ariane ends in an all out blowout, and Bryan is keeping tabs on Brie.
11:00 AM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
11:30 AM ET
WWE UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG Renee Young chats with the King of the Ring Bad News Barrett, discussing everything from music, marine biology and everything in between!
11:45 AM ET
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves experiences a culture shock at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, getting caught up in the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
12:00 PM ET
WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!
1:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS What starts as a couples road trip for Eva and Ariane ends in an all out blowout, and Bryan is keeping tabs on Brie.
2:00 PM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
2:30 PM ET
WWE UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG Renee Young chats with the King of the Ring Bad News Barrett, discussing everything from music, marine biology and everything in between!
2:45 PM ET
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves experiences a culture shock at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, getting caught up in the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
3:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR The strategies that helped Eric Bischoff build WCW would hasten the decline of both he and his company.
4:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Straight to the Top: The Money in the Bank Anthology presents the lineage of this epic match!
6:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
7:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!
8:00 PM ET
WWE SUPERSTARS WWE Superstars features the best of the best, in matches you’ll have to see to believe. You never know what to expect, so expect everything.
9:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Straight to the Top: The Money in the Bank Anthology presents the lineage of this epic match!
11:00 PM ET
WWE SUPERSTARS WWE Superstars features the best of the best, in matches you’ll have to see to believe. You never know what to expect, so expect everything.
Paul Levesque on Twitter just announced the passing of Dusty Rhodes.
Dusty Rhodes was one of the most charismatic pro wrestlers in history and among the most popular wrestlers and biggest drawing cards of the 70s and 80s.
The only details we’ve heard is that he had a fall at his house earlier today and his kidneys were shutting down and he started to get dehydrated.
Rhodes is generally considered the biggest star in the history of the Florida regional territory and booked Jim Crockett Promotions in the 80s and WCW in the 90s. He’s been working in WWE developmental for years.
We will update shortly.
Show: Interactive Wrestling Radio courtesy of http://www.WrestlingEpicenter.com
Guest: Lance Hoyt AKA Vance Archer
Date: 07/11/15
Your Hosts: Patrick Kelley & James Walsh
Global Force Wrestling announced their roster recently and one name that jumped out amongst the highly esteemed roster was Lance Hoyt who was Vance Archer in the WWE. The former TNA star and current co-holder of the GHC and NWA World Tag Team Titles in New Japan Pro Wrestling . We have interviewed Hoyt twice prior to this and always thought that with his size, talent, and professional approach to the media, he’d be a great name to draw to in the United States. With Global Force Wrestling, he seems to be realizing that opinion recently appearing on Fox Sports along with WWE Legend “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and GFW founder and legend in his own right, Jeff Jarrett. This time, it is one on one time with Lance Hoyt for an excellent interview that really shows his passion for the industry. A great read. But, a better listen.
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Here is a text overview of some of the key points discussed:
On ROH, TNA, Lucha Underground, & NXT all airing on a packed Wednesday night:
“It definitely is an interesting time for wrestling. I think it is a great time for wrestling! WCW was always Women’s Crush Wednesday. I’m calling it “Wrestling Crush Wednesday. You have a chance to watch 4 different products with 4 different styles. If you’re a fan, this is a great time!”
On the inception of Global Force Wrestling:
“I think the good thing and is his (Jeff Jarrett) willingness and want to use different talents from different places at different times which is maybe not what people are used to. People are used to a crew of guys that they see on a consistent basis. That’s good, but what this (GFW) is going to provide is a new flavor all the time. I think that is sometimes what is missing… Not that the guys and girls are stale but sometimes the product, with the turnaround, makes it feel stale.” He remarks on the fact that some of the upcoming Grand Slam tour shows prior to the Vegas TV tapings will also see a mix of talent, some main-stay GFW guys while there will also be a local talent feel as well. He goes on to say, “The mix of talent that you’re going to see is what is going to make Global Force Wrestling different and exciting because you don’t know what you’re going to get.”
On if there is any reservations about holding the tour in baseballs tadiums after TNA’s shockingly low turn-out for baseball stadium shows in later 2013:
“I think it is always a cocnerning factor. The one thing it does have in its corner is got that buzz going around it and it has had that buzz for a while now. There is a curiosity factor of “Well, lets see what this is all about” ” Hoyt says that there is getting to be a buzz around all wrestling at the moment citing ROH, TNA, and of course, WWE, but also with New Japan having their show on AXXSTV. He cites that he worked a Main Event Wrestling independent event in Carthage, Texas that drew over 1,000 fans. He says, “I think that is what is going to be on GFW’s side. Because it is an outside venue, It is a starting off process, it is a growing process. People are excited about GFW and they should be! On June 12th and June 13th, you’ve got the “Bullet Club” Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows who are one of the longest reigning IWGP Tag Team Champions for one of the most respected companies in wrestling, NJPW. You’re going to get to see PJ Black, formerly Justin Gabriel. You’re going to get to see Chris Adonnis, formerly Chris Masters and I think he’s underrated . I’ve had some amazing matches with that dude. People don’t understand how good he actually is!” Hoyt goes on to say that they don’t expect to sell out the stadiums and that it will be difficult because the stadiums are so big that even a thousand or two thousand fans might look like a smaller crowd, they’d be very happy with a thousand fans at each show. He also says Jeff Jarrett is working tirelessly to get the word out about the shows.
On the state of TNA, a place he worked from 2004-2009:
“I really hope they (TNA) work out whatever situation they have going with Destination America and keep going because they have a lot of great talent there.” He hypes the Dirty Heels and the Wolves’ matches, “And I’m a tag team guy and I’m putting this over.” He goes on to say that if or when the company does disapear from American TV and if and when it disapears from international TV, there would be a lot of very talented guys trying to find a new place to work.
On where TNA took a “wrong turn”:
“I don’t know where they took a wrong turn. They’ve been trying a lot of things that they were told they had to do… You know, “You’ve got to get out of Orlando. You’ve got to get out of Orlando!” Well, they attempted that. Whether they attempted it the right way, I don’t know. I wasn’t there and I wasn’t a part of the company. But, they DID try it. I don’t think the Monday Night Wars scenario was a good one. This is a DVR age – They don’t have to choose to watch one or the other. It is a very different era in that sense. I think it was a combination of different things. Whether it was that or that they got away from being what it was supposed to be, Total Nonstop Action, I think it is all hearsay. I think if you watch the product now, it is very strong with a lot of great talent. But, they’re fighting an uphill battle to maintain their spot in the business and I think that is kind of sad because they’ve been around for so long. I get mad sometimes when the fans get real negative about the wrestling and things that are happening. I’ve gotten into Twitter arguments saying that if something bad were to happen (to TNA), in a sense, it is their fault for not choosing to support it.”
On WWE developmental from when he was there (FCW) to the current NXT product:
“It is a VERY different process”, Hoyt says. He goes on to say that FCW was a trud developmental territory while NXT is a very polished show that is pushing the main WWE show to be better to compete with their “developmental” product. He praises NXT and says, “I personally think Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) has the best entrance in professional wrestling right now.” He also praises Triple H for finding talent and providing a platform for the talent to show what they may not have known they had before. Hoyt thinks NXT is a great thing for the WWE and the wrestling business.
