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Category: News

  • Hulk Hogan asks for forgiveness on Good Morning America

    By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com

    Hulk Hogan appeared on a taped segment of ABC’s Good Morning America today, and will also appear on Nightline, in an attempt to clean up his image a up his image after the reports of him making racial remarks in his 2006 sex tape were reported.

    Hogan claimed he was at the lowest point of his life in 2006 when the tape was recorded, and was suicidal, that he had no idea he was being taped and was mat at his daughter over a situation involving her and her boyfriend at the time.

    He claimed it was not a racist, that he was wrong to say it and is embarrassed by it, and claimed he used the n word based on the environment he grew up in in South Tampa and that he and his friends greeted people that way like it was nothing.  He did say he belives he inherited a racial basis based on that envronment and begged fans to forgive him.

    They presented it like WWE had erased his entire career, which is not the case, and claimed he was removed from the WWE Hall of Fame.  While he was removed from the WWE web site, including his Hall of Fame profile, at last word WWE had not removed him from the Hall of Fame.

    He was breaking down when he talked about how his daughter could have disowned him and didn’t, and said she showed him moore love than anyone.  He said he was mad at Brooke when he made the recording but she told him she’s not mad at him.

    He said that just because someone makes a mistake, you don’t throw them away and again said it was at the lowest point of his life and it was years ago.

    He wants to raise awareness of the impat that hate language can have and said he’s give his right arm to be back in pro wrestling.

  • TNA News: Thomas “Bram” Latimer arrested and suspended

    By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com

    TNA wrestler Thomas Latimer, better known as Bram, was arrested and charged with two counts of domestic battery and false imprisonment by the Gulfport, FL, Police Department.

    He was immediately suspended by the promotion, which wrote that they are working to get facts and additional information regarding the arrest. The incident occured Sunday at just before 6 a.m.  He is currently in Pinellas County jail.

    “The charges against Thomas Latimer are serious, and he is immediately and indefinitely suspended from any future TNA-sanctioned events awaiting the outcome of the case,” said TNA Executive Vice President of Television and Talent John Gaburick.

    Latimer is no longer married to Ashley Fliehr, aka Charlotte in WWE.  According to both WWE and family members, the incident did not involve her.

    When police investigated the incident after responding to a call, Latimer was there with a woman who identified herself as his girlfriend.

    The police report listed that the couple was arguing and the woman seeked refuse in her bedroom.  The report alleged that Latimer followed her in, closed the door and refused to allow her to leave, pushed the woman onto the bed and held her down by her throat.

  • WWE: Why Bayley is (or should be) the future female face of WWE

    By Kyle S. Johnson for WrestlingObserver.com

    In the premiere of Total Divas’ fourth season, Nikki Bella makes the somewhat audacious claim that she is (or at least has the potential to be) the female version of John Cena. Because she has been the WWE Divas Champion for so long, and because she and her sister are the most merchandised Divas (and, consequently, the biggest female merch-movers in the company), she probably feels as if she has a legitimate claim to that title.

    But Cena is more than just WWE’s most protected performer and biggest money-maker. One could argue that his biggest value, at least to WWE’s mind, is in his unyielding dedication to charity. Among the focal points of WWE’s three-day run in Brooklyn was Cena granting his record 500th Make-A-Wish request for 8-year-old Rocco Lanzer, an effort that was played up to the hilt both on WWE programming and in the mainstream media.

    As far as the mainstream is largely concerned, John Cena is a man who works tirelessly to bring happiness to terminally ill children who also just so happens to be WWE’s biggest star since The Rock. He is a beacon of hope that brings warmth to cold hospitals and lights the eyes of boys and girls who need someone to spur them on in their darkest hours. This strikes directly at the heart of another audacious statement tweeted by Stephanie McMahon: “philanthropy is the future of marketing, it’s the way brands r going 2 win”.

    With Cena, it doesn’t feel like something tawdry and exploitive for the sake of a marketing ideology. It doesn’t seem like a performance forced for the ever-present camera eye. Cena comes across as having a very genuine enthusiasm for empowering children and instilling in them a sense of hope. His actions are such that you can almost sense that he would prefer that the camera weren’t there at all.

    This aspect of Cena’s nature informs his in-ring persona. This is why for 10 years, Cena’s promos have extolled the virtues of working hard and being persistent in the face of adversity. This is why for the better part of a decade, he has donned colorful t-shirts branded with inspirational slogans—“Hustle, Loyalty, Respect”; “Rise Above Hate”; “Never Give Up”. This is why, despite the growing disdain voiced in booming chants of “Cena Sucks,” there will always be a chorus of high-pitched voices to retort “Let’s Go Cena.”

    Cena is the face of WWE today not because he’s a great performer both in-ring and on the microphone (he is). He is not the face of WWE today because he exudes a natural charisma that befits a superstar (he does). He is not even the face of WWE today because he fits perfectly into Vince McMahon’s archetype of what a superstar should look like (he epitomizes it). He is the face of WWE because he is its one true goodwill ambassador. He connects not only with the mainstream of which WWE so desperately wants to be a part, but with the WWE’s most coveted demographic: children.

