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Category: News

  • WED. UPDATE: WWE Stock, MMA suspensions, interesting Hulk Hogan tidbit, & more

    by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix

    Tonight:

    * NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network is headlined by Samoa Joe vs. Rhyno. 

    * Lucha Underground at 8:00 p.m. ET on El Rey has part two of Ultima Lucha headlined by Prince Puma vs. Mil Muertes for the Lucha Underground Championship.With Vampiro wrestling Pentagon Jr. on the show, Michael Schiavello joins Matt Striker at the announcers’ table.

    * UFC Tonight returns to Fox Sports 1 8:00 p.m. ET.

    * Impact Wrestling at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Destination America is the No Surrender “free PPV” with Ethan Carter III vs. Matt Hardy in a Full Metal Mayhem match.

    *ROH at 11:00 p.m. ET on Destination America (no more 8:00 p.m. ET showing for now) features Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly. 

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    FREE THIS WEEK: The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly (subscribe to th site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and our) is 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. 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 Latest Wrestling Observer: August 3, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Hulk Hogan fired by WWE over leaked hate speech, Daniel Bryan update

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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.

    The ups and downs of Hulk Hogan is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We look at his rise to fame, steroids in pro wrestling, Hogan as a fan, the Zahorian trial and why Hogan wasn’t involved, the first time Vince McMahon sent Hulk Hogan away, the McMahon trial, and his career post-wrestling.  We look at Hogan Knows Best and how that plays into his latest problems, Bubba the Love Sponge, when Hogan’s racist rant was first reported and how three years ago, the story behind the tapes, what was said, , Hogan’s apology, the Gawker threat and how it plays into his lawsuit, WWE’s reaction and how this is different from his other historical issues.  We look at how fiction vs. reality is Hogan’s friend, fan reaction, and more.  This is the most detailed look at not just Hogan’s latest situation, but life after wrestling over 25 plus years.

    We also look at Daniel Bryan’s current situation, his concussion issues, his wanting to wrestle again and WWE not clearing him, his wife’s reaction to his wrestling again, how his neck is holding up, what could have gotten him to TNA and his different views of the 2014 and 2015 Royal Rumble.

    We also look at the HBO Real Sports story on domestic violence issues with fighters, including War Machine, Josh Grispi, Rumble Johnson and Chris Leben.

    We also look at the injuries to John Cena and Alicia  Fox, lots of notes on SummerSlam, updates on Sting, New WWF considerations for the network, Movie box office with WWE stars, the original gay wrestler idea from 2002 and who it was talked about for, Chael Sonnen and WWE, Celebrity in WWE programming going forward, WWE lawsuit news, Tough Enough notes, new WWE movie and a look at a new developmental star who just debuted.

    We also have notes on all the WWE & NXT live events over the weekend, business notes and highlights.

    We’ve got a detailed look at G-1 thus far with a tournament overview, problems involved, update on Nakamura, standings, results of all the matches and the next week schedule.

    We’ve also got full coverage of the UFC on FOX with T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao, with match-by-match coverage, business notes and poll results.

    We also look in depth at Jeff Jarrett’s first TV taping for GFW in Las Vegas, including matches, direction and future.

    We also have full coverage of the ROH Death Before Dishonor show, with match-by-match rundown, star ratings and poll results.

    We’ve also got a look at PWG’s 12th anniversary show, the atmosphere, and notes on Battle of Los Angeles.

    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.

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    New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

