Hiroshi Tanahashi has had some extensive, amazing feuds over the years. We saw a great example of that last weekend when he defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in a sensational match for the G1 Climax 25 trophy. We’ve also seen his many battles against Kazuchika Okada, considered by some to be the best matches this decade has to offer, with more to come from what it looks like. But one never seemed as personal as it was when Katsuyori Shibata came back after being away for ten years. Tonight’s show is the culmination of their feud, one that’s been building up since 2004, when Shibata left New Japan on bad terms. Between Tanahashi’s goal for revenge and Shibata’s utter stiffness, the end result should end up being one hell of a bout, which it in fact did turn out to be.
Tonight’s show takes place at Kobe World Hall on September 21, 2014. This is part two of our look at the Destruction in Kobe event.
They first aired a match between Hirooki Goto against Togi Makabe. I liked this match. It was hard hitting, and played into their match from the G1 where Goto broke Makabe’s jaw legit. Unfortunately, this was lost on the announce team as I don’t think that match was shown during G1 highlights, and was never really brought up. To me it felt like that was a big part of the story being told in the match, but who knows. Again, this was good stuff with both guys hitting hard and delivering some cool moves. Makabe at one point double sledged Goto in the face hard. Pretty good, very stiff match, as much as you’d expect between these two.
Makabe is interviewed after, telling Goto to bring on it and won’t be stopped so easily.
Tanahashi is interviewed. He didn’t like the way Shibata originally quit in 2004 to go freelance, then eventually MMA. But he was fine with his return in 2012. Fans starting to cheer him and him saying that he was starting to think pro wrestling was fun was the final straw for him. Those turn of events made the match more meaningful to him. He wanted to pin him with a small package to make it personal, having him there for four or even five seconds. The G1 match he was shocked by because people cheered for Shibata more, and that made him upset. When he lost, he felt like for the first time in ten years he couldn’t get back up. He questioned if these last ten years were for naught as Shibata boasted he had accomplished as much as Tanahashi has in the last ten years.
The match aired. This was given five stars here on this website. As for me, personally, I didn’t think it was at that level at all. I think this was a excellent, stiff, back and forth match. Just not at a five star level, however. Judging it based solely on the match itself, I didn’t think it was at that level. But in terms of telling a story, the story leading to it, the story during the match, and the post-match stuff after the match, it was just excellent. Commentary was great were as well, as they were on point with telling the story about how Shibata had left New Japan and it’s been eating Tanahashi away ever since he came back. Tanahashi manages to score a measure of revenge, hitting Shibata twice with the high fly flow to pin him. Real emotion after the match. Shibata gets to his feet as he and Tanahashi exchange words. Tanahashi puts out his hand and Shibata accepts to a huge pop. Tears stream down Tanahashi’s face as Tanahashi celebrates.
Tanahashi says that for now, he’s gotten his revenge for the G1 match. He can’t accept how Shibata quit, but he wonders how those ten years were for him, it must have been hard. He gets emotional when talking about what Shibata said after the match, with him saying Shibata told him “Thank you for protecting New Japan Pro Wrestling”. Tanahashi however felt he didn’t have the right to say it. There’s no need for him to say thanks, because it’s all about understanding each other. If he were to say one thing to Shibata, it would be…welcome back.
In his reflective interview, he felt it was his mission to bring it to the next level. This reminded him back to when they were young lions. He reiterates what Shibata said, which shook him emotionally- you don’t feel like that every day, he mentions. We all protected New Japan Pro Wrestling, it wasn’t just me. As for their relationship now, he doesn’t say much other than Shibata mentioned he always cries after a match no matter what the result. He will stay as he is, at the end of the day and he hopes Shibata stays the same too.
A fantastic episode of New Japan on AXS. This hour told a great story about the rivalry between Tanahashi and Shibata, and is worth watching alone for the post match interviews from Tanahashi.
As tonight’s Ring of Honor show in Philadelphia, PA, ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that their relationship is stronger than ever. Kevin Kelly hosted the segment attended by Nigel McGuinness, Joe Koff, Cary Silkin, Tiger Hattori and Naoki Sugabayasi.
