Another new date added for Brock Lesnar is the July 6 Raw show in Chicago. Lesnar will be returning for the Battleground PPV on July 19 in St. Louis and will be doing some television to support that new match.
Category: Daily Updates
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WWE Raw ratings 5-25-2015
Raw on Memorial Day did 3.59 million viewers, which was identical to the Memorial Day number of 2014.
It would be the second lowest number of the year, beating only the 5/4 show that did 3.57 million viewers.
All things considered, the number isn’t that bad, given the Warriors-Rockets game head-to-head with the last two hours did 8.28 million viewers.
The three hours were:
8 p.m. 3.79 million viewers
9 p.m. 3.59 million viewers
10 p.m. 3.42 million viewers
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WED. UPDATE: Special ROH/TNA chaos edition
by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix
TV notes for tonight:
NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network has Kevin Owens vs. Solomon Crowe in a non-title match, Bayley vs. Emma, Finn Balor vs. Tye Dillinger, and the team of Blake & Murphy vs. Elias Samson & Mike Rallis.
Lucha Underground at 8:00 p.m. ET on El Rey has Fenix vs. Mil Muertes in a Death Match, Prince Puma (c) vs. Hernandez for the Lucha Underground Title, Johnny Mundo vs. Aerostar, and Vampiro conducting a sit-down interview with Sexy Star. The official description from El Rey…is basically just what I told you without any colorful flourishes, so no reason to include it this week.
Tonight’s UFC programming on Fox Sports 1 is…
8:00 p.m. ET – New episode of UFC Tonight.
9:00 p.m. ET – Last week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter.
10:00 p.m. ET – A new episode of The Ultimate Fighter titled “Fight Through the Pain” which is being described like so: American Top Team finds support through each other as the fighters look to get through the challenges presented to them, while the Blackzilians find that the competition does not always go through their way and must get through the turbulence. If you DVR the show andwant to catch the “TUF Talk” segments that open the subsequent episode of Fox Sports Live, either make a point to record that show or pad your DVR recording by half an hour.
****
The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a detailed look at the history of popular music being used in pro wrestling, including:
* Who actually did the first pro wrestling music video?
* The role of popular songs gtting major acts over.
* What made the use of music in ECW so special.
* How “real” songs make wrestlers stand out in a sea of in-house productions.
And much more. Plus, as always, we have all of the usual reviews and international news.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
****
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is among the most talked about of the year, with a detailed lead story on the plight of every key non-WWE promotion, as well as details of TNA’s future with Destination America, ROH viewership and more, a detailed look at how MMA is going to be changing with far more serious repercussions for drug test failures and the story behind the changes, a look at Elimination Chamber, a rundown of Payback, a detailed update NXT with coverage of its Northeast tour, and of the ROH/New Japan tour. We also look at the Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar show and the death of Corey Hill.
The new issue is up on the site here.
Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show on the history of the site are available here.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
You can also order via PayPal by sending funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Rates are:
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
The lead story looks at the battle for the No. 2 spot in American pro wrestling. We look at ROH, TNA, GFW and Lucha Underground, as well as how WWE may have created the real No. 2. We look at where things stand with all the groups, both in going forward, if they even can go forward, the TV situation with everyone, tons of changes in TNA television with the move to Wednesday.
We also look at the background of the changes in drug testing penalties in Nevada, what it means for the sport, how the business will change for many, the realities of drug testing with these penalties, injury rates, careers ending earlier, the Wanderlei Silva case, the marijuana threshold and far more.
We also have coverage of the Elimination Chamber lineup, questions regarding the show, business for Payback and match-by-match coverage of the show with star ratings and poll results.
We also look at the attempt to make NXT a third WWE touring brand. We look at the plans for the next few years for the brand, ideas Paul Levesque talked about, long-term plans for shows in and out of Florida, business notes from the Philadelphia and Albany shows and full coverage of all three nights.
We also look at the last three nights of the ROH/New Japan tour with shows in Philadelphia and Toronto, with notes on the business and iPPV, as well as when ROH is trying to cut a deal to bring New Japan talent back.
We also look at the update on the Steve Austin/WWE relationship and some podcast notes, Update on injuries to key talent and how some of them happened, promotions, Ronda Rousey talks a WWE return, Vince McMahon on WrestleMania, What WWE performer has ESPN and FOX wanting them, Notes on how this season’s Tough Enough will work, view on women in WWE going forward, Samoa Joe in WWE, WWE Studios looking to make major moves, what WWE star is in the biggest grossing movie of the weekend, more on the box office for Dwayne Johnson’s latest movie, ABC airing a piece on WWE and Finn Balor talks NXT.
We also look at the next group of wrestlers getting WWE tryouts, what group in WWE is history, what person from another sport was a guest trainer last week, and a former MMA fighter signs with WWE. We’ve also got business notes for all the weekend WWE shows and highlights of the events.
We’ve also got full coverage of UFC’s morning show from The Philippines, including the retirement of Mark Munoz, Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar and business notes from the show.
We also have a story on the death of former UFC fighter Corey Hill, as well as one of the worst injuries in UFC history, why people thought he had championship potential and what happened.
We’ve also got notes on AAA’s big show of he weekend, Verano de Escandalo, with many of the stars of Lucha Underground, as well as Rey Mysterio Jr.
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:
–One of biggest stars in Mexico under a police investigation and has been pulled from bookings
–Full details on how this went down
–Octagon first Arena Mexico appearance
–Big tournament coming up
–New Japan star headed to CMLL
–Huge head-to-head battle on Sunday with loaded shows a few miles from each other
–Lineup for the AAA World Cup tournament
–Notes on this week’s iPPV of World Cup
–King of Gate tournament coming up to this finals this week
–One of the greatest pro wrestling stars of the 70s returns to Japan at the end of the month
–A look at all the New Japan Super Juniors shows of the week and complete New Japan World lineup of multiple shows
–Update on health of one of 80s biggest names
–More details on Global Force Wrestling including lineups for the first four shows
–Who are newcomers that they have added
–Who was pulled from the promotion
–An update on Scott Hall
–Update on Bill Goldberg and his appearance on a pro wrestling event
–Huge fund raiser to commemorate regional wrestling from the 70s with tons of area stars involved
–Notes on ROH Final Battle
–More on ROH signing of Moose
–Who else had made a play for him
–Main events for the next few ROH shows
–A look at ROH television over the next month
–Why this week’s first-run Impact show didn’t air in the U.S.
–A look at the Impact schedule and more on the time slot change
–TNA’s U.K. tour notes
–More on Billy Corgan in TNA
–Dixie Carter talks to Steve Austin, fact vs. fiction
–TNA loses anther time slot
–A look at this coming week’s UFC show
–Lots of UFC card changes and why
–UFC debuts in South Korea in the fall
–Who are the biggest stars from there
–Will UFC’s books be made public due to lawsuit
–UFC expected to sign WSOF champion
–A look at all the activities in July in conjunction with UFC in Las Vegas and Fight Week
–Lots of new UFC fights
–A look at Bellator’s last show and next show
–Former Pride star put in jail
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Our most requested issues in our history are:
*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)
*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)
*August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)
*March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a
*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)
*July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)
*February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)
*May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)
*January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)
*February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)
*March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)
*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)
*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)
*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)
*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)
*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)
*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)
*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)
*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)
*January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)
*February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)
*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)
*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)
*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)
*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)
*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)
*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)
*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)
*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)
*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)
*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)
*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)
*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)
*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)
*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)
*September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)
*October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)
*November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)
*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)
*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)
*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)
*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)
*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)
*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)
*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)
*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)
*November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)
*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)
*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)
*January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)
*February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)
*March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)
*March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)
*March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)
*April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)
*July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)
*October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)
*November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .
*December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)
*January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)
*March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)
*March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)
*April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)
*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)
* September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)
* September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)
* September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)
You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.
We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..
To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.
****
Wednesday Daily Update
— As noted earlier, Destination America announced on Twitter that Ring of Honor debuts on the network a week from tonight at 8:00 p.m.—meaning they’re going to be TNA’s lead-in for Impact Wrestling in its new time slot. And, well, that’s about all we know right now in terms of the really important, substantive details. On the TNA side, Dixie Carter is holding a conference call for employees and talent today, and we’ll have breaking news audio for subscribers from Dave and Bryan when the dust clears from the call.
The press release frames it as ROH increasing its footprint (specifically mentioning New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles) outside of the Sinclair-owned stations and their handful of syndication partners. Also per the press release, the first episode will feature the Briscoes vs. the House of Truth in the main event plus Moose vs. BJ Whitmer and a NJPW vs. ROH match.
— MVP was tweeting about the news, saying none of the TNA talent received advanc notice, sarcastically called the move “classy,” tweeted his booking contact information, and promised to retire within a few years. But morale is great!
— For however much you may want to fault TNA for not having exclusivity, remember that United Talent Agency negotiated the deal for them.
— Rockstar Spud was scheduled to do a media day to promote this week’s episode of Impact, but it was cancelled at the last minute.