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    Wednesday Daily Update

    • Reminder: The new Figure Four Weekly is FREE for everyone this week with a huge, detailed cover feature on the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI has tried to help Hulk hogan cover up the racist and homophoic comments he made that ended up being leaked a week ago. This is some weird, fascinating stuff.
    • WWE stock is still rising today, closed at $23.01 (+0.78) per share, though it looks to be going down a bit in after-hours trading. CNN Money covered the surge yesterday. Dave’s analysis of the quarterly report should be in the news Observer available for subscribers to the site today.
    • Adam Hill reported in the Las Vegas Review Journal that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has temporarily suspended both Rousimar Palhares (for repeatedly raking/gouging Jake Shields’ eyes and then cranking a Kimura too long after the referee intervened) and Jake Shields (for punching Palhares in th face when Palhares let go) stemming from the WSOF card on Saturday night. Probably the right thing to do in both cases, though it feels hard t blame Shields morally, and it’s questionable that referee Steve Mazzagatti really should be dealt with for not handling the eye gouging properly. If you didn’t see the fight, Shields could be heard yelling at Mazzagatti repeatedly.
    • The UFC officially announced that the man event of the November 21st card in Monterrey, Mexico will be Matt Brown vs. Kelvin Gastelum in a five round welterweight fight. Yes, after all of that bluster from Dana White, Gastelum only had to take one middleweight fight before moving back down. The co-main event will be Ricardo Lamas vs. Diego Sanchez is Sanchez’s featherweight debut. His last fight was the infamous robbery on June 7, 2014, where he got a decision robbery of a decision over Ross Pearson. Why he thinks that he would do better a weight class down after what’s realstically a giant losing streak where he’s looked slow, innacurate, and shopworn is anyone’s guess.
    • The National Enquirer is clearly trying to drag out the Hulk Hogan story at this point. They have two articles up today, most of which don’t contain new information. “Hulk Hogan In New Anti-Gay Storm” doesn’t feature any new anti-gay comments or even any new reactions to the comments, just the ones they already posted a week ago. They reference the racist comments to his son from the jailhouse visiting area, and maybe that’s the first time the Enquirer has run those, but that’s not a “new anti-gay storm.” 
    • That said, there are a few new details in “Racist Hulk Hogan’s FBI Cover-Up.” Near the end of the article, they quote Nik Richie of TheDirty.com (apparently the first person in the media to see/hear the tapes) as saying that “The sellers’ play was to force Hogan into signing a deal that they all could make money from and sell the tape.” The bulk of th rest of the article is recycled from past posts, listing off Hogan’s racist comments, plus a few comments about the FBI stuff taken from court transcripts. Of course, as noted above, for a much more detailed look at why Gawker thinks there’s a FBI cover-up, check out this week’s FREE edition of Figure Four Weekly.
    • Steve Austin cut a promo on Arnold Schwarzenegger to promote WWE 2K16. It’s amusing.
    • Mexico news from Kris Zellner in today’s Lucha Report (make sure to check out the complete, illustrated version w/ photos, posters, results, etc.):
      Blue Demon Jr. told Estadio Deportes yesterday that he didn’t find out about his Triplemania match this Sunday until AAA posted it on Twitter. Demon said that no one from the company let him know anything about it beforehand but he appreciated being booked on the show to honor his 30th anniversary in Lucha Libre.
      EMLL officially announced last night during the Arena Puebla show on YouTube that the 82nd Anniversario Show will take place on September 4th which is the earliest show since September 3rd, 2010.
      La Sombra who has been absent lately from Mexico City EMLL cards after the Guadalajara incident from last Tuesday was the guest host on the Turibus tonight which is sponsored by EMLL and they book the guest hosts every show.
    • Beau Dure talks UFC uniforms (and compares the situation to Rollerball!) at The Guardian.
    • A former indie wrestler had rocks thrown at his truck because it has a Confederate Flag themed mural on it. Kids, don’t throw rocks at people even if you have the best of intentions
    • NJPW G1 Climax Tournament 8-5 report: Ibushi vs. Naito, Styles vs. Makabe
    • An article on the New UFC PED policy
    • UFC: Why I Don’t Understand Nick & Nate Diaz

  • Rey Mysterio talks TripleMania

    Rey Mysterio Transcript

    Donald Wood: The biggest news for wrestling fans is that you will be main eventing Triple A’s Triplemanía 23 against Myzteziz (formerly Sin Cara) in a dream match on Sunday, August 9th on PPV. For fans watching Triple A for the first time thanks to the English commentary, what can they expect from the show overall and from the main event between you and Myzteziz?

    Rey Mysterio: Well that match between us is going to a legacy defining match.  There is a lot of animosity and egos that are going to come into play that night.  I have to point out that this match was made for the fans by the fans.  The fans were the number one critiques on who is better?  Rey Mysterio or Myzteziz.  At one point I left Mexico to continue my career globally and a new star came about.  He is known now as Myzteziz, but back then he was known as Mistico and then Sin Cara when he joined WWE.  I would have to say the fans in their eyes see a lot of similarities between us.  We even tagged at one point in the WWE and now here we are against each other thanks to the fans.

    Mike Chiari: You and Myzteziz teamed together in WWE and it seemed as though there were always rumors about the two of you facing each other, and that match possibly happening at WrestleMania. How close did that match come to happening in WWE, and why do you think it never did?

    Rey Mysterio: Due to the fact that I had already previous injuries on top of my knee benched me for quite some time.  When I came back we started teaming up and we were heading somewhere.  There wasn’t a concrete story line, but we were going out there and putting on one hell of a show for the fans.  We were barely at the stage of getting the fans acclimated with our style and who Myzteziz was.  His injuries came into play as well and then of course he was released.  Then of course later on my release with me not wanting to resign with the WWE so it didn’t happen and we parted ways.  We didn’t give the WWE the time to invest in both names and the product.  Now it is happening at last here in Triple A.

    Brandon Galvin: You’re often credited by fans as being one of the most influential luchadors in wrestling history, especially when it comes to your impact on pro wrestling in America. I know this was a long time ago, but do you recall getting that sense when you were first working ECW and WCW or do you look back now and feel that you were a pioneer of sorts?

    Rey Mysterio: I think I look back now and feel blessed that I was a pioneer for that style.  I want to pause a second and mention the one person that opened the doors for us and that was Eddie Guerrero.  He was the first runner up with ECW and he was having great matches with Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit.  Then of course when Eddie signed with WCW, Pauly talked to Konnan and brought him in, then Konnan brought us in:  Psychosis, Juventud, Parka, and myself.  We kind of replaced Eddie’s style and gave the fans a treat of lucha libre.  Now I go back and think that, “wow, we really opened the eyes of the American audience to what lucha libre is, that it’s not just a style, it’s part of our culture.