    This connection is unquestionably the most important to WWE, because it results both in more money in the short-term and, if you can create long-time fans from youth, the long term. People have been begging for a Cena heel turn for 10 years, but because of his role as the company’s top good guy both on-screen and off, that has not (and probably never will) come to pass. If capturing the attention of children and creating life-long fans is WWE’s primary long-term business objective, then there is no better choice for the company’s female face than the new NXT Women’s Champion, Bayley. 

    Bayley as Brand Ambassador

    In order for WWE to create a Cena-adjacent female face for its brand, that woman will likely have to live up to his same standard of connecting with young fans and performing acts of charity (preferably in a visible fashion). Nikki Bella and Eva Marie have an incredibly difficult time coming across as authentic in any respect on television (a fact easily gleaned from spending any length of time watching Total Divas, which is an unenviable task that I cannot recommend against strongly enough), making it hard to conceive of any scenario where they would seem genuine interacting with children in real-world situations.

    But that is not the case with Bayley. Bayley has “it.” In this case, “it” is that same thing that John Cena has. It’s an effortless charm that appeals to the everyman and everywoman. It’s a natural human agency to do good, and an aspiration to put smiles on the faces of children. Bayley is the perfect, perpetually-smiling face of WWE because you don’t believe for one second that her smile is a put-on. One need only see the way Bayley interacts with Izzy, her superfan who can seemingly always be found in the crowd at Full Sail.

    This characteristic of genuineness is perfectly malleable to WWE’s craving for good brand publicity through altruism. According to an email received by Bryan Alvarez on Thursday night, a long-time WWE employee believes that Bayley is “so ungodly over, especially with little girls,” that if she were to start granting wishes through Make-A-Wish, “she will destroy John Cena.” That would make her an invaluable asset to the company in a manner not terribly dissimilar to that of Cena, but only if WWE has the aptitude to harness it.

    For the last year, there has been a concerted effort on the part of WWE to position Roman Reigns as the next face of the company. This is evident in a number of ways, not the least of which being his sudden ascent to the main event of WrestleMania. Given the WWE mantra of philanthropy being tantamount to good marketing, one need only look at the list of “Athletes Gone Good” for 2015 to see just how deep WWE’s desire to make Reigns the next top guy runs. It should come as little surprise that, as the face of WWE, Cena ranks second only to Cristiano Ronaldo on the list of most charitable athletes. WWE’s second-most-charitable star? Reigns. While it’s difficult to speculate that an individual’s charitable acts are the result of anything but benevolence, it’s also hard to imagine that Reigns’ place on this list is not the result of some calculated efforts behind the scenes.

    In order for WWE to create a top female face who is on the level of John Cena, they will need to appear on these lists. They will need to be a visible role model to children, that same warming light in the darkness. For better or worse, this is how the WWE will market its top babyfaces from here on in, and it is for this reason that Bayley is their most logical next big thing.  

    Targeting the Right Audience

    One of the biggest complaints about women’s wrestling in WWE for, oh, the last decade or two has been its overreliance on sexuality. Since the days of Sunny and Sable, the role of women in the WWE has largely been to serve as eye candy for the male audience. From the late ’90s and into the early-2000s, WWE made no bones about its intentions with its female talent—they were there to participate in bawdy storylines and be ogled by men.

    Once the company opted to move toward more family-friendly programming, it made a withering attempt to mask the state of things. Gone were Playboy photospreads, replaced with considerably more tasteful Maxim photospreads. The women became “Divas,” and despite the fact that the denotation of the word is not particularly flattering, it was intended to provide the connotation of the women being powerful and, more importantly, sexy. Still, despite tidying up appearances, this left little in the way of true role models for young girls to get behind.

    Even as great wrestlers have come and gone—Trish Stratus, Victoria, Gail Kim, Natalya, and AJ Lee are among their number—the singular focus has always been sex appeal. That focus on sex remains to this day, which is the only explanation why amidst a (hashtag) “revolution,” WWE’s current choice for the top female talent in the company is Eva Marie.

    Eva Marie cannot, under any circumstances, be considered a good professional wrestler, which used to be a pretty sizeable chunk of what made someone a star in professional wrestling (or so I’ve been told). She has no discernable charisma to speak of, and she has absolutely no connection with the audience—especially not young girls. She can, however, be considered “hot.” In this, Vince McMahon presumably sees an untapped goldmine, which explains why her face has probably appeared on production trucks and in promo material more times than she’s actually wrestled in the past two years.

    The last perceived “new face” of WWE was Lana, which would have been at least an improvement over Eva. But her push suddenly sputtered and halted, and in the span of a few short months, she went from jousting with the likes of Cena and The Rock on the microphone (and handling herself quite skillfully in the process) to being the denim-wearing girlfriend/valet of Dolph Ziggler. While Lana was substantially more entertaining as a heel manager than Eva Marie has ever proven to be at anything, they have no fewer than two things in common: Lana was almost certainly pushed entirely because she was “hot,” and she’s not what you could reasonably call a wrestler.  