– In February, there will be two ROH shows in Tokyo. While there, the ROH World title will be defended for the very first time in a New Japan ring. The belt has been defended four times prior in Japan, all by Takeshi Morishima.
– NJPW wrestlers will appear at ROH’s 14th anniversary show in Las Vegas, NV.
– in May, NJPW talent will again come back to North America to do their usual dates in Philly and Toronto, but they will add more towns, and will bring more & different wrestlers from NJPW in 2016 than in past years.
It is also expected that both sides will send more talent back and forth and not just those that have gone in the past.
Show: interactive Wrestling Radio courtesy of www.wrestlingepicenter.com
Guest: “Voice of WCW” David Penzer
Date: 08/20/15
Your Host: James Walsh
David Penzer toured North America with Roddy Piper on Billy Ray Cyrus’ tour buss for 60 days during Roddy’s monster book tour in the early 2000’s. Penzer, who put the tour together and was in charge of booking appearances and interviews, opens up about his time working for the “Hot Rod” in an exclusive interview with the Wrestling Epicenter.
We also pay tribute to Dusty Rhodes, Curt Hennig, and more. Plus, talk about the night Kurt Angle beat Penzer up on TNA Impact which Penzer describes as the hardest he’s ever been hit in his life.
We run the gambit of topics but all in all, it is designed as a tribute to the late great “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. RIP, Mr. Piper. You’re already sorely missed.
To listen in MP3 format or check out the YouTube video which contains well more content than just the below transcript, check out www.wrestlingepicenter.com. It is free!
DAVID PENZER
On what he’s doing now: Penzer says he’s a real estate agent. “Let me tell you, if you think the wrestling business is cut throat… It is nothing compared to the real estate industry.” He jokes that being the “Voice of WCW” or one of the voices of TNA is a more exciting title than real-estate agent.
On Roddy Piper’s passing: Penzer says he was at the Legends of Wrestling event at the Miami Marlins/Arizona Diamondbacks game in Miami with Kevin Nash, Bushwhacker Luke, Brian Knobbs, and other legends when they found out. He says he saw Kevin Nash go white and his chin hit his chest and that Brian Knobbs was crying. He knew something was up and asked. He says everyone there took it very hard but none harder than Luke.
On working for Roddy Piper: James calls Piper a colleague but Penzer says he was a colleague in WCW but on the book tour, Piper was his boss. He says Roddy expected a lot from his employees and he feels he did what was expected. He said Roddy wanted to blanket the United States and Canada in his book promotion. So, they got Billy Ray Cyrus’ tour bus and hit the road. Roddy kept stressing he wanted to do a lot of interviews in every location. Penzer took it serious and ended up getting him 16 interviews on one of the early stops. Roddy appreciated it, but made sure he knew to limit it to 10 interviews max from then on. Penzer said he knew he had done well at that point.
On a fun story from the road with Roddy: During the book tour in Columbus, Penzer got called to see if Roddy would appear at a bar in the morning before the college football rivalry game between Ohio and Michigan. They accepted and turned up and had thousands of people in a bar, at 8 in the morning, drunk and screaming and Roddy cut a promo cheering on Ohio. Another good memory was when Roddy did his book signing in Time Square, NY. He says he was flagged by bagpipes as he headed to the signing and knows, given Roddy’s massive history in New York City, that it meant a lot to him to get that kind of reception there.
On Roddy Piper the man: Penzer says he grew up a Roddy fan and admired him even when he was working for the WWE while Penzer was employed at WCW. He says the thing people don’t realize about Roddy is he was what you saw. He was every bit the guy who put his hand on your shoulder when he spoke to you and treated you well. He says even after they parted ways business wise, every time he saw him Roddy would hug him and ask about his wife and kids.
On other wrestling deaths: Penzer says losing Dusty Rhdoes was a big punch to the gut as well. He is a Florida guy and nobody, not Marco Rubio or Jeb Bush, was bigger in Florida than Dusty Rhodes. He says losing Roddy so soon after really set home that we are losing some of our heroes.