    Donald Wood: There were plenty of rumors surrounding why and how you departed WWE, including that the company flew you into Buffalo for a special meeting and extended your deal without your approval. Can you address the validity of these reports and why you decided it was time to leave WWE earlier this year?

    Rey Mysterio: The initial meeting in Buffalo went well.  Both parties, they agreed to continue to move forward on the Rey Mysterio brand.  There was no rumors, no animosity, no bad feelings between us.  I feel like resigning with the company due to the fact that I had a large amount of injuries on my body.  That was the number one reason why I was on the bench so long.  So when it came around to resigning, they were ok with me wanting to depart and do my own thing.  There was no hard feelings and we departed in an amicable way.  It was my time to think for myself and act upon myself and that was the best thing I had done for myself in years.  I have had time to rest and my body feels a thousand times better.  I’m calling my own shots and doing things I have never been able to do in my career.  I never had the freedom to do them but now I do.

    Donald Wood: Would you ever be open to returning to WWE later in your career?

    Rey Mysterio: Yes of course.  I think that’s what every wrestler would want, there’s nothing better than dictating your own future and not over working your body.  You can’t keep running on fumes constantly when you are older.  You don’t see the same Rey Mysterio you see when I was 25 years old.  I think it’s good to understand from both ends that I can’t deliver the way I used to when I first signed with the WWE.  To make sure talent last, you have to take care of it.

    Mike Chiari: Lucha Underground is a promotion that’s picked up a ton of steam over the past year, and it’s a company that many fans have naturally linked you to since it has a good working relationship AAA. If and when the second season of Lucha Underground is green lighted, what are the odds we’ll see you working with them? What’s your level of interest there?

    Rey Mysterio: I’m a big fan of their product and I watch it on occasion.  They are doing a wonderful job and I think it’s great that they give an opportunity to the future talent of Triple A.  I sit down and think if we had that type of promotion going on when Triple was filled with Psychosis, Juventud, Parka, Pentagon, Konnan, then lucha libre would have been introduced years ago to the United States.  Unfortunately it didn’t happen but I think everything has its time to be exposed and now it has happened for Lucha Underground.  I think if the time is right and I am interested I don’t see why not.  If the opportunity came to come back to the WWE with a 50/50 terms base I would do that as well.  It’s good to know you have options and when the options come I will be the first to jump on it as long as it favors both parties involved.

    Brandon Galvin: There’s been so many exciting chapters so far in your career, but mine was when you made your debut in WWE and were working with the likes of Kurt Angle, Edge and Eddie Guerrero among others. Was that a special time for you from an in-ring perspective and is there a point in time where you feel like you were having your best matches?

    Rey Mysterio: I definitely think that was probably a good phase that I was living.  I had so many great opponents and team mates around me that we were able to perform at a very  high level.  I had Eddie, Edge, Kurt Angle, and Triple H was there doing his thing too and the Rock was still around too.  The roster in general for WWE, SmackDown, and Raw was so stacked,  it was definitely the funniest stage in my career and the most memorable stage for giving the best matches I had in me.

    Donald Wood: One interesting note is that you worked for Paul Heyman in ECW, Eric Bischoff in WCW and Vince McMahon in WWE, so you’ve seen all different kinds of leadership types. Using your unique perspective, what are some of the differences between the three men and who did you enjoy working for the most?

    Rey Mysterio: They all are very different and we left out Antonio Pena, the creator of Triple A.  God rest his soul.  He was the first one to see what was behind Rey Mysterio and gave me the opportunity to be nationally known.  With all four of those bosses I have had, they are all very different.  Geniuses were Pena, Pauly, and Vince.  Marketing wise and character wise, they were just on top of their game and I think the fact that it was their company and obligation to take wrestling to another level and they have.  They all did at their time and I feel blessed to have worked with all three of them.  One is no longer around, I don’t know where Eric is, and Pena rest in peace.  I feel honor to have been a part of all four major companies at points in my career.

    Mike Chiari: You’re obviously one of the most accomplished and popular Superstars in WWE history, but unfortunately one of your last matches in WWE was the 2014 Royal Rumble and you were actually booed as the 30th entrant since fans so badly wanted to see Daniel Bryan. Do you feel like you were unfairly put in a no-win situation? Are there any hard feelings about the way that played out?

    Rey Mysterio: No hard feelings at all.  One thing I have learned through the years is I have never been political about certain things and I take things lightly through my whole life.  At the moment, I couldn’t believe or understand what was going on.  After the match I was able to sit down and digest what was going on, and sure enough it was the fact that the fans weren’t given what they wanted.  At one point I remember talking to Konnan about it, thinking if they would of let me walk down to the ring, then when the fans were booing, let me go back into gorilla and give my spot to Daniel Bryan to be number 30.

    Brandon Galvin: You’ve been a massively popular fan favorite throughout your WWE career, but was there ever a time that you wanted to turn heel and see how it would be to play a villain?

    Rey Mysterio: I think that actually happened some sort of way after I lost my mask and the Filthy Animals were created.  That was the first time I was able to experiment what it felt like working without the mask.  In a way, it was not being a complete baby face, but somewhere in-between.  A cocky Rey Mysterio, a new stage in his career, no mask, so I was able to play with the fans a little more and interact with the fans in a different way.  I really enjoyed that phase of my life even though I thought working without my mask would have been a heart breaker.