    In the world of sports entertainment, being even a competent wrestler is ancillary to being a character. Certainly, if history reveals anything, WWE’s style of promoting suggests that it is only comfortable offering female characters in one of few stock archetypes. That spectrum runs something like: evil, catty, crazy, conniving, jealous, ditzy, self-effacing, and hot. There may be a few wrinkles in the formula here and there, but the song largely remains the same. Whether Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky are given the opportunity to break from this interminable mold and strike out on their own in some meaningful way remains to be seen.

    It’s increasingly difficult to have any level of confidence with the way women are booked on WWE’s main roster, but it’s easy to see where they could theoretically get it right with Bayley. As a character and a personality, she’s got everything necessary to become a transcendent star and a vital component in WWE’s quest to claim newer and younger fans. As a wrestler, she’s shown that she can be compelling and, when matched up with someone of commensurate talents like one of the other three Horsewomen, outstanding.

    According to Scott Keith, Bayley’s “I’m a Hugger” shirt was, at least for a time this month, the top-selling Divas item in WWE Shop despite Bayley having less than .05 percent the merchandise options that the Bellas have. Keith’s salient analysis of this fact: “The girl is going to rival Cena in merch sales one day, especially in the youth area.”

    WWE has shown that it cannot properly execute a “revolution,” but perhaps it’s not too late to change the way it views and treats women. A major (and necessary) alteration would be to reevaluate just to whom they are trying to appeal. If the answer is young girls, then having Bayley at the forefront of the division is as good a place to start as any. With the right approach, she can and will sell t-shirts and wristbands by the truckload.   

    Bayley, with her goofy mannerisms and her vibrant outfits and her grandiose entrance accompanied by giant waving tube men, stands in such stark contrast to the typical WWE character template for women. She connects with kids and, thanks to her considerable in-ring talent, with hardcore wrestling fans as well, all without having to be objectified. She is, in so many ways, the polar opposite of an Eva Marie or a Nikki Bella.

    She’s a classic white-meat babyface, a plucky underdog who never gives up and who the fans want to overcome the odds stacked against her. She may be the closest thing they’ve got to a female John Cena, and in some ways, she might even have the potential to be more important over time.

  • PWG Battle of Los Angeles day three notes

    Among those in attendance at tonight’s show:

    Konnan, Rey Mysterio, Dominick Gutierrez (Rey’s son), Shayna Baszler, Marina Shafir, Jessamyn Duke (three of the Four Horsewomen)

    Jack Evans b Brian Cage

    Chris Hero b Biff Busick with a middle rope piledriver

    Marty Scurll b Trevor Lee with a Kimura

    Zack Sabre Jr. b Pentagon Jr.

    Mike Bailey b Tommy End

    Will Ospreay b Matt Sydal

    Young Bucks & Roderick Strong & Super Dragon b Angelico & Fenix & Rich Swann & Ricochet

    Chris Hero b Jack Evans

    Speedball Mike Bailey b Will Ospreay

    Zack Sabre Jr. b Marty Scurll

    Chuck Taylor & Trent Baretta & Aero Star & Drew Galloway & Drew Gulak b

    Tomasso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher & Drago & Mark Andrews & Andrew Everett.  Mostly comedy

    The finals were Sabre vs. Hero vs. Bailey.  Hero pinned Bailey with a Gotch style piledriver.  Sabre then made Hero submit.  Strong then said he would destroy Sabre in their upcoming tilte match.  The show ended with the Europeans celebreating with Sabre on their shoulders.

    The show was scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.  It started about 6:15 p.m. and ended at 11:30 p.m.

    More to come

  • WWE 8/30 Tallahassee, FL, house show results: Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt, Chris Jericho vs. Luke Harper

    Submitted by Charles Parker

    – Good house for the show. Eden Styles was the host and ring announcer

    WWE I-C Ryback def. Big Show

    Standard big guy match though for some reason Ryback is using chops in his offense. Ryback kicked out of both the Chokeslam and the WMD, He hit the Shellshock (barely) for the pin. Show got a lot of applause and polite cheers after the match. I kept thinking of the interview he did with Jericho recently. Show went to the top once and got slammed off it (though in truth Show just rolled into the ring on his own mostly).

    Bo Dallas came out and told everyone he would be victorious because he ‘bo-lieved’ in himself but we would not be because we didn’t bolieve. This led to Cesaro’s music hitting.

    Cesaro def. Bo Dallas

    Cesaro came out wearing that Cesaro/Kidd shirt oddly. Dallas bailed out of the ring early and often to start. Eventually they started wrestling, Bo’s gut is noticeable from the side. Cesaro’s comeback included hitting corner to corner running European-style uppercuts. Got the Giant Swing on his second try then hit the Neutralizer for the pin.

    Natayla def. Emma

    Emma wearing her heel attire reveals a lot more skin which is odd for a heel. Natayla got the first surprise pop since no one expected her and not as many people recognized her. She still her had full body suit. Emma throws the worst punches this side of Nikki Bella. Mostly mat-wrestling aside from Emma’s cross-body in the corner. Nattie eventually gets the sharpshooter for the submission.