On teaming with Davey Boy Smith Jr in the “Killer Elite Squad”:
“We work very hard to make sure that KES is what they see, notice, and want to see more of every time we step in the ring.” He jokes that usually in tag teams, he plays the Diesel role to a Shawn Michaels type guy but in this case, he’s only a few inches taller than Davey. He also jokes that Davey is only in his late 20’s, adding, “Damn it!” He says they are capable of singles success but are working hard to keep the KES as strong as possible. They are, at the time of this interview, the GHC and NWA World Tag Team Champions. They defend the tag belts at an upcoming NJPW event, “We are Suziki Gun” available on NJPW World.
by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix
TV notes for the busiest day of the week:
NXT at 8:00 p.m. on WWE Network has Samoa Joe’s in-ring debut against Scott Dawson, Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley vs. Mike Rallis & Elias Sampson, Emma vs. Blue Pants, Tyler Breeze vs. Bull Dempsey, Becky Lynch vs. Jessie McKay, and Baron Corbin vs. Angelo Dawkins.
Lucha Underground at 8:00 p.m. on El Rey is titled “The Desolation of Drago.” Official preview from El Rey: This will be an unforgettable episode when Dario Cueto makes an announcement that will blow your mind. A 4-Way match goes underway to determine the #1 Contender, while Cage, King Cuerno and Hernandez compete against a returning Luchador in an intense fight. The madness doesn’t stop there when two of Lucha Underground’s biggest legends, return to the temple.
ROH at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Destination America has The Kingdom (c) vs. Guns & Gallows for the IWGP Tag Team Titles, The Addiction (c) vs. reDRagon for the ROH Tag Team Titles, Brutal Bob Evans vs. Cheeseburger. and Dalton Castle vs. Jushin Thunder Liger.
UFC Tonight airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 and is their last episode before Saturday’s UFC 188 pay-per-view.
Impact Wrestling at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Destination America is the Destination X special with Kurt Angle vs. Spud (vacating his X Division Championship as “Option C”) in the opener with the winner defending against Austin Aries (cashing in his Feast or Fired title shot) in the main event, Ultimate X to determine the new X Division Champion, Taryn Terrell defending the Knockouts Title vs. Awesome Kong, and the Ultimate X qualifying matches.
The Ultimate Fighter airs at 10:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 with an episode titled “Lightning Strikes Twice.” After American Top Team and the Blackzilians select their fighters for the next bout, they realize they have set up an unexpected rematch from the previous weeks, setting the stage for one fighter to seek retribution after losing the first bout.
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The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a detailed look at the early days of Ring of Honor in light of them “officially” becoming the numbr two promotion in the United States this past week. Topics covered include:
* How Gabe Sapolsky adapted his booking style to their business model of home video sales being the key revenue driver as well as heeling wrestlers in a “workrate” promotion filled with great talent that fans were resistant to boo.
* The promotion’s misguided early attempt at a weekly TV show.
* Building and sustaining hardcore fan buzz when the shows took two months or more for the videos to come out.
* The company’s perfectionist streak compared to other indies.
And much more. Plus, as always, we have all of the usual reviews and international news.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
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In a busy news week, we’ve full coverage of all of UFC’s changes when it comes to drug testing, as well as other things the company is doing for fighters, looking at the pluses, the minuses, and the loopholes in the new system of drug testing. We also look at Brock Lesnar vs. Steve Austin, Samoa Joe in WWE and how it’s changed, Destination America and wrestling, we’ve got a look at Money in the Bank, Elimination Chamber, the death of Tommy Rogers, UFC in Brazil, Dwayne Johnson’s latest projects and the retirement of Masashi Aoyagi.
The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: June 8, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Tommy Rogers bio, Austin-Lesnar notes, WWE signs Samoa Joe full-time, more
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–Update on this year’s Busca de un Idolo tournament
–Latest big matches from Arena Mexico
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–Notes from the last two sets of AAA TV tapings
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–Road to Keiji Muto tournament
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–Next big Dragon Gate matches
–Cryptic tweet by an American who wrestles in Japan
–An interesting what if regarding New Japan bookings
–Politics of wrestling regarding New Japan
–What New Japan may have to change
–Notes on the Super Juniors tournament and all the results
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–Genichiro Tenryu’s final match in Osaka
–Update on GFW
–Mid Atlantic wrestling reunion
–Update on Terry Funk
–Update on Lucha Underground and Alberto Del Rio
–More on NESN deal
–What wrestling star has a 3.83 GPA in collage right now
–ROH notes from the weekend shows
–Really weird stuff in TNA
–Contract singing announcements
–Notes from a second TNA conference call with talent
–What happened with Tyrus and GFW
–GFW reaction
–TNA 2015 Hall of Fame plan that fell through
–Notes on TNA arena events
–Update on legislation to get UFC in Madison Square Garden
–Looking at Sara McMann’s complaints about he Reebok deal
–The business and income of Ronda Rousey
–UFC boosts minimum
–UFC lawsuit update
–Upcoming UFC title matches
–What happened with the Leslie Smith street fight on Saturday night
–UFC makes a number of cuts
–Update on T.J. Grant
–Update on Rashad Evans
–Lots of new UFC fights
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Wednesday Daily Update
— This morning, Joanie Laurer/Chyna was on the Opie and Jim Norton Show and claimed that not only was her original sex tape with Sean Waltman released without her knowledge, but that he drugged her to get her to do the sex tape, essentially accusing him of rape. Waltman tweeted at the show and they quickly got him on the line to talk to her. There’s a video of the segment on the show’s YouTube channel starting just before Waltman joins in. A lot of ground is covered, including him saying that she told him that Paul Levesque never hit her (as she’s claimed recently), only that he shoved her out of the way when she was trying to get him to hit her.
It’s not pretty. Your mileage may vary, but in the context of how both are acting and Waltman’s pretty solid reputation these days, he comes off much better than she does. He’s offered to drive to New York to take a polygraph in the studio
— Vince Russo’s latest column is about Jessicka Havok. He’s un der the impression that “dirtsheets” dug up her old tweets using racist and homophobic slurs just to get page views, getting her blackballed from WWE in the process. What actually happened was that some fans who were aware of her being at the WWE tryout camp started spreading the old tweets around and from there, the story picked up steam organically on Twitter. Wrestling websites all picked it up after it had already become a story when everyone at the Performance Center found out while she was in the ring.
— Mike Richman’s failed drug test that got him suspended for two years was apparently for the steroid drostanolone. Also, Fernando Gonzalez tested positive for marijuana on the same card and will be suspended for 90 days.
— Brendan Schaub is strongly implying that he’s going to retire from MMA because his various non-fighting avenues are more lucrative now that he would have to take such a large pay cut from his sponsor pay to $10,000 per fight from Reebok. He’s made more of his relative fame than most other fighters at his level, but that says a lot.
— Mick Foley underwent some kind of minor medical procedure yesterday, apparently on his back. On Facebook, he wrote this: “I’m really hoping that today’s minor procedure will provide major relief. I wonder how a guy like me ended up with a bad back. Hmmm…”
— From Kris Zellner’s Lucha Report: Universal Wrestling Entertainment has been forced yet again to pull all of the EMLL talent they had booked from a show this time it is their 48th Anniversary Show this Sunday. Atlantis, Rayo de Jalisco Jr., & Ultimo Guerrero were all pulled from the show yesterday by the office mainly because they hand out all of the bookings on Monday and I guess they changed their minds because the UWE said that they talked to the promotion 6 weeks ago about booking these guys and they said it was fine with their full permission. This happened earlier this year also with Atlantis & UG and the promotion is highly upset right now with plans on taking this to the Distrito Federal Box y Lucha Commission as well as possibly taking legal action.
— Paul Heyman is the guest on this week’s edition of Chael Sonnen’s “You’re Welcome” podcast.
— The 2013 pilot for the new “World of Sport Wrestling” in the UK, which ITV didn’t pick up, is now on YouTube.
— Dave’s article on the ratings/viewership for UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson is up at MMAFighting.com.
— Nice article about a fundraiser show this Sunday in Patterson, California.
TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall)
12:00 AM ET
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves experiences a culture shock at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, getting caught up in the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
12:15 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
1:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS What starts as a couples road trip for Eva and Ariane ends in an all out blowout, and Bryan is keeping tabs on Brie.
2:00 AM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Rey Mysterio: Life of a Masked Man features exclusive and candid comments from the Ultimate Underdog on his sports entertainment path!
3:30 AM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
4:00 AM ET
RAW FLASHBACK Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler must face the music as he takes on Shawn Michaels. Plus Hunter Hearst Helmsley, The Smoking Gunns, and much more.
5:00 AM ET
RAW FLASHBACK As SummerSlam gets closer, the Undertaker looks to make Tatanka rest in peace. Plus Diesel, the British Bulldog, and many more in action.
6:00 AM ET
PRIME TIME WRESTLING Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan switches roles with head host Gorilla Monsoon on this Prime Time Wrestling featuring several classic Superstars!
7:00 AM ET
OLD SCHOOL Old School WWE card from the Boston Garden features Davey Boy Smith and Pedro Morales vs Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine.
8:00 AM ET
IN YOUR HOUSE 1 1995 The 1st in the WWE In Your House Pay Per View Series. Diesel defends the WWE Title against Sycho Sid. Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler and more.
10:00 AM ET
SMACKDOWN FLASHBACK In the main event, the Rock takes on Val Venis. Stone Cold Steve Austin hunts for Triple H. Hardy Boyz vs. Edge and Christian and more.
11:30 AM ET
CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS Clash of the Champions VI features Ricky Steamboat defending the World Heavyweight Title against Ric Flair in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match.
2:00 PM ET
OLD SCHOOL Old School WWE card from the Boston Garden features Davey Boy Smith and Pedro Morales vs Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine.
3:00 PM ET
WCW MONDAY NITRO On this episode of WCW Monday Nitro the fallout from World War 3! Sting teams with Lex Luger to take on Brain Pillman and Arn Anderson.
4:00 PM ET
RAW FLASHBACK The Undertaker is set to face Kama but Ted Dibiase may have a change of plans. WWE Champion Bret Hart joins The Brother Love Show.
5:00 PM ET
WCW BEACH BLAST 1992 Cactus Jack collides with Sting in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat in a 30 minute Ironman match and more.
8:00 PM ET
WCW MONDAY NITRO On this episode of WCW Monday Nitro the fallout from World War 3! Sting teams with Lex Luger to take on Brain Pillman and Arn Anderson.
9:00 PM ET
RAW FLASHBACK The Undertaker is set to face Kama but Ted Dibiase may have a change of plans. WWE Champion Bret Hart joins The Brother Love Show.
10:00 PM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
10:30 PM ET
WWE UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG Renee Young chats with the King of the Ring Bad News Barrett, discussing everything from music, marine biology and everything in between!
10:45 PM ET
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves experiences a culture shock at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, getting caught up in the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
11:00 PM ET
WCW MONDAY NITRO On this episode of WCW Monday Nitro the fallout from World War 3! Sting teams with Lex Luger to take on Brain Pillman and Arn Anderson.
by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix
TV and major show notes:
The special “We are Suzuki Gun” show was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo earlier today and there will be a video on demand version uploaded to NJPW World tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m. ET. The spoiler-free lineup is:
1. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yuji Nagata
2. Genba Hirayangi & Hitoshi Kumano vs. John Webb & Jack Gamble
3. Gedo & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Captain New Japan & Captain NOAH
4. Jushin Thunder Liger & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Taichi & El Desperado
5. Takashi Sugiura & Daisuke Harada vs. Shelton Benjamin & TAKA Michinoku
6. NWA World Tag Team Title: Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
7. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & MAYBACH Taniguchi
WWE is taping SmackDown and Main Event tonight in Lafayette, Louisiana, so we’re looking for spoiler reports at newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.
Fox Sports 2 has two and a half hours of shows devoted to pushing this Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.
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The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a detailed look at the early days of Ring of Honor in light of them “officially” becoming the numbr two promotion in the United States this past week. Topics covered include:
* How Gabe Sapolsky adapted his booking style to their business model of home video sales being the key revenue driver as well as heeling wrestlers in a “workrate” promotion filled with great talent that fans were resistant to boo.
* The promotion’s misguided early attempt at a weekly TV show.
* Building and sustaining hardcore fan buzz when the shows took two months or more for the videos to come out.
* The company’s perfectionist streak compared to other indies.
And much more. Plus, as always, we have all of the usual reviews and international news.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
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In a busy news week, we’ve full coverage of all of UFC’s changes when it comes to drug testing, as well as other things the company is doing for fighters, looking at the pluses, the minuses, and the loopholes in the new system of drug testing. We also look at Brock Lesnar vs. Steve Austin, Samoa Joe in WWE and how it’s changed, Destination America and wrestling, we’ve got a look at Money in the Bank, Elimination Chamber, the death of Tommy Rogers, UFC in Brazil, Dwayne Johnson’s latest projects and the retirement of Masashi Aoyagi.
The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: June 8, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Tommy Rogers bio, Austin-Lesnar notes, WWE signs Samoa Joe full-time, more
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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 looks at the UFC’s new drug testing program, the keys to the program, questions that still need to be answered, loopholes, how often fighters will be tested, ability to beat the system and more.
We look at Brock Lesnar vs. Steve Austin, Austin’s promo on the WWE Network, Austin vs Lesnar history, and the value of next year’s WrestleMania on PPV and the Network.
We look at the new deal Samoa Joe is talking with WWE about, how the deal has changed, Joe’s future on the indies, Joe’s ROH future, what led to the change, as well as an update on the Tyson Kidd injury situation in the match with Joe.
We also preview and update Destination America and wrestling, as well as the competition on Wednesday nights. We update Destination America on TNA and ROH, comparisons, how TNA hurt itself if it needs to shop for a new outlet by his actions this past two weeks, DA promotion of the two shows and why ROH on DA is only good for TNA.
We’ve got full coverage of the Elimination Chamber show, as well as a look at Money in the Bank, burning out programs, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
We have a look at the life of Tommy Rogers, looking at the highlights of his career, how he achieved stardom, the last years of his life, how he got into wrestling, how The Fantastics were formed, the feuds with the Midnight Express and The Sheepherders, the first Clash of Champions, the first Crockett Cup, and time in Japan.
We also look at Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE, the 7/4 show in Tokyo, Sami Zayn injury update, Rusev injury update, Kevin Owens new changes, Lots of Dwayne Johnson career notes, why WWE won’t tape TV in Kentucky, Lots of WWE acting notes, WWE hiring, NXT updates, Stephanie McMahon looking at selling more stock, Finn Balor talks career, lots of notes about people at the training camp, Nelson Frazier lawsuit and annual income for Mabel and Viscera.
We also note Kevin Owens talking his career, Ric Flair talk show,who Flair wants to manage, WWE stock updates, notes on all the WWE and NXT house shows plus business notes from the past week.
We also look at how the Brazilian economy affects UFC in different ways, how it is similar to situations with pro wrestling in the past, as well as a look at Saturday’s show with match-by-match coverage and business notes.
We also look at the pro wrestling career of Masashi Aoyagi, and how he got into wrestling, what promotion he kicked off and how that changed the wrestling business and more.
We also have our monthly WWE & TNA business breakdowns.