Penzer also notes that Curt Hennig was amongst the hardest pills to swallow because he was in town to do a show that Penzer himself and Jimmy hart were putting on.
On the XWF: “We got a lot of guys their jobs back with WWE”, Penzer joked. He says he was excited to join the XWF after WCW closed. He admits it was a much smaller company but it was affording him different opportunities such as being one of the writers of the episodic TV show. The promotion even paid for his move to Tampa. He says losing a lot of the guys back to the WWE didn’t help citing that they had Hulk Hogan wrestle Curt Hennig and both went back to the WWE as did Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Roddy Piper who he cites as probably being their biggest static name. He says he is glad, though it was short lived, that the company lives on via DVD’s and YouTube.
On Hulk Hogan: “He’s going to have a hard time coming back from this”, Penzer says. He feels his image has been damaged by the hidden tapes and he’ll ahve to work hard to get his name back to what it was prior to the scandal. He feels the whole thing is sad.
On working for TNA: He started work in TNA in 2005 when Shane Douglas had some personal issues to tend to. Jeremy Borash, who he says he was told is a salary employee to TNA and would resume duties as ring announcer once things worked themselves out, was going backstage to do the backstage interviews that Shane Douglas had taken up doing leaving the ring announcing job open. Jeff Jarrett asked if he’d do it and he enjoyed it greatly. He says it was a whole different vibe than WCW and cathartic in a way as the way WCW ended had a lot of people bitter and there was a whole lot of anger leading in to its closing.
On his beating from Kurt Angle: “Oh man, that was rough. Kurt felt bad about it.” Penzer states that Angle was, in character, running around demanding his belt back and it came time for Angle to pop Penzer. The forearm he got hti with was the hardest Penzer has ever been hit in his life. He says his face swelled p. It was painful. He says the funny thing was, on TV, the Ankle Lock looked brutal but that didn’t hurt. It was the initial forearm that knocked him for six.
On leaving TNA: Penzer says Terry Taylor called him into his office and asked about Internet rumors that said Penzer wanted to leave wrestling. Penzer says they weren’t true because it was a good gig, paid well, and he loved doing it. Every time Terry Taylor would call him on the phone, he’d say, “Hi David, this is Terry Taylor. I’m not calling to fire you”. Well, a week after that meeting, Terry called and said, “Hi David, this is Terry Taylor.” Penzer noted that he didn’t say that he wasn’t calling to fire him. Terry said “Sorry, man” and that was that. He notes that Jeremy Borash’s backstage position as interviewer had changed because Jason Hervey was asking questions backstage and having the guys answer them. He notes that he was told that once the situation changed, he’d be replaced. He says it was fun and knew every week could be his last there. He says it lasted 5 years, though!
On WrestleMania 31 and the Sting/Triple H match: “Maybe it can be the final nail in the coffin and we can move on”, Penzer says. He explains that the WWE won the war and he viewed that match as perhaps the end of the hard feelings. He admits that it didn’t make a lot of logical sense, Sting was the enemy of the nWo and yet they were there to help him. But, “it was a great visual”. He explains that his son is a huge fan of wrestling and that is why he watched it. In the end, “it was a great visual” is his best compliment for seeing the guys of WCW including Hogan, Hall, and Nash to help Sting against the guys of the WWE including DX and Shawn Michaels.
On social media: David Penzer is on Twitter and Facebook. He says he’s new to it and actually is finding he might need to unfollow some people. He cites an actress who he is a fan of tweeting during the Republican Debate the other night and being brutal. He says he tweeted back asking why she watched or expressed an opinion if she’s not open minded to what any of them have to say. James cites a guitarist he likes who often goes off on half-informed political rants and says sometimes, especially with social media, you have to appreciate what they do that you like and not care so much about their politics or it can make you crazy.