    Luke Harper comes out and takes the mic. Says that Bray will destroy Reigns and the Wyatt family is back and stronger then ever. Proclaims himself the new face of desolation/destruction and to send someone out but not anyone they (in the back) wanted to see again.

    Chris Jericho def. Luke Harper

    Jericho got by far the loudest surprise pop the night. No one knew he was coming despite being advertised apparently. He came out with his light-up jacket and highly be-dazzled trunks. Good match though Jericho used John Cena level punches on the ten punches in a corner routine. Harper got out of the Lion Tamer twice, first by leg twist, second by making the ropes. Jericho eventually it the Code-breaker for the Pin.

    Randy Orton def. Sheamus

    Sheamus got mostly boos but Orton got the loudest reaction of the night that was overwhelmingly positive. Standard match between the two at this point, Orton using ‘Sheamus 10 Beats to the Belfry’. Sheamus eventually got the mic and stood over Orton while the latter was on his hands and knees, berating him and saying he ‘looked stupid’. You can guess how that worked out.

    – Intermission: Warrior/Conner tribute video.

    Neville def. Stardust

    No one really knew who Neville was but they definitely wanted to see the Red Arrow. ‘Cody Rhodes’ chants. Stardust spat water from a water bottle to get the early advantage while the ref was turned away. Neville at one point did the same to him. Neville hit a running dive over the ropes onto Cody on the outside. Neville eventually hits the Red Arrow for the pin.

    R-Truth def. Heath Slater

    Truth’s music hit and all the kids went down to sing with him, he barely made the ring before Slater attacked. Someone behind me, called Slater ‘Finn Balor’. throughout this, saying he hated him. Slater got the mic and said we were going to see the quickest match in WWE history. He then ate an Axe kick and was pinned.

    Lucha Dragons def. Los Matadors with Torito

    Both teams cheered a lot though the Dragons were louder. Matadors did subtle heel stuff including bullying Torito to establish themselves. At one point Torito got in the ring and did a go behind sequence with Kalisto. Finish saw the car crash spot outside involve Kalisto and a Matador, Torito got in the ring and tried to hit a frankensteiner from the top rope on Sin Cara who ducked and Torito took out one of his teammates. Sin Cara hit a senton for the pin.

    Roman Reigns def. Bray Wyatt in a street fight

    This match was billed as a street fight. A street fight that started with a collar and elbow tie-up by both men. Reigns has a stunning array of punches which was pretty much all he did except his drop kick on the apron and a powerbomb through a table Wyatt set-up. Finish saw Luke Harper get involved and take a Superman KO punch then the lights went out and Braun was in the ring again.

    Roman hit with two punches that Braun no sold and he was hoisted in the air to be choked out. This led to Truth running out and getting choked out instead. Followed by Neville and he got slammed as well. Finally Ryback made his way out and he hit Braun with a meathook clothlesline that staggered him enough for a Superman Punch from Reigns to knock him out of the ring. Reigns then Speared Wyatt for the pinfall.

    Notes:

    This was a fun show but it seemed very obvious how thin the roster was in terms of real stars. Outside of Reigns, Jericho and Orton, the next two over guys were Show and Wyatt. Also, they tried playing clips of various shows from the Network but there was noticeable buffering when they did so.

  • SummerSlam weekend notes, future direction of WWE, UFC business year in review, Bryan future

    A complete rundown of the WWE’s weekend in Brooklyn, with all the business notes, surprises and what is known about the future direction is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We also cover the decision to have Holly Holm replace Miesha Tate as Ronda Rousey’s opponent next, a UFC business year-in-review story, ROH big weekend, New Japan next tour, 2017 Mania and Daniel Bryan future note.

    The issue is on the site right now at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/44262-wrestling-observer-newsletter-august-31-2015-summerslam-weekend-wrap-up-ufc-business-and-more

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

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

    We have rundowns of NXT Takeover, SummerSlam and Raw from Brooklyn.  We look at the Night of Champions card and what is and isn’t confirmed, the unique aspect of that weekend no PPV, the returns of Sting and the Dudleys, Dudleys tag title reigns, Jushin Liger’s WWE future, New Japan stars at SummerSlam, Bray Wyatt’s new Wyatt family member and his booking, Jon Stewart, Lesnar and Undertaker’s finish, business notes, NXT in the U.K., Wrestlers complaining about fans at Raw, as well as more on the problems in the WWE Diva Division and what isn’t working. 

    We look at UFC’s 2015 business numbers and what they show about the UFC audience, the appeal of the audience to advertisers, how it compares with the audience at other sports, how much of this year’s increases have to do with Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey and what their effects are on business as a whole.  We also look at who the new fans UFC has brought in this year are.

    We also have full coverage of UFC from Saskatoon, with match-by-match coverage and business notes on the show.

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    We also note an indie show in Japan that outdrew Brock Lesnar and WWE at Sumo Hall, as well as the 40th anniversary of the pro debut of one of this era’s biggest stars.