    YouTube interview: https://youtu.be/dhxrfZKxmVs

    Blog Talk Radio Episode: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ringrustradio/2015/08/04/ring-rust-radio–aug-4-w-aaa-star-rey-mysterio-and-wwe-summerslam-talk

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (August 5): Great Sasuke unifies 8 titles, Iceman Parsons wins World Class title

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1942 – In Des Moines, Iowa; Iowa State Heavyweight Champion Gene Bowman beat Jay Steele in 2 consecutive falls, Emil Dusek beat Babe Zaharias 2 falls to 0 and Joe Dusek and Hans Schultz went to a draw. 

    1949 – Don McIntyre won the Southern Heavyweight Title from Tom Mahoney in Atlanta, Georgia.

    1965 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City; Mongolian Stomper beat Bob Geigel 2 falls to 1, Bob Brown beat Jerry Miller by dq, Pat O’Connor beat Jim Grabmire and Ox Baker beat Johnny Raminez. 

    1966 -In Chicago; AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat Crusher on a 3rd fall dq, The Alaskan & Big K beat Wilbur Snyder & Verne Gagne in 2 out of 3 falls and Killer Kowalski beat Guy Mitchell

    1969 – Hiro Matsuda & Missouri Mauler defeated Cyclon Negro & Jack Brisco for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Tampa

    1972 – In Minneapolis; AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Billy Robinson & Wahoo McDaniel by countout, Ivan Koloff beat Ramon Torres, Don Muraco beat Big K

    1975 – In Omaha, Nebraska; Billy Robinson beat Baron Von Raschke in 2 out of 3 falls; Greg Gagne beat Nick Bockwinkel, Kim Duk beat Sgt. Bob Slaughter (sub Dusty Rhodes), Jos Leduc & Ivan Putski beat Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant by dq and Buddy Wolff beat Khosrow Vaziri (Iron Shiek). Attendance was 5,003

    1976 – In Kansas City; NWA World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk defended the title against Harley Race

    1977 – In St Paul, Minnesota; AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum, Billy Robinson beat Pedro Morales, Super Destroyer & Angelo Mosca beat Ray Stevens & the Crusher, Larry Hennig beat Roger Kirby by dq, Bob Backlund beat Chris Markoff and Steve Olsonoski drew Jan Nelson. Attendance was 5,317. 

    1986 – Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido defeated Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura to win the IWGP Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.

    1988 – Iceman King Parsons defeated Kerry Von Erich (subbing for Kevin Von Erich) to win the World Class Texas Heavyweight Title in Dallas.

    1994 – The Rock n’ Roll Express defeated Chris Candido & Brian Lee for the Smoky Mountain Tag Team Title in Knoxville, Tennessee 

    1996 – The Great Sasuke defeated Ultimo Dragon in the finals of a tournament to unify eight separate junior heavyweight titles into one unified J-Crown championship.

    1996 – The Moondogs (Spot & Rover) defeated Brickhouse Brown & Reggie B. Fine for the USWA Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

    2010 – During a TNA Impact broadcast; Taylor Wilde & Hamada defeated the Beautiful People to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team titles.

  • NJPW G1 Climax Tournament 8-5 report: Ibushi vs. Naito, Styles vs. Makabe

    By Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

    Welcome to this morning’s coverage of the G1 Climax 25 tournament, held today in Iwate. Today’s show is a fixed camera show with no commentary. It’s also been confirmed again that Tiger Mask is out of today’s card, so it seems whatever neck injury he’s suffered will keep him out for a while.

    Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Yohei Komatsu vs. Hirooki Goto, Michael Elgin and Mascara Dorada

    Good opener. As one would expect, since they’re facing one another shortly, both Elgin and Nagata, as well as Kojima and Goto, went at it. They kept it simple and had some good back and forth. It ended up being Dorada against Komatsu, with Dorada getting the win with the Dorada screwdriver.

    Tomoaki Honma & Jay White vs. Karl Anderson & Cody Hall

    Again, as one would assume, this was about Anderson and Honma interactions. Pretty solid tag team match. Crowd was into Jay White’s comeback. He kicked out of a gun stun and tried some near falls but Anderson caught him in another one and pinned him. 

    Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga

    Another solid bout of back and forth action. A lot of the match was Yujiro working on both Nakamura and Ishii. Tonga was tagged in, but eventually got laid out with a boma ye/sliding D combo from both members of Chaos, which Yujiro actually broke up before the 3 count. He was ejected quickly as Ishii got the win with a brainbuster on Tama Tonga.

    KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan vs. Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo

    Pretty good six man. Everyone got time to shine. Since he was the only heavyweight on the team Captain New JApan and Okada faced off against one another. Taguchi at one point was about to lay out Okada with his hip attack but Okada eliminated him. He did his signature moves on Captain New Japan and pinned him with the rainmaker. 