While the claim was made tonight at the ROH show in Philadelphia and reported that the ROH title would be defended for the first time in Japan in 2016, that is correct only related to New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Takeshi Morishima actually defended the ROH title twice in Japan on Pro Wrestling NOAH events.
WWE today promoted John Cena’s granting the 500th wish which will actually take place on Monday before Raw at the Barclay’s Center. Since the founding of Make-a-wish in 1980, no other celebrity has granted the number of wishes as Cena.
Make-A-Wish® Celebrates WWE® Superstar John Cena® for Granting Record 500 Wishes
John Cena to become the first celebrity wish granter in the organization’s 35 year history to reach the milestone
PHOENIX (August 21, 2015) – Make-A-Wish® congratulates WWE® Superstar John Cena® for granting 500 wishes through the wish granting organization. Cena will achieve the landmark wish total when he spends time with Rocco, an 8-year-old from Queens, NY, battling leukemia, before WWE Monday Night Raw® at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. For Rocco, the chance to hang out with the WWE Superstar will be a wish-come-true. For Cena, the meeting will be his 500th opportunity to bring hope and optimism to a wish child battling a life-threatening medical condition.
Since the founding of Make-A-Wish in 1980, no other celebrity has granted as many wishes as Cena. To acknowledge Cena and his contributions to Make-A-Wish, WWE and Make-A-Wish joined together to host a party on Friday, Aug. 21, at a Dave & Buster’s in New York City. Attendees included John Cena, Make-A-Wish America President and CEO David Williams, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, WWE Divas The Bella Twins® – Nikki and Brie, WWE Superstar Sheamus®, wish kids and their families. At the event, WWE announced a multi-year, million dollar commitment to Make-A-Wish – a symbol of WWE’s on-going support for wish granting.
In addition to wish granting, Cena regularly goes above and beyond to support the mission of Make-A-Wish. He has personally donated more than 6 million airline miles for wishes involving travel, hosted parties for wish kids at WrestleMania® and served as a Wish Ambassador at speaking engagements. Cena is also a recipient of the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award, which Make-A-Wish awarded him in 2009. In 2012, he also received an award to mark the milestone of his 300th wish, something no other celebrity or athlete has achieved.
“John Cena’s slogan, ‘Never Give UpTM,’ is a constant source of inspiration for wish kids and serves as a reminder to stay strong and keep pushing through the difficult times,” said David Williams, Make-A-Wish America President and CEO. “The fact that he has had the sustained success required to reach 500 wishes speaks volumes about the type of person John is and the quality of the wish experience he delivers.”
“There is no more humbling experience than a child who could ask for anything in the world asking to meet me,” said WWE Superstar John Cena. “I have faced some of the toughest Superstars in WWE history and I’ve never encountered more bravery or toughness than I see in each wish kid that I meet. It is inspiring to see the impact that granting wishes can have and I look forward to granting 500 more.”
WWE has been involved in wish granting since the early 1980s, beginning shortly after the founding of Make-A-Wish. The popularity of WWE has endured throughout the years with a total wish count in the thousands. Since 2001, more than 45 Superstars and Divas have individually been requested, and subsequently, granted a wish. To learn more about Make-A-Wish and the WWE relationship, visit wish.org.
ESPN has sent some video out highlighting its WWE SummerSlam coverage this weekend:
Brock Lesnar on a variety of topics, including Jonathan Coachman, ESPN covering WWE and predicting the ‘SportsCenter Highlight of the Night’ from SummerSlam.
WWE today promoted John Cena’s granting the 500th wish which will actually take place on Monday before Raw at the Barclay’s Center. Since the founding of Make-a-wish in 1980, no other celebrity has granted the number of wishes as Cena.
Make-A-Wish® Celebrates WWE® Superstar John Cena® for Granting Record 500 Wishes
John Cena to become the first celebrity wish granter in the organization’s 35 year history to reach the milestone
PHOENIX (August 21, 2015) – Make-A-Wish® congratulates WWE® Superstar John Cena® for granting 500 wishes through the wish granting organization. Cena will achieve the landmark wish total when he spends time with Rocco, an 8-year-old from Queens, NY, battling leukemia, before WWE Monday Night Raw® at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. For Rocco, the chance to hang out with the WWE Superstar will be a wish-come-true. For Cena, the meeting will be his 500th opportunity to bring hope and optimism to a wish child battling a life-threatening medical condition.