    We note the death of Duke Myers, his career highlights, GFW’s latest TV taping and everything that happened, Taz getting a new gig, Wale and pro wrestling, Terry Funk wrestling again in a few months, Jim Ross talk show, Leroy McGuirk into NWA Hall of Fame, Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Red, Alberto El Patron in Europe, promoter critical of Sabu and an update on Len Rossi.

    We also look at the future of Lucha Underground, ROH/New Japan relationship update, next ROH PPV show, ROH weekend shows in Philadelphia and Brooklyn notes as well as the upcoming show.

    We also update TNA.

    We look at UFC’s marketing its fall and winter shows, what main events all UFC ‘s upcoming dates, Plans for the debut in Melbourne, Australia, and more notes on drug testing UFC athletes.

    We also look at the next FOX show, lots of new fights, Ronda Rousey T-shirt sales, Anthony Johnson situation, Two UFC women fighters pregnant and new Fight Pass series.

    We also look at a major wrestler signing, Alberto Del Rio in negotiations to be an announcer, early UFC promoter back running live shows and huge One championship bout.

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    *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)

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    *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)

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    *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)

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    *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.

  • SUN UPDATE: WWE Network edits, PWG, TNA, Surprise at ROH, Fan tried to attack Ambrose, Developmental talent media controversy

    By Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows at Dave Meltzerdave@wrestlingobserver.com”>

    Sunday has WWE in Daytona Beach (John Cena, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Prime Time Players, Dolph Ziggler) and Tallahassee (Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Ryback)

    *Battle of Los Angeles today in Reseda, CA

    *Ring of Honor last night in Atlanta

    *Global Force Wrestling last night in Richmond, VA

    *NXT last night in Fort Pierce, FL

    *NXT Thursday night in Tampa.

    Raw will be Monday in Tampa.  Announced so far is that Sting will be opening the show and appearing live, that there will be a Beat the Clock challenge with Paige, Sasha Banks and Charlotte with the winner getting Nikki Bella at Night of Champions for the Divas title plus Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Miami.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

    A complete rundown of the WWE’s weekend in Brooklyn, with all the business notes, surprises and what is known about the future direction is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We also cover the decision to have Holly Holm replace Miesha Tate as Ronda Rousey’s opponent next, a UFC business year-in-review story, ROH big weekend, New Japan next tour, 2017 Mania and Daniel Bryan future note. 

    The latest Wrestling Observer: Wrestling Observer Newsletter August 31, 2015: SummerSlam weekend wrap-up, UFC business

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    We have rundowns of NXT Takeover, SummerSlam and Raw from Brooklyn.  We look at the Night of Champions card and what is and isn’t confirmed, the unique aspect of that weekend no PPV, the returns of Sting and the Dudleys, Dudleys tag title reigns, Jushin Liger’s WWE future, New Japan stars at SummerSlam, Bray Wyatt’s new Wyatt family member and his booking, Jon Stewart, Lesnar and Undertaker’s finish, business notes, NXT in the U.K., Wrestlers complaining about fans at Raw, as well as more on the problems in the WWE Diva Division and what isn’t working. 

    We look at UFC’s 2015 business numbers and what they show about the UFC audience, the appeal of the audience to advertisers, how it compares with the audience at other sports, how much of this year’s increases have to do with Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey and what their effects are on business as a whole.  We also look at who the new fans UFC has brought in this year are.

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    We also have a look at the New Japan business and how it has increased over recent years, More on A.J. Styles challenging for the IWGP title, New wrestlers debuting in Japan including names not announced yet, lineups for the New Japan World shows in September, Hiroshi Tanahashi talks neck problem, Tanahashi talks theories of wrestling and Ricochet in New Japan.

    We also look at WrestleMania in 2017, the Madison Square Garden network special the 2K 16 launch party, the next Stone Cold podcast, an update on Daniel Bryan and well as some of his own philosophies of wrestling, Dolph Ziggler talks contract, the end of Tough Enough, more on NXT talent and pay, stars with new deals, the WWE Divas title, HHH talks NXT, other stars talk who they’d like to see in WWE, Jericho talks Hogan and more.