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Bad Luck Fale

    Not very interesting, though it was well booked and nothing looked that bad. They did a brawl early that sent out Tenzan into the crowd. Tenzan made his comeback and had the Anaconda buster but Fale escaped. He laid him out and pinned him with the high fly flow. 

    Katsuyori Shibata vs. Toru Yano

    Shibata jumped him before the bell even rang and just waylayed on him. Yano had some offense, which consisted of whipping Shibata into the ropes, but it was mostly Shibata on offense. Yano tried to escape the penalty kick but Shibata faked him out and hit him with it, then went for an armbar. Yano then rolled him up and got a flash pinfall. Crowd reacted huge to that.  

    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Doc Gallows

    Good match. Was just average until Tanahashi ate a boot and a brainbuster for a great near fall that got the crowd into the match. Tanahashi looked like he was about to be powerbombed, but then reversed into a roll up for the win. Most of the match was just standard back and forth stuff, but the last couple of minutes or so were fun. 

    AJ Styles vs. Togi Makabe

    Physical match, as one would expect from these two. Crowd were into this from the start. Makabe hit the kneeling powerbomb and went for the knee drop off the top rope but AJ dodged. He teased the Bloody Sunday DDT but it was blocked. AJ responded with a pele kick then pinned him after the Styles Clash. Seemed kind of short, but was really good while it lasted.

    Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

    Great back and forth match filled with some crazy moves, which included Naito doing a reverse hurricanrana from the top rope and a Gonzo bomb from Ibushi when Naito tried to do a roll up. Looks like Ibushi landed right on his neck after that reverse rana. Naito hit a dragon suplex but Ibushi kicked out, but did not kick out Naito’s new finisher, Destino, the sliced bread into a reverse DDT.

    Current Standings

    Block A

    Katsuyori Shibata- 8

    Bad Luck Fale- 8

    Tetsuya Natio- 8

    AJ Styles- 8

    Hiroshi Tanhashi- 8

    Kota Ibushi- 6

    Togi Makabe- 4

    Toru Yano- 4

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan- 2

    Doc Gallows- 2

    Block B

    Tomohiro Ishii- 8

    Kazuchika Okada- 8

    Karl Anderson- 6

    Hirooki Goto- 6

    Shinsuke Nakamura- 6

    Michael Elgin- 6

    Yujiro Takahashi- 4

    Satoshi Kojima- 4

    Yuji Nagata- 2

    Tomoaki Honma- 0 

  • WWE August 6 Smackdown spoilers: Roman Reigns vs. Rusev, tag match for SummerSlam is made

    Results from tonight’s tapings in Sacramento, CA, to air in Canada Wednesday and in the U.S. Thursday:

    – Roman Reigns opened with a promo noting he will face Rusev. He also said he and Dean Ambrose will challenge Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper at SummerSlam.

    – Mark Henry & WWE Tag Team Champions Prime Time Players b New Day when Henry pinned Kingston with the world’s strongest slam.

    – Charlotte NC Naomi.  Sasha Banks interfered and Becky Lynch saved.

    – Sasha Banks & Naomi b Charlotte & Becky Lynch when Naomi pinned Charlotte with a small package.

    – Stardust b Zack Ryder

    – Big Show did a interview.  He talked about his match at SummerSlam which will be a three-way with Ryback and Miz for the IC title.

    – Roman Reigns b Rusev with a spear.  Summer Rae tried to interfere but Lana stopped her. Bray Wyatt accepted the challenge for SummerSlam.

  • WWE Tough Enough Week 7 TV Results and Recap

    By: Kenneth Nida wrestlingobserver.com

    Last week saw the shocking elimination of Mada after the Miz foolishly used his 1 save on Amanda. Cesaro made a brief guest appearance during the first challenge, and Team BAD appeared for Tamina Snuka to give each of the female competitors a Snuka Splash from the top rope.  

    We open the show and it’s revealed the Miz will be a judge once again this week. The judges speak to each of the competitors, offering words of advice. We go back to the barracks after last week’s elimination where ZZ is upset with all the other competitors saying he should go home.

    This week’s challenge theme is teamwork. To warm up, the competitors run the ropes, which ZZ has trouble with. The challenge involves the paired contestants working together to perform a minute of wrestling moves they planned out in advance. Amanda is completely thrown off by Chelsea’s selling, which she blames her mistakes on.

    Josh and Tanner are playing pool together. Josh offers Tanner some advice on talking to women by roleplaying. Gigi talks to Sara, telling her she dropped her on her head. They tease Sara and Gigi being in the bottom 3 tonight. ZZ is in the gym with Josh working out. Josh is impressed with ZZ doing what he said he’d do.

    The Prime Time Players are the Superstar guests for the week. The competitors are put into two teams, and have to work together to put out a building that’s on fire (in a controlled environment). ZZ reveals he was a volunteer firefighter so he knows what he’s doing. The first team completes the challenge in 12:02 after working together well. They oddly don’t reveal the second team’s time, but say they did okay. Team 1 ends up winning.