Since the founding of Make-A-Wish in 1980, no other celebrity has granted as many wishes as Cena. To acknowledge Cena and his contributions to Make-A-Wish, WWE and Make-A-Wish joined together to host a party on Friday, Aug. 21, at a Dave & Buster’s in New York City. Attendees included John Cena, Make-A-Wish America President and CEO David Williams, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, WWE Divas The Bella Twins® – Nikki and Brie, WWE Superstar Sheamus®, wish kids and their families. At the event, WWE announced a multi-year, million dollar commitment to Make-A-Wish – a symbol of WWE’s on-going support for wish granting.
In addition to wish granting, Cena regularly goes above and beyond to support the mission of Make-A-Wish. He haspersonally donated more than 6 million airline miles for wishes involving travel, hosted parties for wish kids at WrestleMania® and served as a Wish Ambassador at speaking engagements. Cena is also a recipient of the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award, which Make-A-Wish awarded him in 2009. In 2012, he also received an award to mark the milestone of his 300th wish, something no other celebrity or athlete has achieved.
“John Cena’s slogan, ‘Never Give UpTM,’ is a constant source of inspiration for wish kids and serves as a reminder to stay strong and keep pushing through the difficult times,” said David Williams, Make-A-Wish America President and CEO. “The fact that he has had the sustained success required to reach 500 wishes speaks volumes about the type of person John is and the quality of the wish experience he delivers.”
“There is no more humbling experience than a child who could ask for anything in the world asking to meet me,” said WWE Superstar John Cena. “I have faced some of the toughest Superstars in WWE history and I’ve never encountered more bravery or toughness than I see in each wish kid that I meet. It is inspiring to see the impact that granting wishes can have and I look forward to granting 500 more.”
WWE has been involved in wish granting since the early 1980s, beginning shortly after the founding of Make-A-Wish. The popularity of WWE has endured throughout the years with a total wish count in the thousands. Since 2001, more than 45 Superstars and Divas have individually been requested, and subsequently, granted a wish. To learn more about Make-A-Wish and the WWE relationship, visit wish.org.
TNA showed increases their first-run show and replay on Wednesday doing 323,000 viewers for the 9 p.m. show and 73,000 for the midnight replay. The 396,000 total viewers is the best since 7/29 with the first episode performing the best since 8/5.
Ring of Honor at 11 p.m. did 145,000 viewers, slightly down from the prior week.
All eyes are on WWE as they host three sold out shows this weekend, the main attraction being a four hour Summerslam on Sunday. We will have full coverage of all the events over the weekend including live results and post show audio with Dave and Bryan. ROH is also hosting a New Japan Crossover event tonight featuring Jay Leathal, Shinsuke Nakamura, Okata and others. In addition to wrestling action UFC fight night is headlined sunday with a bout between Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira.
Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive will give a preview NXT takeover, UFC and SummerSlam, speak about Rondas next oppenent and your calls on Wrestling Observer Live available here or through the iHeart Radio App. Here is today’s show: Wrestling Observer Live 8/21: SummerSlam weekend, Ronda Rousey’s next fight, open line Fridays, more!
Tonight:
Ring of Honor Presents: Aftershock FRIDAY, AUGUST 21ST, 2015 7:30PM BELL TIME
ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal w/ Truth Martini vs “Mr ROH” Roderick Strong
Adam Cole vs Shinsuke Nakamura
KUSHIDA vs Matt Sydal
ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Addiction (c) vs The Young Bucks
Kazuchika Okada & RPG Vice (Rocky Romero & Beretta) vs The Briscoes & Hirooki Goto
Dalton Castle vs Cedric Alexander w/ Veda Scott
“Unbreakable” Michael Elgin vs “The Last Real Man” Silas Youn
The Kingdom w/Maria Kanellis vs War Machine (Raymond Rowe & Hanson)
reDRagon vs The House of Truth
Adam Page w/ BJ Whitmer vs Will Ferrara vs Takaaki Watanabe vs Moose w/ Stokely Hathaway
New Japan on AXS
Description: “Hiroshi Tanahashi vs rival Katsuyori Shibata in a brutal five-star classic encounter. Togi Makabe meets Hirooki Goto.”