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    SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Battle of Los Angeles, Rousey in Australia, Raw tomorrow and the rest of the latest news with Wrestling Observer Radio.  You can ask questions for tonight’s show to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
    • Want to mention all the nice people I was able to meet the last two nights at the PWG show in Reseda.  As mentioned in the report, last night’s show was one of the best live events I’ve ever seen.  It’s just amazing the talent level at both shows, from all around the world.
    • The Discovery Network station Discovery en Espanol and well as the Discovery Network station in Romania and Eurosport in Finland are all listed as dropping Impact.
    • Zahra Schreiber, the girlfriend of Seth Rollins and a WWE developmental talent was covered as showing an Instagram photo from 2012 which showed a medal with the swastika on it in the background.  She defended it saying the swastika meant prosperity and meant that long before Hitler.  She worked last night’s house show in Fort Pierce as the manager with Solomon Crowe.  
    • Stevie Richards made a surprise appearance at last night’s ROH show in Atlanta and did a pull-apart angle with Jay Lethal.  Taelor Hendrix was in the corner of Christopher Daniels  & Frankie Kazarian & Lethal.
    • Cliff Compton was scheduled to wrestle Mark Briscoe but couldn’t appear as he was hospitalized with a seizure.  He was in the building and rushed via ambulance to the hospital.  He was released from the hospital late last night.
    • Kevin Iole reported that UFC was trying to book Joanna Jedrzejczyk against Valerie Letourneau as the No. 2 fight for the 11/15 show in Melbourne, Australia at Etihad Stadium.  However that isn’t likely since Letourneau was injured in her win last week over Maryna Morosz in Saskatoon.  Claudia Galdelha, who is also injured, wasn’t happy to hear that there could be a title fight before her,  Gadelha said she’d be ready to fight in December or January.  It makes sense to put Jedrezjczyk on the same show as Ronda Rousey, who now headlines that show.
    • In a post on Friday night, it was written that the stadium holds 90,000.  It will actually be set up for 70,000.  It’s never held that many in the past.
    • A fan tried to jump Dean Ambrose on Tuesday night at the Smackdown tapings in Providence.  There was footage on the www.tmz.com . site showing a guy who had gotten over the barricade and was running toward Ambrose from behind but security, right before he got to Ambrose, tackled him.  The report stated that the fan was holding a sharp object.
    • Bellator announced Phil Davis vs. Emanuel Newton and Linton Vassel vs. King Mo Lawal will be the first round pairings at the lightheayvweight tournament on 9/19 in San Jose.  Both will be two round fights, and the winners come back for three-round fights later in the show.
    • A first-ever Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Low Ki match is scheduled for Jersey All Pro Wrestling on 11/14 in Rahway, NJ.  At one time these two were scheduled to feud in WWE in a major program, but plans changed long before it ever came close to happening .  Also announced for that show are The Hardys, Konnan & Homicide & Hernandez at LAX,. MVP, Jack Evans and Candice LaRae.
    • I believe there is a pre-sale for the Royal Rumble on 1/24 in Orlando at Amway Arena with the code rumble16.  The pre-sale definitely started at about 10:15 p.m. last night.  Tickets go on sale to the public on 11/20.
    • Rich Brennan was announced as the new full-time lead announcer on Smackdown.
    • The WWE Network’s airing of SummerSlam that is up right now has edited out The New Day’s song parody of “Empire State of Mind.”  They also edited out Brock Lesnar flipping off Undertaker right before the finish of that match.  That’s weird because there are tons of episodes of Steve Austin flipping people up in the archives (thanks to Leon Peters).
    • Hulk Hogan talked about wanting to run for Vice President on the ticket with Donald Trump.  Note that as another thing that isn’t about to happen.
    • In Google searches for yesterday, Shane Moseley was No. 12 with 50,000 and Leo Santa Cruz was No. 14 also with 50,000. 
    • UIPW has a show today in East Los Angeles at the UIPW Auditorium featuring a three-way for their title with Volador Jr.. defending against Mephisto and Johnny Mundo.  That’s an interesting political match since Volador and Mephisto are headliners for CMLL and Mundo headlines for AAA and Lucha Underground.
    • United Wrestling Coalition on 9/5 in Wrightstown, NJ at Kelly’s Banquet Hall.
    • The funeral for Professor Elliot Maron will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Old Montifiore Cemetery at 121-83 Springfield Blvd., in Queens, NY, which will be a grave side service (thanks to Mike Lano).
    • World League Wrestling from last night in Troy, MO:  Justin D’Air won Battle Royal, Brandon Espinosa & Kyle Roberts b Kevin Lee Davidson & Hannibal, Trevor Murdoch & Brian Breaker b Moonshine Mantell & Josef Von Schmidt, Jon Webb b Ace Hawkins, Heather Patera b Stacy O’Brien 2/3 falls to win the women’s title, Superstar Steve Fender & Derek McQuinn b Dave DeLorean & Jayden Fenix-DQ, Leland Race d Steve Anthony.  Anthony is the NWA jr. champion who is headed to New Japan this month to defend the title against Tiger Mask.
    • Ric Flair was in the area in Missouri working with Harley Race in a training camp.
    • Dan Lennaard is looking for contact information on Outback Jack.  Lennard is at danhelen@idx.com.au
    • Gold Rush Wrestling from last night in Pacifica, CA with the one-night Lady Luck tournament:  Boyce LeGrande b Shawn Gunn, Boyce LeGrande b Corey Kresse, Brittany Wonder b Shotzi Blackheart, Kikyo Nakamura b Lisa Lace,Thunder  Rosa b Luchadora Dutra, Cheerleader Melissa b Nicole Savoy, Thunder Rosa b Kikyo Nakamura-DQ, Cheerleader Melissa b Brittany Wonder, Jeff Cobb & Sione Finau b Suburban Commandos, Cheerleader Melissa b Thunder Rosa to win the Lady Luck tournament (thanks to Matt)
    • Smash Wrestling on 9/13 in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Center with a women’s tournament with Team USA or Jessica Havok, Allysin Kay, Sassytephanie, Cherry Bomb, Kimber Lee, Candice LaRae, Heidi Lovelace and Veda Scott.  Team Canada will be Nicolie Matthews, Portia Perez, Vanessa Kraven, Courtney Rush, Jennifer Blake, Jewels Malone, Xandra Bala and KC Spinelli.
    • Championship Wrestling Entertainment from Friday night in Vero Beach, FL for a TV taping:  Johann Remsez & Ace Slater b Ace Andrews & Rex Bacchus, Santana Garrett b Grace Storm, Chico Adams b Aryeh Amor, Lince Dorado & Eddie Cruz b Barrio Brothers, Rex Bacchus b PRS, MJ Knight b Ashley Mayberry, Zack Monster b Heroe Byronico, JB Cool b Michael  Kai Rayne, Zack Monster won three-way over Damien James and Donnie Able, Chico Adams b Romero-COR, Shaniah Aariyanna won four-way over Ashley Mayberry, Grace Storm and MJ Knight, Rhett Giddins b Big English, Tyranus b Josh Parker, Jesus DeLeon b JB Cool.
    • Shine Wrestling will have an iPPV this coming weekend from Ybor City, FL with Santana Garrett vs Allysin Kay, Athena vs. Vanessa Karaven, and Jessicka Havok vs. LuFisto.
    • This is really sad, from Billy Jack Haynes
    • The video of a wedding at the Team Vision Dojo in Orlando
    • A story on former wrestler Pat O’Hara in the Tampa Tribune
    • Drew Galloway talks the U.K. wrestling scene
    • ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)