— Figures Toy Company announced that The Young Bucks will be coming to the new ROH action figure line.
— To recap, in the last day or so, ROH has announced:
* Their action figure of pushed WWE/NXT talent Kevin Owens, beating WWE to the market.
* Pushed NXT talent with his own t-shirt Samoa Joe working the June TV taping in New York.
* A TV deal with Destination America as TNA’s lead-in.
Pure chaos in every direction.
— ESPN.com and Five Thirty Eight have a new documentary short about Jesse Ventura being elected Governor of Minnsota in 1998.
— Jim Ross’s latest blog post is up with lots of good stuff on everything from TNA to the ROH action figures…well, at least with how everything stood yesterday.
— Myself and Dylan Hales have a new edition of The Trade Marks podcast talking to Kevin Kleinrock about the rise and fall of DVDs as a viable revenue stream in pro wrestling. Dylan and I are also on the latest episode of Kris Zellner’s Exile on Badstreet podcast talking about the last three months of 1988 in Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW.
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Note for subscribers on impending Breaking News audio
There will be a subscriber-only Wrestling Observer breaking news audio podcast recorded later today, but it will be after the news on today’s ROH to Destination America announcement is sorted out and after TNA’s internal conference call.
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ROH signs up with Destination America
This is just breaking.
Ring of Honor starts on Destination America on 6/3, on Wednesday at 8 p.m. More on this shortly.
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TUES. UPDATE: ROH releasing action figure of WWE contracted talent, notes on WWE’s last Nassau Coliseum show, and more
by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix
There’s a new episode of WWE Unfilteredwith Renee Young tonight at 9:00 p.m. on WWE Network where she interviews Bad News/King Barrett. Per the schedule, it’s six minutes long. That doesn’t sound very unfiltered.
We’re looking for results/spoiler reports from tonight’s SmackDown/Main Event tapings in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Send those to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.
****
The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a detailed look at the history of popular music being used in pro wrestling, including:
* Who actually did the first pro wrestling music video?
* The role of popular songs gtting major acts over.
* What made the use of music in ECW so special.
* How “real” songs make wrestlers stand out in a sea of in-house productions.
And much more. Plus, as always, we have all of the usual reviews and international news.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
****
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is among the most talked about of the year, with a detailed lead story on the plight of every key non-WWE promotion, as well as details of TNA’s future with Destination America, ROH viewership and more, a detailed look at how MMA is going to be changing with far more serious repercussions for drug test failures and the story behind the changes, a look at Elimination Chamber, a rundown of Payback, a detailed update NXT with coverage of its Northeast tour, and of the ROH/New Japan tour. We also look at the Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar show and the death of Corey Hill.
The new issue is up on the site here.
Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show on the history of the site are available here.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
You can also order via PayPal by sending funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Rates are:
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
The lead story looks at the battle for the No. 2 spot in American pro wrestling. We look at ROH, TNA, GFW and Lucha Underground, as well as how WWE may have created the real No. 2. We look at where things stand with all the groups, both in going forward, if they even can go forward, the TV situation with everyone, tons of changes in TNA television with the move to Wednesday.
We also look at the background of the changes in drug testing penalties in Nevada, what it means for the sport, how the business will change for many, the realities of drug testing with these penalties, injury rates, careers ending earlier, the Wanderlei Silva case, the marijuana threshold and far more.
We also have coverage of the Elimination Chamber lineup, questions regarding the show, business for Payback and match-by-match coverage of the show with star ratings and poll results.
We also look at the attempt to make NXT a third WWE touring brand. We look at the plans for the next few years for the brand, ideas Paul Levesque talked about, long-term plans for shows in and out of Florida, business notes from the Philadelphia and Albany shows and full coverage of all three nights.
We also look at the last three nights of the ROH/New Japan tour with shows in Philadelphia and Toronto, with notes on the business and iPPV, as well as when ROH is trying to cut a deal to bring New Japan talent back.
We also look at the update on the Steve Austin/WWE relationship and some podcast notes, Update on injuries to key talent and how some of them happened, promotions, Ronda Rousey talks a WWE return, Vince McMahon on WrestleMania, What WWE performer has ESPN and FOX wanting them, Notes on how this season’s Tough Enough will work, view on women in WWE going forward, Samoa Joe in WWE, WWE Studios looking to make major moves, what WWE star is in the biggest grossing movie of the weekend, more on the box office for Dwayne Johnson’s latest movie, ABC airing a piece on WWE and Finn Balor talks NXT.
We also look at the next group of wrestlers getting WWE tryouts, what group in WWE is history, what person from another sport was a guest trainer last week, and a former MMA fighter signs with WWE. We’ve also got business notes for all the weekend WWE shows and highlights of the events.
We’ve also got full coverage of UFC’s morning show from The Philippines, including the retirement of Mark Munoz, Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar and business notes from the show.
We also have a story on the death of former UFC fighter Corey Hill, as well as one of the worst injuries in UFC history, why people thought he had championship potential and what happened.
We’ve also got notes on AAA’s big show of he weekend, Verano de Escandalo, with many of the stars of Lucha Underground, as well as Rey Mysterio Jr.
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:
–One of biggest stars in Mexico under a police investigation and has been pulled from bookings
–Full details on how this went down
–Octagon first Arena Mexico appearance
–Big tournament coming up
–New Japan star headed to CMLL
–Huge head-to-head battle on Sunday with loaded shows a few miles from each other
–Lineup for the AAA World Cup tournament
–Notes on this week’s iPPV of World Cup
–King of Gate tournament coming up to this finals this week
–One of the greatest pro wrestling stars of the 70s returns to Japan at the end of the month
–A look at all the New Japan Super Juniors shows of the week and complete New Japan World lineup of multiple shows
–Update on health of one of 80s biggest names
–More details on Global Force Wrestling including lineups for the first four shows
–Who are newcomers that they have added
–Who was pulled from the promotion
–An update on Scott Hall
–Update on Bill Goldberg and his appearance on a pro wrestling event
–Huge fund raiser to commemorate regional wrestling from the 70s with tons of area stars involved
–Notes on ROH Final Battle
–More on ROH signing of Moose
–Who else had made a play for him
–Main events for the next few ROH shows
–A look at ROH television over the next month
–Why this week’s first-run Impact show didn’t air in the U.S.
–A look at the Impact schedule and more on the time slot change
–TNA’s U.K. tour notes
–More on Billy Corgan in TNA
–Dixie Carter talks to Steve Austin, fact vs. fiction
–TNA loses anther time slot
–A look at this coming week’s UFC show
–Lots of UFC card changes and why
–UFC debuts in South Korea in the fall
–Who are the biggest stars from there
–Will UFC’s books be made public due to lawsuit
–UFC expected to sign WSOF champion
–A look at all the activities in July in conjunction with UFC in Las Vegas and Fight Week
–Lots of new UFC fights
–A look at Bellator’s last show and next show
–Former Pride star put in jail
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Our most requested issues in our history are:
*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)
*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)
*August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)
*March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a
*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)
*July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)
*February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)
*May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)
*January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)
*February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)
*March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)
*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)
*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)
*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)
*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)
*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)
*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)
*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)
*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)
*January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)
*February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)
*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)
*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)
*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)
*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)
*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)
*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)
*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)
*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)
*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)
*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)
*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)
*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)
*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)
*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)
*September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)
*October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)
*November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)
*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)
*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)
*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)
*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)
*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)
*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)
*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)
*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)
*November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)
*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)
*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)
*January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)
*February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)
*March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)
*March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)
*March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)
*April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)
*July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)
*October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)
*November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .
*December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)
*January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)
*March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)
*March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)
*April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)
*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)
* September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)
* September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)
* September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)
You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.
We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..
To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.
****
Tuesday Daily Update
— Last night, WWE announced the end of their second screen experience in the WWE App, instead transitioning all of the included content to their traditional social media channels like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Periscope. That’s probably for the best at this point.
— As noted late last night, ROH sent out a press release announcing that the June 20th TV taping (this part is important) at Terminal 5 in New York City will be headlined by Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles taking on tag team champions The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) in a non-title match. All hail Samoa Joe: Amrican Freelancer.
— ROH and Figures Toy Company have also announced the names and revealed the prototype head sculpts of the wrestlers in the first series of ROH action figures. Series 1 has Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, Adam Cole, and a “Throwback” star in the form of Kevin Steen. Brilliant move on their part if they have the rights, since WWE action figure collectors will likely be all over that.
— Newsday, Long Island’s newspaper of record, talked to fans before last night’s Raw (the last WWE card ever at the Nassau Coliseum, at least in its current form) and put together a video feature about the event.
— Newsday also has a photo gallery from the show.
— Before Raw went on the air, Vince McMahon addressed the crowd to commemerate the event, as well.