Feedback, polls and show report requests:
We’re looking for ROH Philly, GFW Vegas, and sights/sounds/spottings from #SummerSlam. Email Newstips
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The new issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring a chat with Konnan about the state of AAA heading into TripleMania XXIII. We discuss the company’s improvements in production, advantages over WWE and differences in philosophy, how to listen to fans, and much more. Plus, as always, we have all of the usual reviews and international news, including Dr. Lucha’s TripleMania preview.
Last week’s FREE Figure Four Weekly is still up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture.
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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WWE’s weekend in Brooklyn is the main story in this weeks Wrestling Observer Newsletter now available. This includes both Summerslam on Sunday as well as NXT Takeover on Saturday. We also have full coverage of the now finished G1 Climax and what the results mean for NJPW in the near future. In addition we look at UFC teamsters looking at options of unionization and the morale issues that spawned it. We also have a look at the AAA TripleMania PPV show, UFC ratings increases, the brawl at the WSOF show, UFC suing Wanderlei Silva and Layla retiring.
The issue is on the site right now at August 24, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Summerslam preview, G1 Tournament and finals review, Silva trial details
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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.
We look at the WWE events in Brooklyn with three straight full houses and look historically at the only other promotion that has been able to do it historically and the record, as well as updates on the NXT and SummerSlam shows and more details on the NXT card as well as the probable main event stipulation and ticket demand.
We have a complete look at the G-1 Climax tournament, including updates on the last few days, the standings, the Sumo Hall preview and coverage of all the shows this past week with star ratings.
We’ve got a look at the attempts to unionize UFC fighters, the real story behind the attempt, the letter sent by UFC to all of its fighters and why they probably could have written it better, and a look at UFC business.
We also look at the wealth of Vince McMahon, Rosa Mendes being pregnant, WWE injury updates, lawsuits, weird match, Tough Enough, new names, insider trading, Raw advance, Diva search news plus notes on all the weekend WWE & NXT events.
We look at TripleMania, all the problems with the show, what happened with the Spanish language broadcast, mistakes made in booking, how the card had to change from its original plans, the letter AAA sent out after, the retirements and Hall of Fame ceremony, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
We’ve got notes on the funeral of Roddy Piper, more on the Hulk Hogan tapes story, Hogan’s first public appearance, two Roddy Piper moves that haven’t come out, one of the biggest stars of the last ten years suffering a major health issue, a former star gets his number retired, a U.K. star returns after cancer, a retirement that probably isn’t a retirement, a Japanese promotion running in October in California, a wrestler having his first match in 20 years, the second oldest living wrestler and his background, big shows in Puerto Rico and news no two different wrestling Halls of Fame.
We also have an update on the status of Lucha Underground, what changes have to be made, the audience watching the show, what to look out for, notes on the contracts the performers have, update on Vampiro and coverage of both weeks of Ultima Lucha.
We also look at the ROH show in Brooklyn, TNA Hall of fame ceremony, and upcoming TNA house shows.
We also look at McGregor vs. Aldo, a big show vs. normal show, Las Vegas vs. Cowboys Stadium, Rousey vs. Cyborg update, Lawler vs. McGregor, UFC financials, how much it costs them every year just in interest on their bond, what kind of profits they are making, lots of ratings into, Rousey business notes, the Aldo drug testing fiasco, Overeem vs. Dos Santos, Punk vs. Pendred, fighter already talking about coming out of retirement, and lots of new UFC fights.