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:
–Update on this year’s Busca de un Idolo tournament
–Latest big matches from Arena Mexico
–Former star from more than 20 years ago returns to Arena Mexico for the first time in decades
–More on the AAA World Cup show
–Notes from the last two sets of AAA TV tapings
–Wrestle-1 world tour notes
–Road to Keiji Muto tournament
–Dragon Gate King of Gate tournament
–Next big Dragon Gate matches
–Cryptic tweet by an American who wrestles in Japan
–An interesting what if regarding New Japan bookings
–Politics of wrestling regarding New Japan
–What New Japan may have to change
–Notes on the Super Juniors tournament and all the results
–Benefit show for cancer-striken star
–Genichiro Tenryu’s final match in Osaka
–Update on GFW
–Mid Atlantic wrestling reunion
–Update on Terry Funk
–Update on Lucha Underground and Alberto Del Rio
–More on NESN deal
–What wrestling star has a 3.83 GPA in collage right now
–ROH notes from the weekend shows
–Really weird stuff in TNA
–Contract singing announcements
–Notes from a second TNA conference call with talent
–What happened with Tyrus and GFW
–GFW reaction
–TNA 2015 Hall of Fame plan that fell through
–Notes on TNA arena events
–Update on legislation to get UFC in Madison Square Garden
–Looking at Sara McMann’s complaints about he Reebok deal
–The business and income of Ronda Rousey
–UFC boosts minimum
–UFC lawsuit update
–Upcoming UFC title matches
–What happened with the Leslie Smith street fight on Saturday night
–UFC makes a number of cuts
–Update on T.J. Grant
–Update on Rashad Evans
–Lots of new UFC fights
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.
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Tuesday Daily Update
— WWE’s list of the final 40 for Tough Enough includes only two wrestlers with any kind of name recognition: Adam “The Big O” Ohriner (Zack Ryder’s big jacked up friend) and OVW’s Michael/Mike Hayes. There are a handful of lesser known indie wrestlers on there as well, plus lots of models, bodybuilders, and fitness competitors on top of those who haven’t been identified as anyone we “should” know as of yet. WWE has an interview with Ryder talking about Ohriner on YouTube.
— ROH is now pushing Samoa Joe’s appearance at their June 20th New York City show as his final appearance in the promotion, Presumably, that means he’s signed his full-time talent booking contract with WWE or has committed to doing so. Joe and A.J. Styles will take on ROH Tag Team Champions The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) at the show, which is a TV taping, though the main event bout itself is expected to be a dark match.
— ROH also announced that the previous night’s “Best in the World” pay-per-view will be available for streaming via the Flipps app, which carried the English version of Wrestle Kingdom in January to mixed reviews. It’s used to facilitate a stream to various TV-connected devices, including many DLNA-certified set top boxes.
— John Layfield’s wife, Meredith Whitney, has settled a lawsuit over some kind of hedge fund shenanigans.
— UFC announced that due to an injury to Miles Jury, Paul Felder is replacing him against Edson Barboza on the July 25th Chicago card that’s airing on Fox. That’s a much, much more exciting fight on paper, and it matches up really well for Felder.
— Not a lot of details yet, but the California State Athletic Commission has suspended Bellator fighter Mike Richman for two years for failing a drug test the night of his fight against Eduardo Dantas. No indication yet what type of substance he tested positive for. Richman missed weight badly in that fight to the point that it was almost cancelled.
— Results from Chris Hero’s “Infinity Gauntlet” ALS benefit Sunday at Smash Wrestling in Waterloo, Ontario where he wrestled for three straight hours:
#01- Chris Hero d. Rip Impact
#02 – Rich Swann d. Chris Hero
#03 – Jason Kincaid d. Chris Hero
#04- Chris Hero d. Tarik
#05- Chris Hero d. Tyler Thomas
#06 – Chris Hero d. Brent Banks
#07 – Facade d. Chris Hero
#08 – Sebastian Suave d. Chris Hero
#09 – Chris Hero d. Tarik
#10 – Chris Hero d. Ben Ortmanns
#11 – Chris Hero d. Rip Impact
#12 – Jason Kincaid d. Chris Hero
#13 – Chris Hero d. Tyler Thomas
#14 – Chris Hero d. Brent Banks
#15 – Chris Hero d. Tarik
#16 – Chris Hero d. Facade
#17 – Chris Hero & Rich Swann go to a draw as time expires
Tarik was previously eliminated 3x by Hero. He donated $180 for 10 more minutes. Tarik used the Smash Wrestling Championship to knock out Hero multiple times all leading to DQ wins for Hero. An unconscious Hero was then pinned numerous times by Tarik who left the ring laughing to end of the Infinity Gauntlet.
— Upcoming Smash Wrestling dates at the Franklin Horner Community Centre on 432 Horner Ave in Toronto, Ontario:
RIVAL SCHOOLS on JULY 19
Matt Cross vs. Tarik – I Quit Match
Chris Hero vs. Rich Swann
SUPER SHOWDOWN 3 on AUG. 23
Candice LeRae gets a Smash Wrestling Championship match!
— Rock Solid Wrestling: Georgian Bay Brawl August 15th at MacTier Memorial Arena on 9 Haig St., MacTier, ON. Doors open: 6:30pm, Bell Time: 7pm. Featuring: Cody Deaner, Tyler Tirva, Anthony Darko, Scotty the BODY, Bearicade ProWrestling, Jaxon Jarvis, and more.
— Dave’s “Fortunes Changed for Five” postmortem for this past Saturday night’s UFC card went up this morning at MMAFighting.
— Rob Naylor and Wes Hatch join Kris Zellner on the latest episode of Exile on Badstreet to talk about the top workers of on the indies in the early 2000s.
— The heavy metal band “Unlocking the Truth” was on ABC’s The View today and said they got into metal because they used to go to wrestling shows and the background music was always heavy metal. Well, they’re certainly not the only people that can say something like that. (Thanks to Jeff Beecher.)
— Brutus Beefcake talks to Devon Nicholson about Randy Savage and Superstar Billy Graham.
TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall)
12:00 AM ET
FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!
12:30 AM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
1:00 AM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR The strategies that helped Eric Bischoff build WCW would hasten the decline of both he and his company.
2:00 AM ET
TUESDAY NIGHT TITANS Vince McMahon hosts Tuesday Night Titans with Lord Alfred Hayes. Guests include Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan, Buddy Rogers, and Iron Sheik.
4:00 AM ET
PRIME TIME WRESTLING Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan switches roles with head host Gorilla Monsoon on this Prime Time Wrestling featuring several classic Superstars!
5:00 AM ET
FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!
5:30 AM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
6:00 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!
7:00 AM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR The strategies that helped Eric Bischoff build WCW would hasten the decline of both he and his company.
8:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Infamous Intercontinental Champions of all time!
9:00 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!
10:00 AM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR The strategies that helped Eric Bischoff build WCW would hasten the decline of both he and his company.
11:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Infamous Intercontinental Champions of all time!
12:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!
1:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR The strategies that helped Eric Bischoff build WCW would hasten the decline of both he and his company.
2:00 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Infamous Intercontinental Champions of all time!
3:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Follow Batista’s path from the struggles that drove him away from WWE to his triumphant return in 2014.
4:00 PM ET
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves experiences a culture shock at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, getting caught up in the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
4:15 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
5:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS What starts as a couples road trip for Eva and Ariane ends in an all out blowout, and Bryan is keeping tabs on Brie.
6:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!
7:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Follow Batista’s path from the struggles that drove him away from WWE to his triumphant return in 2014.
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
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves experiences a culture shock at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, getting caught up in the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
9:15 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
10:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS What starts as a couples road trip for Eva and Ariane ends in an all out blowout, and Bryan is keeping tabs on Brie.
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!
By Dave Meltzer
dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We’re looking for your thoughts on yesterday’s New Japan Best of the Super Junior finals from Tokyo, 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”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We’re looking for live reports on Raw from New Orleans tonight. It’s the go-home show for Money in the Bank. If it seems fast for that, it’s because it is. We’re looking for dark matches, Superstars matches and anything else not evident from the live show.