— Last night on Raw, even though WWE always makes it very clear that the Nassau Coliseum isn’t in New York City. they used a NYPD vehicle for all of the arrest-related skits. Raw now officially exists in a different universe from our own. (Thanks to Marcus Kyle Fabian for sending that in)
— Mike Mooneyham’s column this week is a really nice, detailed article on Jim Ross emceeing a “Mid-Atlantic Memories” documentary screening at this year’s FanFest in Charlotte.
— Tickets go on sale this Friday for World Series of Fighting’s biggest card in a while, WSOF 22 on August 1st, the same night as UFC 190, the Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia card. The card features three title fights: Rousimar Palhares (c) vs. Jake Shields for the welterweight title, Marlon Moraes (c) vs. Sheymon Moraes for the bantamweight title, Magomed Bibulatov vs. Donavon Frelow to determine the first flyweight champion, and Tyrone Spong vs. Mike Kyle in what’s easily Spong’s toughest test so far in MMA.
— The Korea Times has an article about the retirement of Lee Wang-pyo last night in Seoul as well as an interview with him. A trainee of Kintaro Oki/Kim Il, he started wrestling in 1975. There’s a great photo of him wrestling Bob Sapp in the article.
— Dave’s “Fortunes changed for six” UFC 187 postmortem is up at MMAFighting.com.
–TODAY’S WRESTLING VIDEOS (thanks to Thomas Rude)
WWE
5/23/15 WWE Top Ten-Outside Intruders5/25/15 WWE RAW “Fallout”: Dean Ambrose Lays Down The Law
5/25/15 WWE RAW “Fallout”: Stardust Calls Out Stephen Amell
Finn Balor Is Ready For His Challenge: WWE.com Exclusive 5/20/15
Samoa Joe Makes A Bold Statement After NXT Takeover: Unstoppable-WWE.com Exclusive
Baron Corbin Believes He’s The “Unstoppable One”: WWE.com Exclusive, May 20, 2015
Mr. McMahon Addresses The WWE Universe In Nassau Coliseum
WWE Canvas 2 Canvas: R-Truth Hits The Canvas
EXCLUSIVE: Footage Catches Seth Rollins In The Act
5/24/15 WWE Fury: 32 Dropkicks That Will Knock Your Teeth Out
INDY TV SHOWS
West Coast Wrestling Connection TV (Episode 52)5/21/15 RESISTANCE Pro TV HD 2.0
5/24/15 NWA Southern All Star Wrestling TV
Anarchy Wrestling TV (Episode 485)
America’s Most Like Wrestling TV (Season 1, Episode 7)
Powerbomb Championship Wrestling TV (Episode 27)
West Virginia Championship Wrestling TV (Episode 229)
Reality Of Wrestling TV (Episode 55)
3XWrestling “All Stars Of The Midwest” TV (Episode 19)
MISC. STUFF
Top 5 Moves Of Dasher HatfieldChris Daniels & Kazarian On “The Apter Chat”
The Candice & Joey Show (Episode 115)
The Candice & Joey Show (Episode 116)
Ringside Collectibles’ “Ringside or Riot” (Season 4, Episode 26)
AnarchyPro Wrestling “Internet Beatdown” (Webisode 10)
CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go (Episode 417)
Grappers’ Corner (Season 1, Episode 1)
POWW “Inside The Ropes” (Episode 11)
TNA
The Question Mark (Episode 9)Eric Young Sends Video In Response To His Actions Against Chris Melendez
LUCHA UNDERGROUND
Outside With Vampiro: The History Of Boyle Heights
Global Force Wrestling
Part 1-The Orleans Arena Press Conference.Part 2-The Orleans Arena Press Conference-“The Day Is Finally Here.”
Part 3-The Orleans Arena Press Conference.
Part 4-The Orleans Arena Press Conference.
Part 5-The Orleans Arena Press Conference.
TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall)
12:00 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!12:06 AM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR It takes an army to win a war, and both WCW and WWE were developing a deep roster in order to emerge victorious.1:06 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Biggest Crybabies of all time!2:00 AM ET
TUESDAY NIGHT TITANS Vince McMahon hosts Tuesday Night Titans with Lord Alfred Hayes. Andre The Giant stops by and does a little singing with the band and more.4:00 AM ET
PRIME TIME WRESTLING Join Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan for Prime Time Wrestling featuring Hulk Hogan, Junkyard Dog, and many more!5:30 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!6:00 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The Miz gives the contestants a taste of what life as a WWE Superstar means outside the ring. Back in the gym, the competition heats up.7:00 AM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR It takes an army to win a war, and both WCW and WWE were developing a deep roster in order to emerge victorious.8:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Biggest Crybabies of all time!9:00 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The Miz gives the contestants a taste of what life as a WWE Superstar means outside the ring. Back in the gym, the competition heats up.10:00 AM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR It takes an army to win a war, and both WCW and WWE were developing a deep roster in order to emerge victorious.11:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Biggest Crybabies of all time!12:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The Miz gives the contestants a taste of what life as a WWE Superstar means outside the ring. Back in the gym, the competition heats up.1:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR It takes an army to win a war, and both WCW and WWE were developing a deep roster in order to emerge victorious.2:00 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Biggest Crybabies of all time!3:00 PM ET
WARRIOR’S GREATEST MATCHES Prior to his untimely death, Warrior sat down with the WWE in an interview to discuss his favorite matches throughout his career.4:00 PM ET
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves gets a culture shock immersing himself within the fascinating world of Marvel Comics, from their headquarters in New York City!4:10 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calls with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.5:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Eva’s sexy bachelorette in Curacao gets heated when TJ destroy’s Nattie’s hopes of rekindling their marriage.6:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING The story of WCW, from Ted Turner’s entry into the world of wrestling, through the Monday Night War, and the company’s eventual collapse.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 gets a culture shock immersing himself within the fascinating world of Marvel Comics, from their headquarters in New York City!9:10 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calls with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.10:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Eva’s sexy bachelorette in Curacao gets heated when TJ destroy’s Nattie’s hopes of rekindling their marriage.11:00 PM ET
WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT! -
MON. UPDATE: Preview of Raw, Final show in arena, Memorial Day ratings, Cena honors, Rock promoting, Bellator signs new deal, ROH action figures
By Dave Meltzer
dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.comWe’re looking for your thoughts on Saturday night’s UFC 187 and Wednesday night’s NXT Takeover Unstoppable show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We’re looking for live reports from tonight’s Raw show at the Nassau Coliseum. Several of the stars of Entourage will appear. John Cena will issue his open challenge. Kevin Owens will be there as it’s the go-home show for Elimination Chamber. We’re looking for Superstars matches, dark matches and anything else that wouldn’t be evident from watching the TV show.
We’re also looking for reports on these weekend shows:
*WWE Saturday night in Worcester, MA
*WWE Sunday in White Plains, NY (John Cena, Rusev, Dean Ambrose, Kane, Luke Harper, Neville)
*WWE Sunday in Binghamton (Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Sheamus).Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is among the most talked about of the year, with a detailed lead story on the plight of every key non-WWE promotion, as well as details of TNA’s future with Destination America, ROH viewership and more, a detailed look at how MMA is going to be changing with far more serious repercussions for drug test failures and the story behind the changes, a look at Elimination Chamber, a rundown of Payback, a detailed update NXT with coverage of its northeast tour, and of the ROH/New Japan tour. We also look at the Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar show and the death of Corey Hill.
The new issue is up on the site at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/42649-may-25-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-state-of-tna-nsacs-new-doping-penalties-and-more
Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show on the history of the site are at http://www.f4wonline.com/member/signup.php
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
You can also order at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Rates are:
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
The lead story looks at the battle for the No. 2 spot in American pro wrestling. We look at ROH, TNA, GFW and Lucha Underground, as well as how WWE may have created the real No. 2. We look at where things stand with all the groups, both in going forward, if they even can go forward, the TV situation with everyone, tons of changes in TNA television with the move to Wednesday.
We also look at the background of the changes in drug testing penalties in Nevada, what it means for the sport, how the business will change for many, the realities of drug testing with these penalties, injury rates, careers ending earlier, the Wanderlei Silva case, the marijuana threshold and far more.
We also have coverage of the Elimination Chamber lineup, questions regarding the show, business for Payback and match-by-match coverage of the show with star ratings and poll results.
We also look at the attempt to make NXT a third WWE touring brand. We look at the plans for the next few years for the brand, ideas Paul Levesque talked about, long-term plans for shows in and out of Florida, business notes from the Philadelphia and Albany shows and full coverage of all three nights.
We also look at the last three nights of the ROH/New Japan tour with shows in Philadelphia and Toronto, with notes on the business and iPPV, as well as when ROH is trying to cut a deal to bring New Japan talent back.
We also look at the update on the Steve Austin/WWE relationship and some podcast notes, Update on injuries to key talent and how some of them happened, promotions, Ronda Rousey talks a WWE return, Vince McMahon on WrestleMania, What WWE performer has ESPN and FOX wanting them, Notes on how this season’s Tough Enough will work, view on women in WWE going forward, Samoa Joe in WWE, WWE Studios looking to make major moves, what WWE star is in the biggest grossing movie of the weekend, more on the box office for Dwayne Johnson’s latest movie, ABC airing a piece on WWE and Finn Balor talks NXT.