    1978 – Talisman beat Mario Valenzuela to win the Mexican national lightweight title

    1987 – Pirata Morgan & Jerry Estrada & Hombre Bala beat Ringo Mendoza & Kiss & Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in Mexico City to win the Mexican national trios titles

    1997 – Julie Starr beat Sweet Saraya (Paige’s mother) in Norwich to win the British women’s title

    1983 – Jumbo Tsuruta beat Bruiser Brody in Tokyo to win the International title

    1989 – Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu beat Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara in Osaka to win the All Japan tag titles

    1995 – Masayoshi Motego beat El Hijo del Santo in Tokyo in a tournament final for the NWA jr. title

    2003 – Milano Collection A.T. & Yossino & Condotti Shuji beat Masaaki Mochizuki & Kennichiro Arai & Dragon Kid, Cima & Suwa & Don Fujii and Tokyo Magnum & Susumu Yokosuka & Genki Horiguchi in a four-way to win the UWA trios titles

    2009 – Naoki Tanizaki beat Kategora in the finals of a tournament for the Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate title

    2013 – Dragon Kid & K-Ness beat Naruki Doi & Ricochet in Kobe to win the Open the Twin Gate titles

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (August 30): Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna, HHH vs. Rock I-C ladder match, big Hawaii show

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1960 – Minneapolis, Minnesota; Verne Gagne & Joe Scarpello beat AWA Tag Team Champions Tiny Mills & Stan Kowalski and Gene Kiniski beat Bob Rasmussen

    1969 – Mad Dog & Butcher Vachon defeated Crusher & Dick the Bruiser for the AWA World Tag Team Title in Chicago, Illinois in a 2 of 3 falls match. Also, Blackjack Lanza went to a no contest with Wilbur Snyder, Edouard Carpentier beat Big K, Pat O’Connor beat Angelo Poffo, Baron Von Raschke beat Rene Goulet, Luis Martinez beat Kenny Jay. Attendance was 10,000.

    1972 – Honolulu, Hawaii; Johnny Barend drew NWA Champion Dory Funk Jr, AWA Tag Team Champions Ray Stevens & Nick Bockwinkel beat Wahoo McDaniel & Fred Curry, Lonnie Mayne beat Jimmy Snuka, Sam Steamboat beat Al Costello and Ed Francis drew Fred Blassie

    1981 – St. Paul, Minnesota; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Sheik Adnan El Kassey by dq. (After the AWA awarded the title to Bockwinkel when Gagne retired, the AWA feuded Bockwinkel with the hated Kassey to keep the “heat” off Bockwinkel for being given the belt). AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura, Hulk Hogan & Brad Rheingans beat Ray Stevens & Jerry Blackwell, Billy Robinson drew Tito Santana, Baron Von Raschke beat Eddie Boulder (Brutus Beefcake/Ed Leslie) and Buck Zumhofe beat Kenny Jay

    1983 – In Louisville, Kentucky; NWA Mid America champion Buddy Landel defeated Terry Taylor, AWA Southern tag champs the Grapplers defeated Spike Huber and Steve Regal, The Fabulous Ones defeated CWA tag champs the Assassins via DQ and Austin Idol wrestled CWA International champ Ken Patera to a draw.