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Friday Update:
As noted in this WrestlingObserver.com article: WWE SummerSlam: Steve Austin, Ric Flair & post-SS RAW Steve Austin is leaving NYC before SummerSlam, but Ric Flair is heading into town. It also sounds like something big will be happening on Raw this Monday.
As you have probably already heard, Ronda Rousey’s next opponent will be undefeated Holly Holm. This comes as a bit of a surprise as most believed Meisha Tate was getting the immediate shot. The full story: UFC: Ronda Rousey to fight Holly Holm at January’s UFC 195 Meisha’s reaction at MMAFighting.com: Miesha Tate ‘extremely disappointed’ about news of Ronda Rousey-Holly Holm fight
Brock Lesnar, Divas & celebrities: 5 reasons to be excited for WWE SummerSlam
The top story on Google News concerning SummerSlam this morning was a small blurb on Stephen Amell Check it out here.And another article.
Sports Illustrated SummerSlam Articles:
Every main event of WWE’sSummerSlam ranked
SummerSlam predictions: Jim Ross breaks down the PPV card
Jonathan Coachman connecting WWE, ESPN worlds at SummerSlam
According to Sportcenter WWE’s John Cena will become first celebrity to grant 500 wishes in Make a wish Foundation history.
Here is our Total Divas report: WWE News: Total Divas TV report
WWF Tuesday Night Titans episode 34 review: The original ‘Rock’, Brutus Beefcake, Wendi Richter vs. Peggy Lee
UFC is also targeting Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha for UFC 195 co-main. Though, this is not official at this time.
Nate Marquardt vs. C.B. Dollaway, and Samman-McCrory has been added to UFC on FOX 17 Dec. 19 at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. The Orlando Sentinal on the new fights.
Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov has been added to the TUF 22 Finale scheduled for Dec 11th. It is a potential #1 contenders match for the light weight title.
Here’s a few news & notes items related to WWE SummerSlam as we head into what will be a big weekend of news:
– Despite being in Brooklyn, NY, former WWE Champion and overall mega-star “Stone Cold” Steve Austin will not be sticking around for Saturday’s NXT show or the big event on Sunday. For those that thought he might do an appearance of some sort on the four-hour monolith, that won’t be the case.
– However, another wrestling star will be around as “Nature Boy” Ric Flair is in Brooklyn and should be around for the shows. No word on whether he’ll actually be seen on camera for NXT or SummerSlam, but as they, stay tuned.
– We all know how wrestling rumors go, but we were told to expect something “huge” for Monday’s RAW. There wasn’t any additional info given, but it’s safe to assume that’s not referring to a Big Show vs. Kane main event.
1941 – Kansas City, Kansas at Memorial Hall; Dorv Roche beat Bobby Bruns in 2 of 3 falls, Steve Brody defeated Ed White in 2 of 3 falls, Ray Eckert beat Earl Wampler and Benny Rosen defeated Carl Von Herbert
1947 – In Kansas City, Kansas at Memorial Hall, attendance was 3,807; Orville Brown beat Cardiff Giant 2 falls to 1 to retain the MWA Title. Also, Warren Bockwinkel beat Wally Dusek 2 falls to 1, Tug Carlson drew Jay Steele and Sockeye Jack McDonald beat sailor Fred Blassie
1962 – In Minneapolis, Minnesota; Verne Gagne beat Mr. M to regain AWA Title and unmasked Mr. M as Bill Miller. Also, Moose Evans & Tiny Mills beat Ilio Dipaolo & Joe Scarpello, Bob Geigel drew Doug Gilbert and Jack Lanza beat Bill Wright. Attendance was 7,653
1965 – At Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota; The Crusher defeated Mad Dog Vachon for the AWA World Heavyweight Title. Also, AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Bob Ellis & Tex McKenzie in 2 of 3 falls, Billy Red Cloud beat Chris Markoff dq, Danny Hodge beat Eddie Sharkey and Larry Heiniemi beat Johnny Carr. Attendance was 6,345
1967 – In a match for the Southern Tag Team Title, Alberto Torres & Ramon Torres defeated Stan Vachon & Butcher Vachon to win the title in Augusta, Georgia.