    The competitors talk to each other, Josh and Tanner offering ZZ advice. Amanda brings up how Chelsea’s selling threw her off during the challenge. This devolves into a shouting match. The judges comment on how the men are doing much better at displaying teamwork, while the women seemingly all attempt to sabotage each other. It’s revealed that John Cena will be the guest on next week’s episode. Grilling the contestants, the Miz starts by saying Amanda let his compliment go to her head and that he created a monster by saving her. Paige calls out Chelsea for throwing her partner off with her selling during the challenge. Daniel Bryan calls out Sara Lee for not apologizing to Gigi when one of her slams scared her.

    For the bottom 3 Daniel Bryan chooses Gigi, Paige chooses Sara Lee, and the Miz chooses Chelsea. Each competitor gets 30 seconds to plead their case. Paige uses her save on Gigi. Sara Lee gets 53% of the vote, Gigi gets 23% of the vote, and because Paige saved Gigi, Chelsea goes home with 25% of the vote.

    For the second week in a row the judges have ended up saving the person who the fans like the least. Chelsea was the only person left in the competition with any wrestling experience, and she was essentially punished for it because of her selling. I also find it odd that the Miz said he chose Amanda for the bottom 3 when they were grilling the contestants, but after a commercial break chooses Chelsea.

  • UFC: Why I Don’t Understand Nick & Nate Diaz

    By Steve Juon, WrestlingObserver.com

    Here’s what I DON’T get about the Diaz brothers. I know that their ascendance in popularity over the last decade is owed largely to them being surly malcontents who don’t say or do the right things when the spotlight is shone on them. I get why people who feel like outsiders themselves would embrace that, cling to that, and feel that the Diaz brothers are their champions and that everybody else “just doesn’t get it.” They are outsiders who refuse to play by mainstream rules who bow to no one.

    The problem for me is the same problem I have with Ric Flair “living the gimmick”. After years of failed relationships and unpaid bar tabs and a life of constant turbulence, wouldn’t you +WANT+ to stop being a rebel? What kind of effect does it have on your psyche to willingly choose a life where you live from one court date to the next and get banned from buildings and promotions everywhere you go? Why on earth would you crave such discord and disharmony for yourself?

    Everybody loves a trainwreck. They’ll happily proclaim themselves a “fan” and cheer you on as you descend slowly or quickly into the abyss, but they won’t be there to pull you up when you finally hit rock bottom. If I was as talented as Nick or Nate Diaz, and had the kind of opportunities that are literally handed to them on a silver platter, I wouldn’t keep pissing them away just to keep up the image of being a bad boy. It’s overrated, self-destructive, and it’s honestly disrespectful to everybody in the sport that they compete in to behave like goons at major events.

    You’d at least not want to make your friends and training partners not come off like lunatics, instead of them having to jump in and save you when you start a wild brawl at a show. That’s potentially ruining other people’s lives with fines, sanctions and suspension – not just your own.

    Maybe it’s a sign that I’m getting old, or maybe it’s a sign that I’m maturing as I age, but I don’t crave a wild life any more. An exciting day for me is trying to interview three fighters in 24 hours, or cover two shows in one night, or taking a road trip to a show where I’m credentialed to sit cageside and cover the fights. I’ve made my share of mistakes over the years, I’ve partied too hard and had to pay the price (I nearly got kicked out of college over it) but at some point you either look at the yawning abyss that looms ahead and turn away, or you hit the accelerator and drive toward it at top speed.

    Maybe the Diaz brothers wouldn’t be popular or successful if they weren’t such colossally self-destructive human beings, but is fame and popularity now worth it when you’re broke and in jail (or worse) in five years? I’d personally trade being a little less famous for sleeping in my own bed at night and not a cot in a 6×8.

    For all of the success they’ve each achieved in mixed martial arts, based on both natural talent and the hard work to cultivate it, it’s hard to believe they couldn’t have achieved so much more. Nick has been a WEC and a Strikeforce Welterweight Champion – maybe he could have been a UFC one too. Nate Diaz won season five of The Ultimate Fighter and has had multiple Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses since – as well as a wealth of inconsistency in his performances. Imagine a two year stretch of their career without suspensions, crowd brawls, DUI arrests or failed drug tests.

    Imagine what they could accomplish with two solid years of total dedication to their craft.

    Now resign yourself to the fact that’s never going to happen, because whatever “happy” is to a Diaz, they’re happier pissing it all away than actually living a drama-free life. It’s a shame to see so much potential wasted, but it’s also a shame they don’t just get on with the wasting instead of making us sit and watch the trainwreck month after month, year after year.

  • The history of Hulk Hogan’s troubles and the predicament he’s gotten himself into this time, Daniel Bryan’s injury situation and future, Decline of the G-1, Suspension of two major stars

    We have one of the biggest issues of the year with a look at Hulk Hogan’s rises and falls over the last 24 years and the trouble he’s gotten himself into, lots more on Daniel Bryan, his injury situation and his future, HBO Real Sports looks at domestic violence in MMA, the decline of G-1, UFC on FOX, GFW, ROH and PWG, and a riot involving some of the biggest names in the industry and resulted in a suspension are the major stories in the new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  The issue is on the site right now at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/43830-august-3-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-hulk-hogan-fired-by-wwe-over-leaked-hate-speech-daniel-bryan-update-and-much-more

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    The ups and downs of Hulk Hogan is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We look at his rise to fame, steroids in pro wrestling, Hogan as a fan, the Zahorian trial and why Hogan wasn’t involved, the first time Vince McMahon sent Hulk Hogan away, the McMahon trial, and his career post-wrestling.  We look at Hogan Knows Best and how that plays into his latest problems, Bubba the Love Sponge, when Hogan’s racist rant was first reported and how three years ago, the story behind the tapes, what was said, , Hogan’s apology, the Gawker threat and how it plays into his lawsuit, WWE’s reaction and how this is different from his other historical issues.  We look at how fiction vs. reality is Hogan’s friend, fan reaction, and more.  This is the most detailed look at not just Hogan’s latest situation, but life after wrestling over 25 plus years.