We’re also looking for reports on these shows:
WWE Saturday night in Baton Rouge
WWE Sunday in Lake Charles, LA (John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Ryback, King Barrett)
New Japan World has another show that will be up Wednesday (not live as the show is on Tuesday from Korakuen Hall), but it’s unique because it’s the Suzuki-gun show, which means it’s more a NOAH show, although a lot of New Japan stars are on it:
Genba Hirayanagi & Hitoshi Kumano vs. Jack Gamble & Jon Webb
Zack Sabre Jr. & Gedo vs. Captain New Japan & Captain NOAH
Jushin Liger & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Taichi & Desperado
Takashi Sugiura & Daisuke Harada vs. Shelton Benjamin & Taka Michinoku
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yuji Nagata
Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan for NWA tag tiles
Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Maybach Taniguchi & Yoshihiro Takayama
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped Tuesday in Lafayette, LA.
In a busy news week, we’ve full coverage of all of UFC’s changes when it comes to drug testing, as well as other things the company is doing for fighters, looking at the pluses, the minuses, and the loopholes in the new system of drug testing. We also look at Brock Lesnar vs. Steve Austin, Samoa Joe in WWE and how it’s changed, Destination America and wrestling, we’ve got a look at Money in the Bank, Elimination Chamber, the death of Tommy Rogers, UFC in Brazil, Dwayne Johnson’s latest projects and the retirement of Masashi Aoyagi.
The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: June 8, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Tommy Rogers bio, Austin-Lesnar notes, WWE signs Samoa Joe full-time, more
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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 looks at the UFC’s new drug testing program, the keys to the program, questions that still need to be answered, loopholes, how often fighters will be tested, ability to beat the system and more.
We look at Brock Lesnar vs. Steve Austin, Austin’s promo on the WWE Network, Austin vs Lesnar history, and the value of next year’s WrestleMania on PPV and the Network.
We look at the new deal Samoa Joe is talking with WWE about, how the deal has changed, Joe’s future on the indies, Joe’s ROH future, what led to the change, as well as an update on the Tyson Kidd injury situation in the match with Joe.
We also preview and update Destination America and wrestling, as well as the competition on Wednesday nights. We update Destination America on TNA and ROH, comparisons, how TNA hurt itself if it needs to shop for a new outlet by his actions this past two weeks, DA promotion of the two shows and why ROH on DA is only good for TNA.
We’ve got full coverage of the Elimination Chamber show, as well as a look at Money in the Bank, burning out programs, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
We have a look at the life of Tommy Rogers, looking at the highlights of his career, how he achieved stardom, the last years of his life, how he got into wrestling, how The Fantastics were formed, the feuds with the Midnight Express and The Sheepherders, the first Clash of Champions, the first Crockett Cup, and time in Japan.
We also look at Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE, the 7/4 show in Tokyo, Sami Zayn injury update, Rusev injury update, Kevin Owens new changes, Lots of Dwayne Johnson career notes, why WWE won’t tape TV in Kentucky, Lots of WWE acting notes, WWE hiring, NXT updates, Stephanie McMahon looking at selling more stock, Finn Balor talks career, lots of notes about people at the training camp, Nelson Frazier lawsuit and annual income for Mabel and Viscera.
We also note Kevin Owens talking his career, Ric Flair talk show,who Flair wants to manage, WWE stock updates, notes on all the WWE and NXT house shows plus business notes from the past week.
We also look at how the Brazilian economy affects UFC in different ways, how it is similar to situations with pro wrestling in the past, as well as a look at Saturday’s show with match-by-match coverage and business notes.
We also look at the pro wrestling career of Masashi Aoyagi, and how he got into wrestling, what promotion he kicked off and how that changed the wrestling business and more.
We also have our monthly WWE & TNA business breakdowns.
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:
–Update on this year’s Busca de un Idolo tournament
–Latest big matches from Arena Mexico
–Former star from more than 20 years ago returns to Arena Mexico for the first time in decades
–More on the AAA World Cup show
–Notes from the last two sets of AAA TV tapings
–Wrestle-1 world tour notes
–Road to Keiji Muto tournament
–Dragon Gate King of Gate tournament
–Next big Dragon Gate matches
–Cryptic tweet by an American who wrestles in Japan
–An interesting what if regarding New Japan bookings
–Politics of wrestling regarding New Japan
–What New Japan may have to change
–Notes on the Super Juniors tournament and all the results
–Benefit show for cancer-striken star
–Genichiro Tenryu’s final match in Osaka
–Update on GFW
–Mid Atlantic wrestling reunion
–Update on Terry Funk
–Update on Lucha Underground and Alberto Del Rio
–More on NESN deal
–What wrestling star has a 3.83 GPA in collage right now
–ROH notes from the weekend shows
–Really weird stuff in TNA
–Contract singing announcements
–Notes from a second TNA conference call with talent
–What happened with Tyrus and GFW
–GFW reaction
–TNA 2015 Hall of Fame plan that fell through
–Notes on TNA arena events
–Update on legislation to get UFC in Madison Square Garden
–Looking at Sara McMann’s complaints about he Reebok deal
–The business and income of Ronda Rousey
–UFC boosts minimum
–UFC lawsuit update
–Upcoming UFC title matches
–What happened with the Leslie Smith street fight on Saturday night
–UFC makes a number of cuts
–Update on T.J. Grant
–Update on Rashad Evans
–Lots of new UFC fights
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.
MONDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1976 – Maki Ueda beat Jumbo Miyamoto to win the WWWA title. Ueda, who was 15 at the time, is probably the youngest world champion of a major promotion that I can recall, and was also one of the most popular woman wrestlers of all-time in her very short career, as well as a rock star at the time.
1979 – Cachorro Mendoza beat Sangre Chicana in Mexico City to win the vacant Mexican national middleweight title
1984 – Fit Finlay beat Marty Jones in Carlisle to win the world mid heavyweight title
1985 – Dynamite Kid beat Mighty Inoue in Takamatsu to win the NWA Int. jr. title
1990 – Stan Hansen beat Terry Gordy at Budokan Hall to win the Triple Crown
1999 – Kendo Ka Shin beat Koji Kanemoto in Tokyo to win the Best of the Super Juniors tournament
2001 – Masahito Kakihara & Mitsuya Nagai beat Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe in Tokyo to win the vacant All-Asia tag titles
2003 – Keiji Muto & Arashi beat Satoshi Kojima & Jimmy Yang in a tournament final to win the vacant All Japan world tag title
TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE
12:06 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!
1:06 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
2:06 AM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
2:36 AM ET
FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe!
3:06 AM ET
WCW STARRCADE 1994 Hulk Hogan defends the WCW World Title against The Butcher. Sting battles Avalanche. The Nasty Boys face Harlem Heat. Jim Duggan vs. Vader.
6:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!
7:00 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The last two contestants standing prepare for a final match at the WWE training facility. Stone Cold announces the winner live at RAW!
8:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
9:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!
10:00 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The last two contestants standing prepare for a final match at the WWE training facility. Stone Cold announces the winner live at RAW!
11:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
12:00 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!
1:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Follow Batista’s path from the struggles that drove him away from WWE to his triumphant return in 2014.
2:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The last two contestants standing prepare for a final match at the WWE training facility. Stone Cold announces the winner live at RAW!
3:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!
4:00 PM ET
FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!
4:30 PM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
5:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR The strategies that helped Eric Bischoff build WCW would hasten the decline of both he and his company.
6:00 PM ET
FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!
6:30 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Rey Mysterio: Life of a Masked Man features exclusive and candid comments from the Ultimate Underdog on his sports entertainment path!
8:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!
9:00 PM ET
FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!
9:30 PM ET
THE WWE LIST Whether it’s winning the Diva’s Championship, or posting a very flattering photos on Twitter… These Divas do it all to stay trending.
10:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR The strategies that helped Eric Bischoff build WCW would hasten the decline of both he and his company.
11:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH In the pursuit to become a WWE Superstar, eight hopeful athletes compete for a million dollar WWE Contract and find out who is Tough Enough!
One of the most successful coaches in MMA, Mike Winkeljohn came on Submission Radio to discuss his students Jon Jones, Andrei Arlovski, Alistair Overeem, Carlos Condit and Holly Holm.
Most notably when it comes to Jon Jones Coach Wink isn’t sure the former UFC champion will fight again “I’m looking forward to Jon turning his life around and becoming a better person. If he fights again or not, I’m not sure”
According to Wink Jon Jones is working hard on helping his team while dealing with his current situation “He was in the gym helping Andrei Arlovski for his fight, he’s in the gym helping others right now. So he’s gone back to help others, stop doing those things that get you in trouble and go forward.” The relationship between a fighter and a trainer is an important one so when Coach Wink was asked about if he’s had a chance to talk with Jon and how it went he told Submission Radio “Oh yeah. Yeah, very good. He knows what we expect out of him, and you know right now it’s…I expect him just to continue doing what he’s doing and that’s take care of himself, do the right thing, take care of his family, and he is. I’m real happy on what he’s being doing so far.”
When asked about star pupil Holly Holm and how many fights he’d like her to have before taking on Ronda Rousey Coach Wink was clear 2 more fights is what he’d like to see “I’d like 2 fights. I really would. Just because the injury situation put us behind a little bit and in the last fight with Raquel, it was the first time she’d been hitting things really, really, really hard since her injury, and you’re still worried about it. No matter what people think, you always worry about the injuries, how you can perform. So that and getting rid of the jitters and starting to let loose. I gotta get her a bit more comfortable before she goes in there and fights Ronda, because Ronda’s scary. And Ronda’s going to come at Holly, and we don’t need the Octagon jitters and the nerves to be part of our worry in that game plan.”
And according to Wink him and Holly already have the game plan for Rousey even thought it’s still a few fights away “We already have a plan on what we would do to Ronda. You know we’re working on it all the time.”
Coach Wink was also asked about how he plans on handling Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem if a fight is announced between the tip UFC heavyweights “If you have to fight each other at the top, what a terrible, good problem to have. You know? Now you can make a lot of money. ‘Cause you gotta fight somebody at the top. And it just sucks that it’s your friend, your training partner, but you wouldn’t have been there without you each helping the other out. So it’s better to be there, even if you have to fight the guy, than not to be there at all.”
Finally after the return of Carlos Condit ‘s dominant return to the octagon Coach Wink told us how he thinks he would do against current Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler “Carlos has the foot work on him, Carlos has the length on him, I think Carlos has the speed on him. I think Robbie is another Thiago Alves; as tough as they come.”
Listen to the full interview here: http://bit.ly/1Kkhf71(Starts at 2 minutes 51 seconds)
TranscriptReaction to Jon Jones Hit and Run
“Well, disappointment. But Jon is gonna make the best of it. He’s doing all the right things. He was in the gym helping Andrei Arlovski for his fight, he’s in the gym helping others right now. So he’s gone back to help others, stop doing those things that get you in trouble and go forward. And so I’m looking forward to Jon turning his life around and becoming a better person. If he fights again or not, I’m not sure, but that’s not important. What’s real important right now is Jon getting help for himself and his family.”
On if Jackson/Winkeljohn’s have had a good chat with Jones and know where each party stands?
“Oh yeah. Yeah, very good. He knows what we expect out of him, and you know right now it’s…I expect him just to continue doing what he’s doing and that’s take care of himself, do the right thing, take care of his family, and he is. I’m real happy on what he’s being doing so far.”
On if there’s any possibility that Jon Jones wouldn’t fight again
“Oh yeah. You know what, because to us the most important thing is Jon Jones. Everybody seems to forget other things, but at the end of the day it’s about Jon Jones becoming the best person he can. The fighting is secondary. And we lose sight of it. A lot of people lose sight of that and stuff. So there’s a possibility that he might not fight, there’s a possibility he might fight. I know right now he’s staying busy helping others in the gym and that’s very important.”
Coach Wink’s thoughts on people calling Daniel Cormier a paper champion because he never beat Jon Jones
“You know what, he’s got the belt. That’s it. Jon was the champ, he’s no longer the champ. Daniel Cormier got the belt. And I saw his fight with Rumble, he deserves to be champion. He took a heck of a shot. They don’t come any tougher than that. Coming back, staying composed enough to slip under that punch and take him down and go into his world. He deserves to be champion. You know what, Daniel Cormier has been nothing but respectful and courteous when I’ve talked to him, as has been Rumble [Anthony Johnson]. These guys are great and there’s no reason to take any of that away from him. He’s the champ right now. He’s the UFC champ and I wish him all the luck.”
On Holly Holm and how many more fights Wink would like Holly to fight before fighting Ronda Rousey
“I’d like 2 fights. I really would. Just because the injury situation put us behind a little bit and in the last fight with Raquel, it was the first time she’d been hitting things really, really, really hard since her injury, and you’re still worried about it. No matter what people think, you always worry about the injuries, how you can perform. So that and getting rid of the jitters and starting to let loose. I gotta get her a bit more comfortable before she goes in there and fights Ronda, because Ronda’s scary. And Ronda’s going to come at Holly, and we don’t need the Octagon jitters and the nerves to be part of our worry in that game plan.”
“So we already have a plan on what we would do to Ronda. You know we’re working on it all the time. But Ronda’s at tough nut. She’s the best in the world at what she does, and we’re going to come forward and Holly’s gonna get her. That’s our goal. But I’d like to see a couple of fights first.”
On what Coach Wink makes of the whole Cyborg Rousey situation
“Well you know it’s…that’s a little WWE-ish. But I think Cyborg has a lot going for her, in that she can throw down, she hits very, very, very hard. But with that being said, she also has the foot work of someone who just plods and throws very hard. I think Ronda will be able to slip underneath the punches and get to her quite easily. I don’t think that’s the way to beat Ronda Rousey if you have one shot at it and then it’s over. But my money would go on Ronda for that fight If she [Cyborg] does make weight because I think she’d be weaker than she’d ever had been before due to the weight cut. Last time I saw her she looked very big, but I’d like to see it. She’s very skilled and I’d like to see how Ronda responds to maybe getting hit hard.”
On if Condit not using as much footwork and standing in the pocket with Thiago was the game plan for the fight
“Well you know, what we weren’t supposed to do is what happened in the first round. Of course a lot of that has to do with ring rust. Carlos would hit him with a couple of shots and then stand right in front of him; not a lot of footwork but kind of talking to himself about “uh oh, here I am again”. But honestly, Carlos sat down, he looked at me after the first round and says “Coach, I know”. And he knew what he had to do, what we had worked on. And I reiterated it a couple of times, and a lot of that had to do with that rising elbow. ‘Cause the way Thiago [Alves] always covers when you throw your right hand at him, he always leaves that door way open. And Carlos just jumped on it right away and we were successful. I was real happy.”
On Elbows in MMA and how they’re being utilized a lot more now
“Oh yeah, and it’s nice because I’ve been trying to get guys to do it for years. And you know, Jon Jones is so successful at it, Carlos [Condit] might be better now.”