1969 – In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Dr. X COR, in a Non Title Match, Flying Redheads Red Bastien & Billy Red Lyons beat Canadian Tag Team Champions Dutch Savage & Bob Brown in 2 of 3 falls, Bill Watts beat Mad Dog Vachon, Butcher Vachon beat Rene Goulet, Al Tomko beat George Gadaski and Bob Tuck beat Golden Boy. Attendance was 6,300
1972 – Orlando, Florida at the Sports Stadium; Southern Champion Mr Wrestling Tim Woods beat Buddy Colt, In a Karate legal match, Florida Champion Paul Jones beat Hiro Matsuda and Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Mike George & Bob Griffin
1973 – Honolulu, Hawaii; Ken Patera & Billy Robinson beat AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens on a 3rd fall dq, WWWF Champion Pedro Morales double countout with Ed Francis, Betty Niccoli & Ripper Collins beat Jean Antone & Paul Jones, Sam Steamboat beat Hard Boiled Haggerty and Bill Francis beat Tony Borne dq
1978: Memphis, Tennessee at Mid South Coliseum; Jerry Lawler beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel dq, AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Frankie Laine & Mike Bowyer, Verne Gagne beat Eddie Sullivan, NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Nelson Royal beat Jackie Welch and Bill Dundee & Dick the Bruiser & Tommy Gilbert & Wayne Ferris no contest Jos LeDuc & Jean Louie & Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant
1979 – Dusty Rhodes defeated Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Title in Tampa, Florida.
1981 – In Denver, Colorado; AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura, Ray Stevens beat Baron Von Raschke, Hulk Hogan beat Pat Patterson by countout, Brad Rheingans beat Jerry Blackwell and Tito Santana beat Sheik Adnan
1982 – St. Petersburg, Florida in a Barbed Wire match; Dusty Rhodes & Terry Funk beat Kendo Nagasaki & King Tonga, AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Sweet Brown Sugar, Butch Reed & Barry Windham & Jerry Lawler beat Bruiser Brody & John Studd & Dory Funk Jr dq, Jim Garvin beat Mike Graham dq, Kamala beat Terry Allen and Kevin Sullivan beat Derek Draper
1983 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin in an Algerian Death Match; Mad Dog Vachon beat Jerry Blackwell, Hulk Hogan no contest David Shultz, Greg Gagne beat Bill White, Jim Brunzell beat Sheik Adnan, Mr. Saito beat Steve Olsonoski (sub Rick Martel) and Baron Von Raschke beat Blackjack Lanza
1987 – Kansas City, Kansas; AWA Champion Curt Hennig beat DJ Peterson, Bob Geigel & Mike George ddq Rip Rogers & Abdullah, Steve Ray beat Steve Estes, Pork Chop Cash drew Jay Strongbow Jr, Brad Batten & Bart Batten beat Bobby Jaggers & Sam Cody, Rip Rogers beat TC Carter, Rufus Jones ddq Earthquake Ferris and Vinnie Valentino beat Ric McCord
1997 – At the final WCW Clash of the Champions card, Steve McMichael defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the WCW United States Title in Nashville, Tennessee. Also on the card, Ric Flair & Curt Hennig defeated Konnan & Syxx, WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho defeated Eddie Guerrero and WCW Tag Team Champions Scott Hall & Randy Savage (subbing for Kevin Nash) defeated Diamond Dallas Page & Lex Luger.
2002 – Jerry Lynn defeated defending champion Low Ki and AJ Styles in a ladder match to win the TNA X Division Title in Nashville, Tennessee.
2004 – Christopher Daniels won a four-way match over champion Joey Matthews, Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles and Chris Sabin to win the 3PW championship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2005 – At WWE SummerSlam, Chris Benoit defeated Orlando Jordan to win the US Title. Also on the card, Randy Orton defeated the Undertaker, World Champion Batista defeated JBL in a no holds barred match, and WWE Champion John Cena defeated Chris Jericho.