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    We also look at the HBO Real Sports story on domestic violence issues with fighters, including War Machine, Josh Grispi, Rumble Johnson and Chris Leben.

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    Also in this week’s issue:

    –Full details behind the riot involving two of the top stars in wrestling and their suspensions

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    –Stitch Duran/Dana White story and why it’s so sad

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    –Faber vs. McGregor note

    –Duane Ludwig and Team Alpha Male issues

    –Tom Lawlor on his plans for weigh-ins that didn’t happen

    –UFC star doing pro wrestling match recently

    –Notes on UFC stars doing pro wrestling

    –C.M. Punk talks his future and the confrontation with a fan at the Q&A

    –Lots of new UFC fights

    –Another former wrestling newsletter writer debuts as MMA announcer and a look at former wrestling newsletter writers and TV work

    –Thiago Silva’s fight falls apart

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  • TUES. UPDATE: Brooke Hogan & Gawker President speak out, Chyna update, MMA champion stripped, & more

    by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix

    Major event and TV notes for tonight:

    Tough Enough airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on USA Network with a new episode titled “Spinning a Yarn.” It sems likely that the episode will be built around footage of ZZ ducking out of training and an overall push to get ZZ eliminated. Also: Things heat up on WWE Tough Enough tonight on USA Network when WWE Tag Team The Prime Time Players visit the competitors to set up this week’s challenge.

    Total Divas airs at 9:00 p.m. ET on E! with a new episode titled “Tea Mode.”Alicia wants to confess her love to her ex-boyfriend when she suspects he may be single again soon, Paige is offended by Nikki’s classy take on her home turf, and Eva Marie continues to train with Brian Kendrick.

    NJPW G1 Climax Day 11 airs live from Iwate at 5:30 a.m. ET tonight/tomorrow morning on NJPW World:

    Non-Tournament Matches:
    1. Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Tiger Mask IV & Yohei Komatsu vs. Hirooki Goto, Michael Elgin, Mascara Dorada & David Finlay Jr.
    2. Tomoaki Honma & Jay White vs. Karl Anderson & Cody Hall
    3. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga
    4. KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan vs. Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo
    G1 Climax A Block Matches:
    5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Bad Luck Fale
    6. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Toru Yano
    7. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Doc Gallows
    8. AJ Styles vs. Togi Makabe
    9. Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

    SmackDown and Main Event are being taped tonight in Sacramento, California. We welcome any and all spoiler reports at newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

    **** 

    FREE THIS WEEK: The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly (subscribe to th site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and our) is 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. Plus, as always, we have  all of the usual reviews and international news.

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    **** 

    The Latest Wrestling Observer: August 3, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Hulk Hogan fired by WWE over leaked hate speech, Daniel Bryan update

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    The ups and downs of Hulk Hogan is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We look at his rise to fame, steroids in pro wrestling, Hogan as a fan, the Zahorian trial and why Hogan wasn’t involved, the first time Vince McMahon sent Hulk Hogan away, the McMahon trial, and his career post-wrestling.  We look at Hogan Knows Best and how that plays into his latest problems, Bubba the Love Sponge, when Hogan’s racist rant was first reported and how three years ago, the story behind the tapes, what was said, , Hogan’s apology, the Gawker threat and how it plays into his lawsuit, WWE’s reaction and how this is different from his other historical issues.  We look at how fiction vs. reality is Hogan’s friend, fan reaction, and more.  This is the most detailed look at not just Hogan’s latest situation, but life after wrestling over 25 plus years.

    We also look at Daniel Bryan’s current situation, his concussion issues, his wanting to wrestle again and WWE not clearing him, his wife’s reaction to his wrestling again, how his neck is holding up, what could have gotten him to TNA and his different views of the 2014 and 2015 Royal Rumble.

    We also look at the HBO Real Sports story on domestic violence issues with fighters, including War Machine, Josh Grispi, Rumble Johnson and Chris Leben.

    We also look at the injuries to John Cena and Alicia  Fox, lots of notes on SummerSlam, updates on Sting, New WWF considerations for the network, Movie box office with WWE stars, the original gay wrestler idea from 2002 and who it was talked about for, Chael Sonnen and WWE, Celebrity in WWE programming going forward, WWE lawsuit news, Tough Enough notes, new WWE movie and a look at a new developmental star who just debuted.

    We also have notes on all the WWE & NXT live events over the weekend, business notes and highlights.