“There’s no padding there and they have that tendency to find those holes, and if you throw them at the proper angles and you understand what’s going on, it’s very hard to defend. Boxers have no defence because basically the elbow can either find the hole and or can pull the actual defence, the actual frame out of the way. It’s just a neat thing, it’s finding it’s home, and I think that and forearms are gonna become the next big weapon in MMA.”
If hypothetically Carlos Condit fought Robbie Lawler next, if Coach Wink sees Carlos beating him and how the fight would play out
“Oh yeah, I would love that fight. There’s no doubt about it. I think Robbie Lawler is great, he’s been around a long time, and we fought him before in the past with Joey Villaseñor, but Carlos has the foot work on him, Carlos has the length on him, I think Carlos has the speed on him. I think Robbie is another Thiago Alves; as tough as they come. I mean he would just throw down with anybody. But I think the technique is there for Carlos. I think he’s matured, I think he’d be coming in with his knees bent, he’s avoiding the takedown. Even with Johny Hendricks I think we were on, and it’s time for a title shot. It really is.”
On if it was awkward having to coach current student Andrei Arlovski against former student and friend Travis Browne
“You know what, Travis actually brought a lot to the gym. He’s very athletic and very mobile, and at that long range, using his kicks, I was very worried about him fighting Andrei. But he went to a boxing gym coach, and so I figured they were going to try to make him box, which worked out well for us because once we put him on his heels, it became all Andrei.”
What he thought about Travis’ style in the fight and if it’s changed in general
“Well it seems like it. Again, he was very successful against Brendan Schuab though. Holy crap, you know he had a great counter there. So there’s no doubt he’s gotten better at what he does, that he’s more confident at that range, but honestly it can be mitigated and defeated if you know what the guy is going to do. You know? It’s the person that has more options, more tools in his tool box that they’re willing to use, I think is the guy that’s successful in MMA now.”
What exactly happened to Andrei before the fight that almost caused the fight to be called off?
“Well in Andrei’s mind it’s never close to being called off. It was the doctors that went to call it off. Honestly, he kind off tore his calf a little bit, in that he did a warm up a couple days before weigh-in and he kind of cooled down and then got back up to do a little more, and just moved quickly. It was just a stupid little thing, and all of a sudden he couldn’t put his foot down. And the doctors came in and had to look at it, and they said it was ripped up pretty bad. And it was one of those things where they went to put some ice on it and make it feel better and see how it was the next day, but I do know there were a lot of people concerned the day of the fight; even higher up in the UFC that were worried the fight wasn’t gonna happen. And Andrei just looked at them and said “I’m fighting” and that was kind of it. Andrei’s that guy, he’s as stoic as they come and he’s game.”
On if the door would still be open for Travis to return to Jackson/Winkeljohns
“Oh yeah. Yeah, I mean I think so. You know one of the good things about Travis is he was always willing to help other people, and that’s real important at our camp; is when a guy stops sometimes and goes and helps the guys that need help with whatever it is. That’s real important. I think that’s why we’re so successful at what we do. If a guy’s a real big narcissist and is all about himself and he comes in and acts better than others, not only the coaches ostracize him and we tell him just he’s an idiot, but the fighters will either thump them, and or do the same. So people understand It’s kind of the unwritten law of our gym is help others, and Travis was always willing to help other people.”
On why it’s taken so long for Arlovski to come into his own, and how far Coach Wink thinks he can go?
“I think he wins the big one. Andrei Arlovski is very athletic, he’s very tough, he’s overcome so much. I think he’s on a roll, and I think I would love to see a title shot. I really would. Some people think that might be crazy, but Andrei’s right there and he has a tendency to step up now, and I think it’s belief, not worrying about his chin, not worrying about things. And we were adjusting some things; understanding, get him out of that boxing style that he went with, and you know, MMA’s not boxing. It’s not the same in the slightest. And I think when you start thinking about a lot of boxing, I think that’s when we saw all of his failures. Just some little things that were missing in his game that we brought back and added to.”
On working to change Arlovski, who after training with Freddie Roach became a boxer, to an MMA striker
“Freddie Roach is one of the best in the world at what he does, if not the best, but it’s not MMA and it’s a different range, it’s a different distance, it’s a different sized glove. Just so much more going on. I hope everybody else, other trainers and people sparring the fighters, think it is about boxing, because we seem to be successful against those.”
On how the camp will handle Overeem and Arlovski both being around the same rankings and possibly having to fight each other soon
“It’s the same thing as Travis and Andrei. They helped each other get better and it worked out. They both became two of the best in the division. So in my mind I think, continue, help each other get to the top. If you have to fight each other at the top, what a terrible, good problem to have. You know? Now you can make a lot of money. ‘Cause you gotta fight somebody at the top. And it just sucks that it’s your friend, your training partner, but you wouldn’t have been there without you each helping the other out. So it’s better to be there, even if you have to fight the guy, than not to be there at all. So I think you keep working with each other and get to the top. That’s the key.”
By dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com
We’re looking for your thoughts on today’s New Japan Best of the Super Junior finals from Tokyo, 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”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We’re also looking for reports on these shows:
New Japan World has another show that will be up Wednesday (not live as the show is on Tuesday from Korakuen Hall), but it’s unique because it’s the Suzuki-gun show, which means it’s more a NOAH show, although a lot of New Japan stars are on it:
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped Tuesday in Lafayette, LA.
*****
In a busy news week, we’ve got full coverage of all of UFC’s changes when it comes to drug testing, as well as other things the company is doing for fighters, looking at the pluses, the minuses, and the loopholes in the new system of drug testing. We also look at Brock Lesnar vs. Steve Austin, Samoa Joe in WWE and how it’s changed, Destination America and wrestling, we’ve got a look at Money in the Bank, Elimination Chamber, the death of Tommy Rogers, UFC in Brazil, Dwayne Johnson’s latest projects and the retirement of Masashi Aoyagi.
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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 looks at the UFC’s new drug testing program, the keys to the program, questions that still need to be answered, loopholes, how often fighters will be tested, ability to beat the system and more.
We look at Brock Lesnar vs. Steve Austin, Austin’s promo on the WWE Network, Austin vs Lesnar history, and the value of next year’s WrestleMania on PPV and the Network.
We look at the new deal Samoa Joe is talking with WWE about, how the deal has changed, Joe’s future on the indies, Joe’s ROH future, what led to the change, as well as an update on the Tyson Kidd injury situation in the match with Joe.
We also preview and update Destination America and wrestling, as well as the competition on Wednesday nights. We update Destination America on TNA and ROH, comparisons, how TNA hurt itself if it needs to shop for a new outlet by his actions this past two weeks, DA promotion of the two shows and why ROH on DA is only good for TNA.
We’ve got full coverage of the Elimination Chamber show, as well as a look at Money in the Bank, burning out programs, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
We have a look at the life of Tommy Rogers, looking at the highlights of his career, how he achieved stardom, the last years of his life, how he got into wrestling, how The Fantastics were formed, the feuds with the Midnight Express and The Sheepherders, the first Clash of Champions, the first Crockett Cup, and time in Japan.
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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.