    1984 – In Birmingham, Alabama; Ted DiBiase defeated Brad Armstrong and Austin Idol defeated Rip Rogers in a cage match.

    1987 – Minneapolis, Minnesota; AWA Champion Curt Hennig beat Greg Gagne dq, AWA Tag Team Champions Boris Zhukov & Soldat Ustinov beat Wahoo McDaniel & DJ Peterson, In a Taped Fist Match; Scott LeDoux beat Larry Zbyszko by countout and Tommy Rich beat Kevin Kelly

    1993 – At SummerSlam in Auburn Hills, Michigan; Lex Luger defeated WWF World Heavyweight Champion Yokozuna via countout, WWF Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated The Heavenly Bodies (Jimmy Del Ray & Tom Pritchard) and Jerry Lawler defeated Bret Hart via disqualification.

    1993 – Dustin Rhodes defeated Rick Rude to reclaim the WCW United States Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia.

    1996 – Sid Vicious defeated Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

    1998 – At the SummerSlam PPV in Madison Square Garden, The New Age Outlaws defeated Mankind and Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere match to win the WWF World Tag Team Titles, Triple H defeated Rocky Maivia in a Ladder match for the WWF Intercontinental Title

    2011 – During an edition of Impact Wrestling, James Storm defeated Rob Van Dam, Samoa Joe defeated AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy defeated Kurt Angle.

  • WWE 8/29 Orlando, FL, house show results: Seth Rollins vs. John Cena

    Submitted by Chris H.

    Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens with Dirty Deeds

    Best match of the night with each guy hitting all their usual stuff, including a tope by Dean, and a top rope fisherman’s bomb by Owens.

    Miz TV with Jimmy Uso

    Adam Rose came out instead announcing he was a party pooper and this party was over. Seriously. Uso came out from behind and superkicked him. He then had a dance off with Miz, and Uso laid out Miz with the super kick after his dance.

    Jimmy Uso def. Baron Corbin

    Corbin attacked Uso on his way back up the aisle. Uso wins a short match with a top rope splash after kicking out of the end of days.

    PCB def. BAD

    Charlotte made Tamina submit to the figure eight.  PCB were very over, but little reaction for Sasha, which was surprising given it was in Orlando.

    Dolph Ziggler (with Lana) def. Rusev (with Summer Rae) in a no DQ match

    Ziggler hit the Zig Zag for the pin. For the first time since Owen Hart vs. Mick Foley in front of Dave Meltzer, popcorn was used in the match. They struck each other with a fan’s popcorn bucket, which Rusev eventually put on Dolph’s head. They had a match that was better than their Summerslam one. The ladies got involved, which distracted Rusev and Ziggler hit the zig zag for the win.

    Jack Swagger def. Tyler Breeze

    Swagger won with the ankle lock. Pretty good little match, but again a surprisingly small reaction for a NXT superstar with Full Sail so close.

    WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) retained the tag titles over the Prime Time Players

    Good match until a sloppy finish. Titus was running wild when Kofi hit a jumping kick behind the ref’s back.  Woods rolled up Titus but he was too close to the ropes.  It was a slow roll up and he was on the ropes initially so the ref didn’t count, but Woods moved him off for the 3 count.  Probably would’ve been a good spot for an improvisation.  Crowd was mixed but loud for the New Day until the flat finish.

    John Cena def. WWE Champion and US Champion Seth Rollins by DQ

    Rollins attacked Cena before the bell with the belts, then announced he wanted to put both belts on the line.  A mini version of their Summerslam match, Rollins was great and Cena had his usual effort.  Second best match of the night due to a bad finish.  At the end, Cena went for the AA but Rollins ducked behind and hit a low blow for the DQ. I know they don’t want to have the heel champ retain clean on the house shows, but should’ve put some thought into a better finish after a 15 minute match.

    Both men cut promos after plugging the Rumble ticket on sale. Big crowd at the box office for that on the way out, despite a thunder and lightning show going on outside.

    Notes:

    – Royal Rumble 2016 was announced for Amway Center, for January 24, 2016.  Presale began after the show at the box office and online with the code ORLANDO16.

    – NXT announcer Greg Hamilton was the house and JoJo was the ring announcer.

    – Upper level of the arena was tarped off with the 2 lower bowls full. Estimated 8000. 

  • Global Force Wrestling 8/28 Harrisburg, PA, house show results: Chris Masters, Kevin Nash, Luke Gallows

    Submitted by Rany Perkins

    – Pat Buck beat Dirty Money

    – DJ Baxter and Jeff Jarrett cuts a promo in the ring thanking the fans for coming to the show.

    – Pepper Parks beat Kevin Matthews

    – Kimber Lee beat Cherry Bomb

    – Eddie Smooth beat BLK Jeez

    – Chris Masters beat Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) with The Masterlock

    – Kevin Nash walked down to the ring and cut a promo about how he has passed the torch from the nWo to The Bullet Club

    Handicap match: Doc Gallows with “Bullet Babe” Amber Gallows beat Ali Akbar and Sanada when Gallows used a baseball bat from Jeff Jarrett to get the win.