We also look at the next group of wrestlers getting WWE tryouts, what group in WWE is history, what person from another sport was a guest trainer last week, and a former MMA fighter signs with WWE. We’ve also got business notes for all the weekend WWE shows and highlights of the events.
We’ve also got full coverage of UFC’s morning show from The Philippines, including the retirement of Mark Munoz, Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar and business notes from the show.
We also have a story on the death of former UFC fighter Corey Hill, as well as one of the worst injuries in UFC history, why people thought he had championship potential and what happened.
We’ve also got notes on AAA’s big show of he weekend, Verano de Escandalo, with many of the stars of Lucha Underground, as well as Rey Mysterio Jr.
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:
–One of biggest stars in Mexico under a police investigation and has been pulled from bookings
–Full details on how this went down
–Octagon first Arena Mexico appearance
–Big tournament coming up
–New Japan star headed to CMLL
–Huge head-to-head battle on Sunday with loaded shows a few miles from each other
–Lineup for the AAA World Cup tournament
–Notes on this week’s iPPV of World Cup
–King of Gate tournament coming up to this finals this week
–One of the greatest pro wrestling stars of the 70s returns to Japan at the end of the month
–A look at all the New Japan Super Juniors shows of the week and complete New Japan World lineup of multiple shows
–Update on health of one of 80s biggest names
–More details on Global Force Wrestling including lineups for the first four shows
–Who are newcomers that they have added
–Who was pulled from the promotion
–An update on Scott Hall
–Update on Bill Goldberg and his appearance on a pro wrestling event
–Huge fund raiser to commemorate regional wrestling from the 70s with tons of area stars involved
–Notes on ROH Final Battle
–More on ROH signing of Moose
–Who else had made a play for him
–Main events for the next few ROH shows
–A look at ROH television over the next month
–Why this week’s first-run Impact show didn’t air in the U.S.
–A look at the Impact schedule and more on the time slot change
–TNA’s U.K. tour notes
–More on Billy Corgan in TNA
–Dixie Carter talks to Steve Austin, fact vs. fiction
–TNA loses anther time slot
–A look at this coming week’s UFC show
–Lots of UFC card changes and why
–UFC debuts in South Korea in the fall
–Who are the biggest stars from there
–Will UFC’s books be made public due to lawsuit
–UFC expected to sign WSOF champion
–A look at all the activities in July in conjunction with UFC in Las Vegas and Fight Week
–Lots of new UFC fights
–A look at Bellator’s last show and next show
–Former Pride star put in jail
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
–Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Live, covering Raw, and also taking your e-mail questions to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
–WWE released its App for the new Tough Enough season, which debuts on 6/23. The app will be used for the fan voting to eliminate people.
–Tonight will be the final WWE event at the Nassau Coliseum in this form, since the arena is being closed up.
–The big thing regarding ratings tonight is they are going head-to-head with the Warriors vs. Rockets game.
–For comparisons, the Memorial Day ratings for the past few years were:
2010 did a 3.22 rating
2011 did a 3.07 rating
2012 did a 2.72 rating
2013 did a 2.80 rating
2014 did a 2.62 rating–Tonight’s Raw open is at
https://youtu.be/N5lEmkY0kA4–John Cena spoke at the graduation of Cushing Academy, which was the private school he went to high school at. It was the 20th anniversary of his own graduation and the 150th graduating class at the school.
–Another trivia note regarding Cena related to the Jeff Blatnick UFC Hall of Fame story is that the three most famous sports stars to graduate from Springfield College were Dr. James Naismith (inventor of the sport of basketball), Blatnick (Wrestling & UFC Hall of Famer) and Cena, who was a first team Division III All-American center there.
–Dwayne Johnson has been all over everywhere promoting San Andreas, his latest movie, nearly every big talk show and tons of major media outlets.
–Bellator announced a new deal appearing on the American Forces TV Network, meaning the Bellator shows will air all over the world to American servicemen and women as well as on U.S. Navy ships at sea.
–Ring of Honor and Figures Toy Company will have an announcement later this week regarding the first set of Ring of Honor action figures. This line will feature the current roster and throwback figures of top names from the past. There are two other toy lines, a Legend line featuring stars of the past and a new line featuring top free agents today. There are about a dozen major names who have signed on and some names will be out in upcoming days. Cliff Compton will be one of the modern indie stars featured.
–Jim Ross will be the host of the Mid Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fan Fest weekend in Charlotte. They will be debuting a documentary called “Mid Atlantic Memories” at the event, and Ross will be the narrator. Ross will also do a two hour speaking show at the convention.
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1962 – Rikidozan beat Lou Thesz in Tokyo to win the World League tournament
1975 – Larry O’Dea & Bobby Hart beat Missouri Mauler & Steve Rackman in Melbourne to win the Austra Asian tag titles
1980 – Irma Gonzalez beat Vickie Williams to win the UWA women’s title
1982 – Steve Grey beat Jim Breaks in Bradford to win the British lightweight title
1982 – Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) beat Les Thornton in Shizuoka to win the NWA jr. title. This title change wasn’t accepted by the NWA in the U.S., as Thornton was shortly back to being billed as champion in the U.S.
1987 – Solar beat Blue Panther to win the UWA jr. light heavyweight title
1989 – Salman Hashimikov beat Vader to win the IWGP title and Jushin Liger beat Hiroshi Hase to win the IWGP jr. title for the first time
1992 – Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi beat Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas in Miyagi to win the All Asia tag titles
1994 – El Hijo del Santo beat Karloff Lagarde Jr. in Tlanepantla to win the UWA welterweight title
2003 – Jeff Jarrett beat Sting in Auckland, New Zealand to unify the NWA & WWAS titles and Chris Sabin beat Jerry Lynn, Johnny Swinger and Frankie Kazarian to unify the TNA X title and the WWAS cruiserweight title
2011 – KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki in Tokyo to win the GHC jr. title
2013 – Ricochet beat Shingo Takagi in Tokyo to win the King of Gate tournament–Progress Wrestling Strong Style 16 tournament from Camden, London, before 700 fans: Will Ospreay b El Ligero, Mark Haskins b Jack Gallagher, Rampage Brown b Big Daddy Walter, Roderick Strong b Tommy End, Marty Scurll b Eddie Dennis, Dave Mastiff b Noam Dar, Tommaso Ciampa b Damo O’Connor, Zack Sabre Jr. b Zack Gibson, James Davis & Rob Lynch b Jimmy Havoc & Paul Robinson.
Quarterfinals today are Ospreay vs. Haskins, Brown vs. Strong, Scurll vs Mastiff and Sabre Jr. vs. Ciampa, plus Liger & Nathan Cruz defend the tag titles against Michael Dante & Tommy End (thanks to Martin Bentley)–High Risk Wrestling from Sunday in Cahokia, IL: Takaaki Watanabe b Mike Outlaw, Jake Dirden b Keon Option, Dale Patricks won three-way over Tripp Cassidy and Jack Verville, Davey Richards b Tony Kozina, Blake Edward Belakus b Takaaki Watanabe, Bolt Brady won three-way over Ace Perry and Josh Crane, Nick Iggy & Kerry Awful b Great Akuma & Jun Hado Blake Edward Belakis b Louis Lyndon to win heavyweight title.
–The Los Angeles Times ran a big obit on Eric Caidin, the owner of the Hollywood Book and Posters store, who died on 5/18. Caidin was well known around the Southern California scene as a promoter, fan and collector and ran a store from 1977 to 2015.
–Infinity Pro Wrestling on 5/30 in Bloomington, IN at the National Guard Armory with GT Vega against a “former ECW, WWE and TNA superstar.”
