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  • SAT. UPDATE: Roddy Piper coverage, UFC 190 preview, & more

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

    We’re looking for your thoughts on today’s UFC 190 show, today’s G-1 in Osaka and tonight’s G-1 in Nagoya so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from each show to hsmeltzer@juno.co

    We’re also looking for reports on today’s WWE house shows in Hidalgo, TX and Ontario, CA, as well as the Thursday night NXT show in Tampa and last night’s NXT show in Lakeland, FL at Dave Meltzer

    Dave will be on CBC News in Canada 5:00 p.m. ET (airing again at 6:00 and 9:00) talking about the death of RoddyPiper.

    UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia is live from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

    Main Card at 10:00 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (Four hour window due to addition of TUF Brazil 4 finals)
    Ronda Rousey (135) vs. Bethe Correia (134) for Rousey’s UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
    Mauricio Rua (206) vs. Antonio Rogeiro Nogueira (206)
    Glaico Franca (156) vs. Fernando Bruno (155) in the TUF Brazil 4 Lightweight Finals
    Reginaldo Vieira (135) vs. Dileno Lopes (135) in the TUF Brazil 4 Bantamweight Finals
    Stefan Struve (265) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (240)
    Antonio Silva (265) vs. Soa Palelei (264)
    Claudia Gadelha (116) vs. Jessica Aguilar (116)

    Prelims on Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET:
    Demian Maia (171) vs. Neil Magny (171)
    Rafael Cavalcante (205) vs. Patrick Cummins (206)
    Warlley Alves (171) vs. Nordine Taleb (171)
    Iuri Alcantara (136) vs. Leandro Issa (136)

    Prelims on UFC Fight Pass at 7:00 p.m. ET:
    Vitor Miranda (186) vs. Clint Hester (186.7)
    Hugo Viana (136) vs. Guido Cannetti (135)

    This is an odd main PPV card. It’s a show heavily tailored to the Brazilian market, but Ronda Rousey in the main event…but that means she wasn’t able to do a media blitz in the U.S. The undercard has a ton of name value with Shogun, both Noguiera brothers, and even Struve to an extent. Hell, Shogun-Lil’ Nog is a rematch of their Fight of the Year winner. Gadelha-Aguilar is a great title eliminator fight at strawweight. And to the casual fan, hey, you’re getting a biggest, longer PPV than usual for the same price!

    In reality, the main event is a mismatch even for a Ronda Rousey fight. At least going into her past fights, you could try to find a path to victory for her opponents: Sara McMann won’t be taken down and is the better, harder hitting striker. Alexis Davis can keep her at bay with low kicks and is a good enough grappler to avoid armbar traps. Cat Zingano…well, by that point, we had seen enough to know Rousey would win, but we expected Rousey’s toughest fight, not the shortest title fight in UFC history. Bethe Correia is a journeywoman who UFC has literally had to pretend has knockout power in ads for this show.

    Worse, all of the name fights on main card have serious potential to be very depressing. Shogun and Lil’ Nog is a rematch of the Fight of the Year from literally a decade ago, and both fighters have the durability of guys who were in the Fight of the Year a decade ago. Big Nog should not be fighting (it’s not a secret that he has a seriously impaired left eye), Struve is a question mark due to his heart valve issue (though he appears to have really dedicated himself to this camp), and it could be really ugly. Bigfoot Silva also should not be fighting given the shape he’s in off the testosterone replacement therapy he desperately needs due to his acromegaly. At least we have Gadelha-Aguilar and Magny-Maia is a great featured prelim.

    World Series of Fighting 22: Palhares vs. Shields airs live from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network:

    Resumer Palhares (c) vs. Jake Shields for the WSOF Welterweight Title
    Marlon Moraes (c) vs. Sheymon Moraes (no relations) for the WSOF Bantamweight Title
    Mike Kyle vs. Clifford Starks (replacing Thiago Silva) in a light heavyweight fight
    Abubakar Nurmagomedov (Khabib;s brother) vs. Jorge Moreno in a welterweight fight
    Jimmy Spicuzza vs. Islam Mamedov in a lightweight fight

    The main event is fascinating, possibly the best fight that can be made outside of the UFC right now. Unlike Jon Fitch when he was cut by the UFC, we have no indication that Shields isn’t, at worse, a top 15 welterweight (though he’s probably top 10). He’s also an incredible grappler (who eeked out a decision over Maia in his next to last UFC fight) challenging the most terrifying grappler in the welterweight division. Moraes-Moraes is also a really strong fight on paper, and Nurmagomedov’s debut is going to be well worth checking out. This is, in some ways, a better main card than th UFC 190 PPV it’s going against.

    NJPW G1 Climax Day 9 in airs live from Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium at 3:00 a.m. ET on NJPW World:

    Non-Tournament Matches:

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

    Not the most eye-catching card, but Gallows-Styles is really intriguing on paper (Gallows works surprising well with high flyers, not that Styles isn’t much more than that these days) and Ibushi is the type of guy who could get something interesting out of Tenzan these days.