    We’ve got a detailed look at G-1 thus far with a tournament overview, problems involved, update on Nakamura, standings, results of all the matches and the next week schedule.

    We’ve also got full coverage of the UFC on FOX with T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao, with match-by-match coverage, business notes and poll results.

    We also look in depth at Jeff Jarrett’s first TV taping for GFW in Las Vegas, including matches, direction and future.

    We also have full coverage of the ROH Death Before Dishonor show, with match-by-match rundown, star ratings and poll results.

    We’ve also got a look at PWG’s 12th anniversary show, the atmosphere, and notes on Battle of Los Angeles.

    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.

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    New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    ****

    Tuesday Daily Update

    • Reminder: The new Figure Four Weekly is FREE for everyone this week with a huge, detailed cover feature on the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI has tried to help Hulk hogan cover up the racist and homophoic comments he made that ended up being leaked a week ago. This is some weird, fascinating stuff.
    • Brooke Hogan talked to Entertainment Tonight and defended her dad; not defending the comments, but more showing sympathy for the situation with the comments (well, his initial comments; the ones to Nick in jail were public record where he knew he was being recorded) being made in private. She makes a reference to the tape being shot at “the lowest point in his life,” which is how Hulk described getting roped into sleeping with his friend’s wife, but it’s not clear why. Yes, his marriage was falling apart and as good as over, but that’s the type of language he previously used to describe the period after the divorce and the car accident that put John Graziano in a vegetative state. He said this before all of that happened. 
    • Gawker President and General Counsel Heather Dietrick talked to Fortune about the Hogan lawsuit. Interesting excerpt (they didn’t directly quote her in this part) about why Gawker had to publsh clips of the video itself: Dietrick’s answer is that the video serves to prove Gawker’s source material. Without it, Hogan could have continued to refute the tape’s very existence. Indeed, that’s what occurred when Gawker, in another of its major exposés, revealed that the former mayor of Toronto liked to smoke crack; the mayor denied the charge, and threatened to sue Gawker until the police confirmed existence of the tape.
    • WSOF President Ray Sefo announced on the MMA Hour that he’s stripping Rousimar Palhares of their welterweight title as well as suspending him from the promotion after he not only did his usual thing and didn’t release a submisssion hold immediately when the referee stepped in, but also repeatedly raked and gouged Jake Shields’ eyes during the fight. If you didn’t see the fight, this wasn’t your usual MMA eye poke that happns standing; he was very clearly, purposefully thumbing Shields’ eyes on the ground while referee Steve Mazzagatti never went past a warning. The Nevada State Athletic Commission is witholding Palhares’ win bonus for the time being.
    • Meanwhile, Joe Lauzon has an excellent YouTube video comparing the reaction time of Palhares letting go of submissions to how he’s reacted in his own fights. A lot of people have defended Palhares by saying that he rarely cranks the hold for more than about a second extra, but as Lauzon explains, that’s the problem.
    • Chyna’s manager, Anthony Anzaldo, posted a video of him calling what sounds like the main WWE switchboard to ask who he can talk to to make sure her royalty checks were properly dealt with while she was living in Japan, as none were forwarded to her. After he’s put on hold, the operator tells him she was told not to forward any calls from/about Chyna. While there’s probably someone they should have tried to call directly and Chyna does clearly have some issues, if she really wasn’t sent the checks she was owed or they were sent to an old address and she never deposited them, calling WWE to get them reiussed is absolutely the right thing to do. You can see why WWE would refuse to talk to her, but she’s not necessarily in the wrong in this situation unless it’s a made-up story.
    • Mike Tenay announced on Taz’s Human Podcast Machine show that he’s starting a new podcast on CBS’s Play.it network called “Professor Vegas” about sports betting.
    • The new English AAA YouTube channel has a 15 minute countdown special for this Sunday’s TripleMania XXIII pay-per-view card.
    • Rey Mysterio is doing the media rounds to promote TripleMania. Rolling Stone has an interview up with him, and I did one that’s up at WrestlingInc: Part 1, Part 2.
    • Triple H tweeted a video of WWE honoring a young fan last night in San Jose because he had sent in a Tough Enough audition reel.
    • Dave has two UFC 189 stories up at MMAFighting:
      One is about early PPV buy indicators.
      The other is his “Fortunes Changed for Five” postmortem.
    • For episode #2 of Between The Sheets, Kris Zellner and I are joined by Joe Gagne to talk about all of the wrestling news that happened between July 27 and August 3, 1990.
    • — WWE officially announced the book launch event featuring Dana Warrior for “Ultimate Warrior; A Life Lived Forever,” which will take place on Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. It will be open to the first 300 fans (well, it reads like the first 300 fans to show up and buy the book, but the press release is a little confusing) at The POWERHOUSE Arena (a popular location in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn for book signing events) at 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11210.

  • Raw ratings from last night

    Raw did 3.70 million viewers last night, virtually identical to last week’s 3.68 million, so the expected bump of a Roddy Piper tribute show probably meant little outside of a slight bump to the first hour as compared to the summer average.

    8 p.m. 3.74 million viewers

    9 p.m. 3.70 million viewers

    10 p.m. 3.67 million viewers