–Legacy Pro Wrestling on 6/6 in Palmyra, PA featuring PJ Black, AR Fox, and Shane Strickland (Killshot)
–Rockstar Wrestling on 6/5 in Dayton at 1106 E. Third St. with Abyss vs. Ron Mathis and Davey Richards vs. Dave Crist
–The marriage equality issue (allowing gay marriage), a huge story in Ireland over the past week, had stickers all over town of pro wrestling babyface tag teams like The Rockers and Owen Hart & Koko B. Ware in stickers promoting marriage equality,. (thanks to Lee Daly)
–Anarchy Wrestling TV tapings from Saturday night in Cornelia, GA: Azrael & Supernatural b Wade Adams & Chris Spectra, Michael Judas b BJ Hancock, Slim J & Fed Yehi b Corey Hollis & John Skyler, Calista NC Aja Perera, Jacob Ashworth & Shadow Jackson & Jeremy Foster b Kevin Blue & Trever Aeon & Brian Blaze, P Dog b Todd Sexton, BJ Hancock & Lars Manderson NC Billy Buck & Bobby Moore. Next show is the 10th anniversary card on 5/30 with the Washington Bullets vs. Azrael & Supernatural. (thanks to Bill Behrens)
–Aberdeen Anarchy on Saturday night in Aberdeen, Scotland before 1,312 fans: Kenny Williams won three-way over Shawn Johnson and Bingo Ballance, Len Ironside & Bob Holly b Aspen Faith & Johnny Lions, Jack Jester b Bryan Tucker, Chris Archer & Mikey Vega & Lou King Sharp b Devon Dudley & Thunder Buddies, Crusher Craib b Damien, Chris Masters & Grado & Mr. P b Alan Sterling & Mr. Malice & Jeeves Winchester, Scotty Swift b Jon Coffey to win title
–A story on ROH/New Japan in Toronto is at
https://808sandtheheartbreakkid.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/global-wars/
TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall)
12:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most stylish ring attire ever worn by a WWE Superstar.1:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calls with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.2:06 AM ET
WWE NETWORK EXCLUSIVE The action continues live after Raw!2:11 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!2:41 AM ET
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves gets a culture shock immersing himself within the fascinating world of Marvel Comics, from their headquarters in New York City!3:00 AM ET
WCW WRESTLEWAR 1990 Ric Flair defends the NWA World Title against Lex Luger. Arn and Ole Anderson face The Steiner Brothers for the NWA Tag Team Titles.6:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most stylish ring attire ever worn by a WWE Superstar.7:00 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!7:27 AM ET
WWE 24 In this edition of WWE 24, we reveal the personal story of this rising star, his family and his memorable experience at Wrestlemania 31.8:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calls with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.9:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most stylish ring attire ever worn by a WWE Superstar.10:00 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!10:27 AM ET
WWE 24 In this edition of WWE 24, we reveal the personal story of this rising star, his family and his memorable experience at Wrestlemania 31.11:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calls with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.12:00 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most stylish ring attire ever worn by a WWE Superstar.1:00 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!1:27 PM ET
WWE 24 In this edition of WWE 24, we reveal the personal story of this rising star, his family and his memorable experience at Wrestlemania 31.2:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH Legendary WWE Superstar The Rock and ‘Psych’ star James Roday give the remaining five contestants a lesson in charisma.3:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The Miz gives the contestants a taste of what life as a WWE Superstar means outside the ring. Back in the gym, the competition heats up.4:00 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!4:06 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR It takes an army to win a war, and both WCW and WWE were developing a deep roster in order to emerge victorious.5:06 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Biggest Crybabies of all time!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 Learn about The Viper in and out of the ring as he reflects on his career to date. Hear about the past, present, and future of Randy Orton.8:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The Miz gives the contestants a taste of what life as a WWE Superstar means outside the ring. Back in the gym, the competition heats up.9:00 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!9:06 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR It takes an army to win a war, and both WCW and WWE were developing a deep roster in order to emerge victorious.10:06 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Biggest Crybabies of all time!11:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The Miz gives the contestants a taste of what life as a WWE Superstar means outside the ring. Back in the gym, the competition heats up. -
SUN. UPDATE: More from UFC last night, Today’s World Cup, Scott Hall, new faces on WWE road tour, Super Juniors, Dwayne Johnson
By Dave Meltzer dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s UFC 187 and Wednesday night’s NXT Takeover Unstoppable show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We’re also looking for reports on these weekend shows:
*WWE last night in Worcester, MA
*WWE today in White Plains, NY (John Cena, Rusev, Dean Ambrose, Kane, Luke Harper, Neville)
*WWE today in Binghamton (Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Sheamus).
AAA LUCHA WORLD CUP IPPV AT www.LuchaWorldCup.com starting at 6 p.m. Eastern time from Los Palacios de los Deportes in Mexico City
Tournament first round matches
- Alberto El Patron & Rey Mysterio Jr. & Myzteziz vs. Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge & Yoshihiro Takayama
- El Hijo del Fantasma (King Cuerno) & El Texano Jr. & Psycho Clown vs. ACH & Brian Cage & Moose
- Blue Demon Jr. & Dr. Wagner Jr. & Solar vs. Masamnune & Kenzo Suzuki & Tiger Mask (Koji Kanemoto)
- Angelico & Drew Galloway & Mesias (Mil Muertes) vs. Ken Anderson & Matt Hardy & Johnny Mundo
– Raw is Monday night at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. The cast of Entourage will be guest stars on the show. Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
*****
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is among the most talked about of the year, with a detailed lead story on the plight of every key non-WWE promotion, as well as details of TNA’s future with Destination America, ROH viewership and more, a detailed look at how MMA is going to be changing with far more serious repercussions for drug test failures and the story behind the changes, a look at Elimination Chamber, a rundown of Payback, a detailed update NXT with coverage of its Northeast tour, and of the ROH/New Japan tour. We also look at the Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar show and the death of Corey Hill.
The new issue is up on the site at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/42649-may-25-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-state-of-tna-nsacs-new-doping-penalties-and-more
Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show on the history of the site are at http://www.f4wonline.com/member/signup.php
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
You can also order at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
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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.
The lead story looks at the battle for the No. 2 spot in American pro wrestling. We look at ROH, TNA, GFW and Lucha Underground, as well as how WWE may have created the real No. 2. We look at where things stand with all the groups, both in going forward, if they even can go forward, the TV situation with everyone, tons of changes in TNA television with the move to Wednesday.
We also look at the background of the changes in drug testing penalties in Nevada, what it means for the sport, how the business will change for many, the realities of drug testing with these penalties, injury rates, careers ending earlier, the Wanderlei Silva case, the marijuana threshold and far more.
We also have coverage of the Elimination Chamber lineup, questions regarding the show, business for Payback and match-by-match coverage of the show with star ratings and poll results.
We also look at the attempt to make NXT a third WWE touring brand. We look at the plans for the next few years for the brand, ideas Paul Levesque talked about, long-term plans for shows in and out of Florida, business notes from the Philadelphia and Albany shows and full coverage of all three nights.
We also look at the last three nights of the ROH/New Japan tour with shows in Philadelphia and Toronto, with notes on the business and iPPV, as well as when ROH is trying to cut a deal to bring New Japan talent back.
We also look at the update on the Steve Austin/WWE relationship and some podcast notes, Update on injuries to key talent and how some of them happened, promotions, Ronda Rousey talks a WWE return, Vince McMahon on WrestleMania, What WWE performer has ESPN and FOX wanting them, Notes on how this season’s Tough Enough will work, view on women in WWE going forward, Samoa Joe in WWE, WWE Studios looking to make major moves, what WWE star is in the biggest grossing movie of the weekend, more on the box office for Dwayne Johnson’s latest movie, ABC airing a piece on WWE and Finn Balor talks NXT.
We also look at the next group of wrestlers getting WWE tryouts, what group in WWE is history, what person from another sport was a guest trainer last week, and a former MMA fighter signs with WWE. We’ve also got business notes for all the weekend WWE shows and highlights of the events.
We’ve also got full coverage of UFC’s morning show from The Philippines, including the retirement of Mark Munoz, Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar and business notes from the show.
We also have a story on the death of former UFC fighter Corey Hill, as well as one of the worst injuries in UFC history, why people thought he had championship potential and what happened.
We’ve also got notes on AAA’s big show of he weekend, Verano de Escandalo, with many of the stars of Lucha Underground, as well as Rey Mysterio Jr.
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:
–One of biggest stars in Mexico under a police investigation and has been pulled from bookings
–Full details on how this went down
–Octagon first Arena Mexico appearance
–Big tournament coming up
–New Japan star headed to CMLL
–Huge head-to-head battle on Sunday with loaded shows a few miles from each other
–Lineup for the AAA World Cup tournament
–Notes on this week’s iPPV of World Cup
–King of Gate tournament coming up to this finals this week
–One of the greatest pro wrestling stars of the 70s returns to Japan at the end of the month
–A look at all the New Japan Super Juniors shows of the week and complete New Japan World lineup of multiple shows
–Update on health of one of 80s biggest names
–More details on Global Force Wrestling including lineups for the first four shows
–Who are newcomers that they have added
–Who was pulled from the promotion
–An update on Scott Hall
–Update on Bill Goldberg and his appearance on a pro wrestling event
–Huge fund raiser to commemorate regional wrestling from the 70s with tons of area stars involved
–Notes on ROH Final Battle
–More on ROH signing of Moose
–Who else had made a play for him
–Main events for the next few ROH shows
–A look at ROH television over the next month
–Why this week’s first-run Impact show didn’t air in the U.S.
–A look at the Impact schedule and more on the time slot change
–TNA’s U.K. tour notes
–More on Billy Corgan in TNA
–Dixie Carter talks to Steve Austin, fact vs. fiction
–TNA loses anther time slot
–A look at this coming week’s UFC show
–Lots of UFC card changes and why
–UFC debuts in South Korea in the fall
–Who are the biggest stars from there
–Will UFC’s books be made public due to lawsuit
–UFC expected to sign WSOF champion
–A look at all the activities in July in conjunction with UFC in Las Vegas and Fight Week
–Lots of new UFC fights
–A look at Bellator’s last show and next show
–Former Pride star put in jail
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
–Besides the coverage of last night’s UFC, I talked a lot about the TNA/Destination America story on the show with Bryan last night. There’s a lot in there about TNA and its reactions. TNA hurt itself badly the last few weeks on how it handled the situation.