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Also in this week’s issue:
–Update on this year’s Busca de un Idolo tournament
–Latest big matches from Arena Mexico
–Former star from more than 20 years ago returns to Arena Mexico for the first time in decades
–More on the AAA World Cup show
–Notes from the last two sets of AAA TV tapings
–Wrestle-1 world tour notes
–Road to Keiji Muto tournament
–Dragon Gate King of Gate tournament
–Next big Dragon Gate matches
–Cryptic tweet by an American who wrestles in Japan
–An interesting what if regarding New Japan bookings
–Politics of wrestling regarding New Japan
–What New Japan may have to change
–Notes on the Super Juniors tournament and all the results
–Benefit show for cancer-striken star
–Genichiro Tenryu’s final match in Osaka
–Update on GFW
–Mid Atlantic wrestling reunion
–Update on Terry Funk
–Update on Lucha Underground and Alberto Del Rio
–More on NESN deal
–What wrestling star has a 3.83 GPA in collage right now
–ROH notes from the weekend shows
–Really weird stuff in TNA
–Contract singing announcements
–Notes from a second TNA conference call with talent
–What happened with Tyrus and GFW
–GFW reaction
–TNA 2015 Hall of Fame plan that fell through
–Notes on TNA arena events
–Update on legislation to get UFC in Madison Square Garden
–Looking at Sara McMann’s complaints about he Reebok deal
–The business and income of Ronda Rousey
–UFC boosts minimum
–UFC lawsuit update
–Upcoming UFC title matches
–What happened with the Leslie Smith street fight on Saturday night
–UFC makes a number of cuts
–Update on T.J. Grant
–Update on Rashad Evans
–Lots of new UFC fights
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.
SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
– The Kyle O’Reilly vs. Kushida match today is one you should go out of your way to see as well as the Thiago Tavares vs. Brian Ortega UFC fight. Yesterday had two really strong shows.
– Chris Hero will be wrestling for three straight hours today in Waterloo, IA, since donations topped $3,000 for ALS. He was going to do 30 minutes for every $500 donated.
– WWE acknowledged the Tyson Kidd injury from Tuesday in a match with Samoa Joe, although the website only had vague details, saying he “sustained an injury.” It also noted that it was, as expected, a dark match even though the Superstars logo was in the background when it was taped Tuesday night in San Antonio. WWE’s policy is now to be vague on all injuries. We were told it was a spinal cord injury and that he was hopeful of making a full recovery.
– Weekend sports searches were Belmont Stakes 5,200,000; Champions League 1,000,000; Women’s World Cup 400,000; Stephon Curry 200,000; Red Sox 200,000; Serena Williams 200,000; Stan Wawrinka 200,000. The only thing combat sports related was Miguel Cotto with 100,000, making it the No. 8 searched term in the U.S. yesterday.
– San Andreas was No. 2 at the box office this weekend, estimated at $26.44 million, trailing the opening week of Spy at $30 million. Entourage, which features Ronda Rousey, opened at No. 4 with $10.42 million. Pitch Perfect 2, with Lana, did $7.7 million in its fourth week out.
– Biggest MMA and pro wrestling Twitter topics today in the U.S.: Dan Henderson 10,300; Thiago Tavares 7,570; Kushida 5,502; Ben Rothwell 3,651
– The U.S. World Team Trials in wrestling will air at 7 p.m. this coming Sunday night on NBC Sports Network.
– Dwayne Johnson and Spike TV have announced a special called Rock the Troops, basically an entertainment show filmed overseas as a military base that will air on Veterans Day in 2016. There will announcements upcoming regarding who will be performing.
– This coming weekend has both a WWE Money in the Bank and AAA iPPV going pretty much head-to-head on Sunday, while UFC has a show on Saturday with Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum and Eddie Alvarez vs. Gilbert Melendez. Alvarez vs. Melendez on paper looks to be a can’t miss match.
– What a terrible day for UFC predictions. Front Row Brian and Mike Sawyer went 3-2, with Brian picking Dan Henderson and Anthony Birchak’s upsets. Jack Encarnacao, David Bixenspan and Steve Juon were 2-3 while me, Josh Nason, Mike Sempervive and John Pollock went 1-4.
– Happy birthday to Mick Foley, who turns 50 today.
– Mecca Wrestling Headlock for Hospice on 6/27 in Cornwall, ONT at the Agora Centre.
– Daniel Puder’s My Life My Power Entertainment has a show on 6/21 in Pasadena, TX headlined by Daniel Puder & Major Mark vs. former TNA star Jesse Sorensen & Alex Chamberlain.
– Future Stars of Wrestling from Friday night in Las Vegas: Funny Bone NC Mike Dalite, Tito Escondido & Che Cabrerrra b Jarrett 120 & ?, Vegas won three-way over Leon Hater and Jayson Cash, Willie Mack b Jeff Cobb, Vegas Originals b BFFs-DQ, Jakob Austin Young b Ryan Taylor, Reno Scum b PpRay, Brian Cage won four-way over Kenny King, Kevin Kross and Tyshaun Prince (thanks to Mike Trask)
– Full Impact Pro from Friday night in Ybor City, FL: Alexander Rudolph & Frank Wyatt & Jake Parnell b Chasyn Rance & Deimos & Josh Hess, Jody Kristofferson b Jonny Vandal, Martin Stone b Bolt Brady, Blake Edward Belakus DCOR Rhett Ghiddens, Jason Cade & Aaron Solow b Gary Jay & Jayson Falcone, Santana Garrett b Josh Hess, Aaron Epic b Maxwell Chicago-DQ, Eddie Graves & Teddy Stigma b Devin & Mason Cutter, Rich Swann b Mason Ryan. Teddy Hart will be wrestling on Tuesday at the Team Vision Dojo in Orlando at 7 p.m. as will Martin Stone, Jody Kristofferson, Mark Silva, Lince Dorado and Santana Garrett.
– Smash Wrestling from last night in Toronto: Dan O’Hare & George Gattono b Preston Myles & Cecil Nyx, Brent Banks won four-way over Jason Kincaid, Kevin Bennett and Facade, Scotty O’Shea b Pepper Parks, Team Canada (Vanessa Kraven, Xandra Bale, Jewels Malone, Courtney Rush & Portia Perez) b Team USA (Candace LaRae & Cherry Bomb & Jennifer Blake & Feria Azul & Veda Scott)in a women’s elimination match, Super Smash Brothers b Goat Brigade, Matt Cross DDQ Tarik, Rich Swann b Sebastian Suave, Samoa Joe b Chris Hero. Main event was a very physical 16:00 match. Tarik distracted Hero at the finish. Hero challenged Rich Swann for a July Smash show. (thanks to Steve Khan and Dave Musgrave)
– Fandango’s music played yesterday at the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks vs. Sydney Roosters Rugby League game after a goal by the Sharks. A fan played it on the trumpet.
– Premier Wrestling today at 5 p.m. at the IFDES Lodge-Portuguese Hall in Gilroy, CA with JR Kratos (7-2) defending his Premier title against Dylan Drake (4-3), Timothy Thatcher (2-2-1) vs. Marcus Lewis (4-3) and Jeff Cobb (5-2-1) vs. Kaimana (1-2) plus three other matches.
– The NWA announced that Circle City Wrestling out of Indiana has joined the alliance. Rob Kincaid is the promoter of the group that debuted in the 90s under Mike Samples.
– Lucha Xtreme TV show from last night on Fresno TV: Buddy Royal b Manny Mars, Prince Nagi b Levi Shapiro-DQ, Levi Shapiro & Buddy Royal b Manny Mars & Prince Nagi. The next show is 6/21 in Selma, CA at the Taco Festival at the Selma Pioneer Village Shopping Center at 1880 Gonzalez Pkway from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.. (thanks to Jon Southerland)
– Jim Ross, Edge and Beth Phoenix appear Wednesday at Ingles Store #7 on Tunnel Rd. in Asheville, NC for Headlock on Hunger and the local food drive.
– Kevin Matthews will be replacing George Murdoch (Tyrus) on Friday’s GFW debut show in Jackson, TN, facing Moose. Kongo Kong will replace Murdoch against Moose on the Saturday show in Knoxville.
– Brutus Beefcake is shocked Ric Flair doesn’t think he was a good wrestler
– 2015 G-1 Climax tournament announcement video by New Japan
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)