–Pretty amazing UFC main card last night. The undercard was nothing special but Travis Browne vs. Andrei Arlovski was a potential match of the year. A lot of talk it was the best main card of a PPV since UFC 139 in San Jose, which was more than three years ago.
–UFC 187 was the single most searched item yesterday on the Internet in the U.S. at more than 200,000. But a show of that caliber would be expected to do considerably more than that.
–We got a lot of sports bar reports and they were at a very strong level. I don’t think sports bar attendance would be impacted much by being three weeks after Mayweather-Pacquiao. PPV may be. That was a topic of conversation last night.
–UFC 189 has supposedly already broken the UFC’s all-time U.S. live gate record. Dana White said they’d be opening up closed-circuit locations in Las Vegas for the overflow, figuring a ton of people are coming in from the UK, Ireland and Brazil for the fight.
–Ryan Bader had a big confrontation with Daniel Cormier at the press conference last night, and showed some fire. Cormier is always the main with the mic.
–Big Show was back on the road last night at the WWE show in Utica, as was Brad Maddox and Layla. All three were on the Orton tour, in Utica last night and Binghamton today.
–Scott Hall was pulled from the GFW shows that he was booked for due to the TMZ coverage of the incident where he was allegedly drinking. The decision was made when the story made the news. There are reports gong around from people who thought he was pulled due to WWE, and that’s not the case.
–There will be a preview of the Daniel Bryan new video on the WWE Network tomorrow night after Raw.
–There is a claim that Dwayne Johnson broke a Guinness World Record for most selfies (105) taken in a three minute period.
–The Best of the Super Juniors matches tomorrow (late night tonight) in Niigata are:
- Jushin Liger vs. Kyle O’Reilly
- Tiger Mask vs. Bobby Fish
- Mascara Dorada vs. David Finlay III
- Baretta vs. Chase Owens
–For Tuesday in Yamagata
- Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Baretta
- Rocky Romero vs. Nick Jackson
- Kushida vs. David Finlay III
- Gedo vs. Barbaro Cavernario
–For Wednesday in Aomori
- Jushin Liger vs. Chase Owens
- Tiger Mask vs. Mascara Dorada
- Alex Shelley vs. Bobby Fish
- Yohei Komatsu vs. Kyle O’Reilly
–Both the ROH shows from Philadelphia with the New Japan talent are available on VOD for $19.99, night 1 and night 2.
–A story on Trish Stratus and her wrestling career.
–A story on Owen Hart.
—NPR did a story on Lucha Underground and Mexican wrestling in Los Angeles.
–Fan reaction to Samoa Joe in NXT
–Samoa Joe interview.
–Honky Tonk Man interview.
—Ric Flair on WWE being afraid to put him on live TV (thanks to Johnny Kramer)
–Story in the New York Times Magazine on Dwayne Johnson.
–Kevin Eck relives how the Daniel Bryan/ AJ Lee storyline happened.
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
- 1969 – Waldo Von Erich & The Spoiler beat Tex McKenzie & Billy White Wolf (Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie) in Sydney to win the IWA tag titles
- 1984 – Ric Flair beat Kerry Von Erich in Yokosuka to win the NWA world title
- 1988 – Johnny Saint beat Mike Jordan in Wolverhampton to win the world lightweight title
- 1992 – Atsushi Onita beat Leon Spinks in Tokyo to win the WWA martial arts title and Tarzan Goto & Gregori Veritchev (Olympic judoka) beat Sabu & Horace Boulder to win the tag titles
- 1993 – Ultimo Dragon beat El Samurai in Osaka to win the UWA middleweight title
- 1996 – Akira Taue beat Mitsuharu Misawa in Sapporo to win the Triple Crown
- 1997 – Minoru Tanaka beat Shoichi Funaki in Nagoya to win he UWA middleweight title
–Today is the 42nd anniversary of the night Harley Race beat Dory Funk Jr. in Kansas City to win the NWA title, which Funk held for four years. I remember as a kid how huge of a story that was at the time.
–Shinya Aoki retained the One lightweight title beating Koji Ando via unanimous decision in Kallang, Singapore on Friday. The other title fight saw Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichok beat Roy Doliguez to win the strawweight title, which is the men’s 115 pound division.
–There was a fight with Angela Lee vs. Aya Sabier on that show that Lee won via submission in one minute. I’m told she has a good look and cut a great promo (thanks to Paul Fontaine)
–A show called Ladies Night takes place on 6/19 in Glen Burnie, MD at Michael’s Eighth Avenue with Melina Perez, Mickie James, Tessa Blanchard, Renee Michelle, Amber Rodriguez, Lisa Marie Varon, Kimber Lee and Mick Foley.
–Jessica Havok and Santana Garrett were extras backstage at the NXT tapings on Wednesday and Thursday night.
–Aaron Solo sent in a Tough Enough video, saying he was more than just Bayley’s boyfriend.
–All of the Busca de un Idolo tournament marches will stream like at Terra.com The first day of the tournament is Tuesday night.
–RF Video has a 25% off sale for Memorial Day.
–The WWE’s Samoa Joe T-shirts are all sold out.
–To clarify something from last week’s TNA show. The second Austin Aries & Bobby Roode vs. Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards match of the seres will be airing this Friday. It didn’t air this past Friday on the show that wasn’t seen in the U.S. On the international version, they were pushing that match, which I was told was great, for “next week’s show.” (thanks to John Pollock)
–TMZ reported a funny story where Roman Reigns, R-Truth and Jimmy Uso attended a wedding last night. This was after last night’s house show in Utica. The three were at the bar and heard that there was a wedding reception. They went to check it out an found out that the couple were both wrestling fans and asked them to stay. The funny thing is, the couple were such fans they sent an e-mail to WWE, knowing talent was in the area, if they could have some wrestlers attend. The e-mail was never answered and the guys had no clue the new wife, Beth Samuels, had sent the letter.
–CWF from last night in St. Catherines, ONT at the Haig Bowl Arena on 6/6 including Yusuke Kodama from Wrestle-1, Brian Christopher, Scotty 2 Hotty, Paul London, Rene Dupree, Cody Deaner, plus a ladder match.
–Masters of Wrestling did a women’s wrestling tribute in Wilmington, NC last night. Among those attending were Trish Stratus, Lita, Lisa Marie Varon, Terri Runnels, Lisa Moretti (Ivory), Missy Hyatt and Litttle Egypt. Results from the show: Le’D Tapa b Candy Cartwright, Kacee Carlisle b Devyn Nicole, Roni Niclle b Aramanda Rodriguez, Santana Garrett b Nikki Adams, Kacee Carlisle b Le’D Tapa, Santana Garrett b Roni Nicole, Santana Garrett b Roni Nichole to win tournament. Lisa Moretti presented the trophy to Garrett. Here’s some pictures.
–The Winter Palace podcast debuted a discussion onthe recent Chikara UK tour, recent comics and –Tfilms. There will be lots of wrestling content, especially lucha, in upcoming episodes.
–Florida J Cup tournament on 5/30 at the Team Vision Dojo in Orlando.
–Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling on 6/20 in East Carondelet, IL at the Community Center.
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UFC 187 Fan Feedback
UFC 187
Thumbs Up! Excellent show top to bottom. The last four fights were all great. Cerrone needs to get a title shoot. No excuses. Weidman proved that he is more than legit. Belfort has nothing left except an Anderson Silva in Brazil. He didn’t look like he was on something and was pushed around like a rag doll. Coincidence? I think not! Johnson looked great when allowed. Needs to work on cardio. Cormier style is kind of boring but that’s his thing. His post-fight promo was just perfect.
Jon Jones situation…
Mike Tyson was convicted for rape. Floyd Mayweather for domestic violence. And even De La Hoya had some weird scandals. Jon Jones and UFC can pretend all they want, deep inside they know that they just hit the lottery. It’s a shame but is the way our society (and this business) works. Cormier’s promo just made it official.Best Fight: Arlovski vs Browne.
Leonardo Mendez Toledo
Dave,
UFC 187 was the first UFC show I’ve bought since Weidman vs. Machida. Pretty much I only buy Weidman cards since they are guaranteed to be good, and they usually offer a good double-bill with Rousey, but this time we got a light-heavyweight title fight sans Jones, which to me is must see since I never cared for him and was looking forward to change. My money was well spent. What a great show, especially the main card. Wall-to-wall action, and for my tastes everyone that I wanted to win did.
Not enough can be said about Arlovski’s comeback in recent years. About five years ago it pretty much looked like he would have to retire, and you can’t fix a glass-jaw. Yet, somehow his stint in the WSOF, and working with Greg Jackson not only fixed him, it also made him a much better fighter than before. He destroyed Travis Browne; if you told me that was going to be a possibility just a year ago I would have probably laughed at you.
Cowboy put on a showcase against a much-better-than-expected replacement, ending the fight it classic fashion. I can’t think of anyone else that wins this many fights against anyone thrown at him, and still has to wait and see if he gets the title shot. If he were in almost any other division he would have had the shot about midway through his current streak.
Weidman showed why he is one of the best with a quick destruction of Belfort. Vitor used to be one of my favorites until it became clearly evident that TRT was why he was so good in recent years. His statements of aggression against media did nothing to help curb the stereotype of a juicer. I was glad to see him get folded like an accordion like the rest of his Brazilian counterparts at the hands of the current champ. Rockhold vs. Weidman awaits.
Johnson vs. Cormier showed the resiliency it takes that separates a champ from an also-ran. Johnson’s muscled frame, and excessive early striking did him in. That works for a few minutes against chumps, but Cormier did what it takes to be a champ. People may have booed the slowdown in action, but it was all setting up a clear dismantling of the Johnson Scud Missile. Two Blackzilians entered title fights, and two walked out empty-handed with their asses handed to them.
Thumbs up
Best Fight: Arlovski vs. Browne
Worst Fight: None -Every match on the televised undercard was also good, although I disagreed with Natal getting the nod.
Performance: Weidman, Arlovski, Cormier
KO: Arlovski
Sub: Cormier-Matt Wright
UFC 187
Thumbs up. Not much to bitch about here. Maybe some of the judging. The top card came through big time.
Best fight: Arlovski vs. Browne
Worst fight: nothing really
Best performance: Arlovski for the upset
Worst performance: Uriah Hall, not that it was that bad and I thought he got mildly robbed, but still so far below his potenital
KO: Cerrone
Sub: gonna call this an across the board draw. Islam, Kim & Cormier.Justin Scoggins does a 30-27 X 3 karate paint job on Josh Sampo in the opener. Islam walks through Kuntz (hee hee hee) finishing in the 2nd with RNC (seriously this is a guy to keep an eye on).
Colby Covington grounds the veteran Mike Pyle for most of the fight and escapes a very tight last 30 seconds RNC for the UD with one 29-28. After drama at the weigh in, Rafael Natal opens the fight with a groin kick and goes on to edge Uriah Hall via dubious 29-28 split. Dong Hyun Kim too much for Josh Burkman and secures the arm tri tap in the 3rd. A rusty, slower John Dodson gets a highly dubious 29-28 UD over Zach Makovsky.
Joey Benavides also not ultra impressive taking a far more competitive than the scores indicate 30-27 UD over John Moraga. I don’t see either him or Dodson staking a claim on the next title shot off this. Good fight though.
Andrei Arlovski flipped the script, stunning Travis Browne early and not letting him off the hook, finally dropping him with a backfist. Browne gets up and drops Arlovski with a Hail Mary but Arlovski flips the script again by not getting knocked out, gets up, and finishes Browne with more punches and somehow is in title contention again in 2015.
John Makdessi steps in way over his head late and saves the fight vs. Donald Cerrone and lands enough to keep it interesting until Cerrone lands a head kick in the 2nd that breaks Makdessi’s jaw and Makdessi obviously knows it and steps back making the TO sign and the fight is over.
A very skinny looking Vitor Belfort busts up Chris Weidman in the opening seconds but Weidman takes him down and the fight is pretty much over, getting the TKO off 40+ undefended strikes and retaining the MW title.
Anthony Johnson lands a right in the opening seconds that probably would have finished anybody else but Daniel Cormier is up quickly and grinds Rumble down and wears him out, really wrecking him with G&P in the 2nd, and finishing him in the 3rd with RNC and winning the vacant ‘undisputed’ LHW title. Every time Rumble got any distance he landed something heavy with either fists or feet and rocked Cormier several times but just couldn’t keep Cormier off. Cormier’s whole promo was ‘Jon Jones, get your shit together, I’m waiting for you,’ and he just walked out of the cage.
Crimson MaskHi Dave, Big Thumbs UpWas really looking forward to this card. Wish I was there. Even more miraculous was that there were not a lot of changes due to injury, unlike Montreal. I didn’t mind too much that the Cerrone vs Nurmagomedov was changed although I would have liked to see it. Makdessi was a great substitute going in for a battle of strikers who like to throw down. Best Fight: Browne vs ArlovskiWorst Fight: Pyle vs Covington – wasn’t horrible but everything else was betterBest Performances: Weidman, Cormier Anthony Johnson vs. Daniel Cormier – Cormier’s fight plan to a T. Survive Rumble’s early attack until he gasses, then take him down and grind him out. Cormier looked good here but not sure if this Cormier could still beat Jones and get inside his crazy reach.
Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort – Weidman was a beast surviving Vitor’s early barrage before coming back to just decimate him. Dominant performance and looking forward to Weidman vs Rockhold. Loved how Weidman’s winning scream kind of scared Herb Dean, watch Dean’s facial expression during it then after as he kind of jokes about it.
Donald Cerrone vs. John Makdessi – Loved how they both stayed in the pocket and let fly. Can’t wait to see Cerrone get his much deserved title shot.
Travis Browne vs. Andrei Arlovski – What a slobberknocker. Just what we love from watching the heavyweights throw down. Not sure if I would call it the greatest heavyweight fight of all time though Joe. Although he is kind of like Jimmy Hart with “This is the greatest day of my life baby” with the most recent fight being the best. I still think Big Foot vs Hunt tops this one.
Joseph Benavidez vs. John Moraga – This fight was OK, Benavidez wasn’t as dominant as he usually is but he deserved the decision.John Dodson vs. Zach Makovsky – I want to like Dodson but I just can’t. I respect his talent but there is something about his personality that turns me off. I’d rather watch Uncle Creepy, Ian McCall any day.Grant Zwarych
Hi Dave,I watched the PPV card today at the pub here in Melbourne. the crowd was about double what it was for Pettis & Dos Anjos, which was the last one I watched there.
Great card. Easy thumbs up.
Best Fight – Arlovski & Browne
Worst Fight – Benavediz & Moraga
Best Performance – DCNo surprise Belfort was dangerous early and then folded, but surprised how quickly that happened. A great setup for a Middleweight Title fight with Rockhold. Rumble is still terrifying, so outstanding performance by DC to implement a ‘weather and grind’ strategy to take the title. Lastly Arlovski looked sharp and I expected he would go down first round, so that fight was quite the spectacle.
Daniel Anerphy
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SAT. UPDATE: UFC 187 preview, Mid-South Coliseum event, BOSJ, and more
by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix
TV/show notes for tonight:
The major event of the day is, of course, UFC 187 from Las Vegas, Nevada, which Dave will provide live coverage of from press row:
Main card on PPV at 10:00 p.m. ET:
Anthony Johnson (205) vs. Daniel Cormier (205) for the vacant light heavyweight title
Chris Weidman (185) vs. Vitor Belfort (184) for Weidman’s middleweight title
Donald Cerrone (156) vs. John Makdessi (155.5)
Travis Browne (236.5) vs. Andrei Arlovski (241)
Joseph Benavidez (125.5) vs. John Moraga (126)Prelims on Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET:
John Dodson (125.5) vs. Zach Makovsky (126)
Dong Hyun Kim (170.5) vs. Josh Burkman (170.5)
Uriah Hall (186) vs. Rafael Natal (185.5)
Rose Namajunas (116) vs. Nina Ansaroff (120)Prelims on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET:
Mike Pyle (171) vs. Colby Covington (170.5)
Islam Makhachev (155.5) vs. Leo Kuntz (155.5)
Justin Scoggins (126) vs. Josh Sampo (126)This is a really excellent card, even with the removal of Jon Jones from the main event and Khabib Nurmagomedov from the Cerrone fight bring it down from the heights it could have reached. Every single main card fight and three of the four televised prelims have ranked fighters and plenty of divsional relevance, and most of the fights, if not all, sound entertaining on paper. It’s also, for whatever reason, a flyweight showcase, with two matches of top ten 125 pounders as well as Scoggins-Sampo being a solid matchup of exciting prospects.
The big hook coming out of the weigh-ins last night is Chris Weidman (who’s usually incredibly polite and reserved at these types of events) jawing with Vitor Belfort during the staredown and then explaining during his interview with Joe Rogan that he was calling out Belfort for “still cheating” and taking steroids. On out of competition testing that’s been released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Belfort, who theoretically should have low testosterone levels since he needed testosterone replacement therapy, had noticeably higher levels than Weidman.
That said, the tests in question were urine tests and not blood tests (which are the most reliable for total testosterone levels), so not knowing what time of day the samples were collected (among other variables), it’s not quite as cut and try as what Weidman is saying, though it’s absolutely suspicious that Belfort doesn’t have low levels.
As noted yesterday, Dish Network and the UFC have come to an agreement, so Dish customers will have access to the PPV tonight. Make sure to check out Josh Nason’s preview of the main card with the Observer panel picks. Feedback on the show (as well as NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable) with best match/worst match and if you rate the show thumbs up/down/in the middle should be sent to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
Two of the biggest/best drawing indies in the United States have shows tonight, as Northeast Wrestling is running Bethany, CT with Matt Taven vs. Donovan Dijiak and PWS is running their home base of Rahway, NJ with Colt Cabana, Brian Myers, Amazing Red, Sonjay Dutt, Eddie Kingston, Ashley Massaro, and more.
We’re looking for results/reports from any show you may happen to go to this weekend, but especially the WWE house shows tonight (Worcester and Utica) and tomorrow (White Plains and Binghamton). Send those to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.
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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 history of popular music being used in pro wrestling, including:
* Who actually did the first pro wrestling music video?
* The role of popular songs gtting major acts over.
* What made the use of music in ECW so special.
* How “real” songs make wrestlers stand out in a sea of in-house productions.
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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The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is among the most talked about of the year, with a detailed lead story on the plight of every key non-WWE promotion, as well as details of TNA’s future with Destination America, ROH viewership and more, a detailed look at how MMA is going to be changing with far more serious repercussions for drug test failures and the story behind the changes, a look at Elimination Chamber, a rundown of Payback, a detailed update NXT with coverage of its Northeast tour, and of the ROH/New Japan tour. We also look at the Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar show and the death of Corey Hill.
The new issue is up on the site here.
Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show on the history of the site are available here.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
You can also order via PayPal by sending funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Rates are:
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
The lead story looks at the battle for the No. 2 spot in American pro wrestling. We look at ROH, TNA, GFW and Lucha Underground, as well as how WWE may have created the real No. 2. We look at where things stand with all the groups, both in going forward, if they even can go forward, the TV situation with everyone, tons of changes in TNA television with the move to Wednesday.
We also look at the background of the changes in drug testing penalties in Nevada, what it means for the sport, how the business will change for many, the realities of drug testing with these penalties, injury rates, careers ending earlier, the Wanderlei Silva case, the marijuana threshold and far more.
We also have coverage of the Elimination Chamber lineup, questions regarding the show, business for Payback and match-by-match coverage of the show with star ratings and poll results.
We also look at the attempt to make NXT a third WWE touring brand. We look at the plans for the next few years for the brand, ideas Paul Levesque talked about, long-term plans for shows in and out of Florida, business notes from the Philadelphia and Albany shows and full coverage of all three nights.
We also look at the last three nights of the ROH/New Japan tour with shows in Philadelphia and Toronto, with notes on the business and iPPV, as well as when ROH is trying to cut a deal to bring New Japan talent back.
We also look at the update on the Steve Austin/WWE relationship and some podcast notes, Update on injuries to key talent and how some of them happened, promotions, Ronda Rousey talks a WWE return, Vince McMahon on WrestleMania, What WWE performer has ESPN and FOX wanting them, Notes on how this season’s Tough Enough will work, view on women in WWE going forward, Samoa Joe in WWE, WWE Studios looking to make major moves, what WWE star is in the biggest grossing movie of the weekend, more on the box office for Dwayne Johnson’s latest movie, ABC airing a piece on WWE and Finn Balor talks NXT.
We also look at the next group of wrestlers getting WWE tryouts, what group in WWE is history, what person from another sport was a guest trainer last week, and a former MMA fighter signs with WWE. We’ve also got business notes for all the weekend WWE shows and highlights of the events.
We’ve also got full coverage of UFC’s morning show from The Philippines, including the retirement of Mark Munoz, Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar and business notes from the show.
We also have a story on the death of former UFC fighter Corey Hill, as well as one of the worst injuries in UFC history, why people thought he had championship potential and what happened.
We’ve also got notes on AAA’s big show of he weekend, Verano de Escandalo, with many of the stars of Lucha Underground, as well as Rey Mysterio Jr.
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:
–One of biggest stars in Mexico under a police investigation and has been pulled from bookings
–Full details on how this went down
–Octagon first Arena Mexico appearance
–Big tournament coming up
–New Japan star headed to CMLL
–Huge head-to-head battle on Sunday with loaded shows a few miles from each other
–Lineup for the AAA World Cup tournament
–Notes on this week’s iPPV of World Cup
–King of Gate tournament coming up to this finals this week
–One of the greatest pro wrestling stars of the 70s returns to Japan at the end of the month
–A look at all the New Japan Super Juniors shows of the week and complete New Japan World lineup of multiple shows
–Update on health of one of 80s biggest names
–More details on Global Force Wrestling including lineups for the first four shows
–Who are newcomers that they have added
–Who was pulled from the promotion
–An update on Scott Hall
–Update on Bill Goldberg and his appearance on a pro wrestling event
–Huge fund raiser to commemorate regional wrestling from the 70s with tons of area stars involved
–Notes on ROH Final Battle
–More on ROH signing of Moose
–Who else had made a play for him
–Main events for the next few ROH shows
–A look at ROH television over the next month
–Why this week’s first-run Impact show didn’t air in the U.S.
–A look at the Impact schedule and more on the time slot change
–TNA’s U.K. tour notes
–More on Billy Corgan in TNA
–Dixie Carter talks to Steve Austin, fact vs. fiction
–TNA loses anther time slot
–A look at this coming week’s UFC show
–Lots of UFC card changes and why
–UFC debuts in South Korea in the fall
–Who are the biggest stars from there
–Will UFC’s books be made public due to lawsuit
–UFC expected to sign WSOF champion
–A look at all the activities in July in conjunction with UFC in Las Vegas and Fight Week
–Lots of new UFC fights
–A look at Bellator’s last show and next show
–Former Pride star put in jail
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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Saturday Daily Update
— As Dave noted last night, Dana White announced on AXS TV’s Inside MMA that Bas Rutten will be going into the UFC Hall of Fame this year as the pioneer era fighter inductee. To add to what Dave said, depending on how much you count Pancrase as MMA, Rutten was arguably the first relatively well rounded MMA fighter, starting as a Dutch style kickboxer and picking up catch wrestling submissions quickly. He was also one hell of a gifted rookie pro wrestler in the handful of matches he had. He was put in with great workers like Osamu Nishimura (Part 1, Part 2), Koji Kanemoto, Yuji Nagata (Part 1, Part 2), and Carl Malenko, but he always looked like he fit in.
— The Roundhouse Revival event to push for the preservation of the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis is ongoing as I write this, and lasts until 6:00 p.m. local time. The city is pushing the demolition of the building to make way for a multi-purpose athletics center (similar to what happened to Maple Leaf Gardens) and obviously there are a lot of people who want to stop that. The Memphis Business Journal has the full schedule of events at the end of their article, long-time home of Memphis wrestling WMC TV did a brief story on the event, and local newspaper of record the Memphis Commercial Appeal has a fairly detaild article,
— NJPW results from Saitama: ReDragon defeated Mascara Dorada & Jay White,Tomoaki Honma, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV defeated Captain New Japan, David Finlay & Sho Tanaka, Gedo defeated Yohei Komatsu in BOSJ block A, Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Barbaro Cavernario in BOSJ block A, Kazuchika Okada & Barreta defeated Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall, Nick Jackson defeated KUSHIDA in BOSJ block B, and Hirooki Goto, Togi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata defeated Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI.
Rocky Romero vs. Alex Shelley didn’t take place as scheduled due to an ankle injury suffered by Shelley at yesterday’s show when Finlay fell on him awkwardly. It’s not clear yet if he’s pulled from the torunament and will be forefeiting his matches or if he just needed a night off and they’ll catch up.
— Tammy Sytch told TMZ that she’s now starting to lead towards taking Vivid’s six figure offer for her to do porn, with one big holdup being that they want her video set in a wrestling ring and she feels it’s played out.
— UFC announced that Eddie Wineland will be returning from his year-plus layoff to fight Brian Caraway at UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barao II in Chicago in July.
— Deadspin has an article from Patrick Wyman about Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic/accused war criminal, and his connections to MMA, including paying Chris Weidman, Fabricio Werdum, and Frank Mir to hang out with him. Worth taking some time to read this even if you’re not a MMA fan.
— This article from the Danville Commercial News in Danville, Illinois reads like something Bryan would write in Flying Mare. It’s about fans lining up to buy tickets when they went on sale for the WWE house show in the city in July. One fan, who drove an hour and camped all night to buy small market 2015 WWE house show tickets at the box office, was quoted as saying “I like John Cena. I like Dolph Ziggler, too.” Seriously though, that’s awesome.
— Iain Kidd did a good breakdown of the Belfort and Weidman drug tst results at Bloody Elbow.
— Mike Fagan examines the UFC Code of Conduct at MMASucka in light of the previously suspended Anthony Johnson main eventing tonight’s UFC 187 PPV.
— Myself and Dylan Hales joined Kris Zellner on the latest episode of his Exile on Badstreet podcast for part one of our look at Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988.