    We’re also looking for reports on tomorrow’s WWE shows in Fresno and Stockton. 

    **** 

    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. 

    **** 

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

    Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at  Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!

    You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer

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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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    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    ****

    Saturday 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 homophobic comments he made that ended up being leaked a week ago. This is some weird, fascinating stuff.
    • Check out Dave Meltzer’s live Play by Play.  UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia live results and coverage and here is coverage of yesterday’s weigh-ins:  UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia weigh-in results and live video  Also check out the UFC 190 Countdown shows.  Ryan Fredrick previews the show: UFC 190 Preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions.  Another preview with our staff picks: UFC 190 Wrestling Observer Picks & Preview: Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia by Josh Nason.  UFC Embedded: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5.  And last but not least UFC 190 and WSOF 22 Picks From The Secret Psychic Spy~!
    • Brazilian judge bans kids from UFC 190
    • There has been a ton of mainstream coverage of the death of Roddy Piper. That’s not surprising, but some of it is, like Piper’s death being the cover story in the Boston Herald. The BBC covered it as the third biggest story in world news. ESPN’s SportsCenter had a segment on Piper with Jonathan Coachman calling in to explain his legacy.
    • By the way, when TMZ says he died of “natural causes” from “cardiac arrest” in his sleep, that just means that he died in his sleep and it was not wrongful death (homicide, suicide, etc). It has nothing to do with the common usage of the term. That’s not at all to say he didn’t die of natural causes in the way we all use that phrase, but TMZ does this regularly and it always confuses people. There’s a good article that Slate published a few years ago explaining the distinction.
    • Josh Nason is looking for your memories of Rowdy Roddy Piper Roddy Piper: tell us what your favorite matches & moments are
    • Here is Wrestling Observer’s initial coverage on the passing of Roddy Wrestling legend Roddy Piper passes away at 61, WWE & Vince McMahon statement (updated)
    • Please check out this awesome coverage of NJPW G1 Climax 25: NJPW G1 Climax 25 (day 8) August 1 live results: Okada vs. Goto, Nakamura vs. Ishii
    • For what it’s worth, Dana White did a radio interview saying that Bethe Correia “absolutely” knew that Ronda Rousey’s father committed suicide when she made a flippant comment about hoping that Rousey didn’t kill herself after she won the title from her. This had been a point of contention since Correia doesn’t speak English and the remark that set her off (Rousey saying Correia needed a “come to Jesus meeting”) was a colloquial English expression that got translated back to her literally.
    • Rapper Meek Mill heavily sampled The Undertaker’s entrance music for a diss track targeting Drake, and according to TMZ, WWE is not amused.
    • Ring of Honor brings the Reloaded Tour to the North Atlanta Trade Center in Atlanta, GA on Saturday Night August 29 at 7:30 pm. 
    • Dori Yeats , the 2015 Pan Am Games Gold Medal Winner in woman’s freestyle wrestling, will wrestle an amateur match on the Aug 14th Great North Wrestling event at the Brockville Memorial Center against Aniko Potoczky. Tickets for the event, which will also feature Road Warrior Animal and The Honky Tonk Man, are at ticketweb.ca.

  • Georgia Hase passes away

    Georgia Hase, best known as the evil heel manager of various teams in a number of incarnations of Roller Games, passed away last night.  She had suffered a stroke during the middle of the past week.

    Hase was the lead heel in a number of Roller Games and Roller Derby revivals from the late 70s until recent years.  She was a tremendous heel promo.

    Hase joined Roller Games in 1961 and skated until 1964 in that league, and then briefly competed in a rival league where she was a top star until that league folded. 

    She was never a main part of the glory days of either Roller Derby, which she never skated for, or Roller Games, but become a true star much later.

    In the late 1970s, in a Los Angeles T-Birds revival era, she came back as a referee but the idea was to make her a heel General Manager of the Detroit Devils, and she may have been the first woman put in that role.  Her role was to play heel and be the adversary of the younger pretty women skaters, either rivals on the T-Birds, or women on her own team who would be ready for a babyface turn with a push.

    She continued to be a part of revival games until last year.

    “You were the best ever female manger in bank track leagues, you are missed and will never be forgotten,” wrote John Hall, the longtime babyface General Manager of the rival T-Birds.

  • Ring of Honor Aug 1 TV results and recap: Young Bucks vs War Machine; Adam Cole vs Kyle O’Reilly

    By Paul Fontaine, for WrestlingObserver.com

    The Big Takeaway – Outstanding opener, unique main event with a bonus tag team match at the end. Angle advancement in the Cedric Alexander and Adam Cole storylines makes for a fun show with future repercussions.

    Roderick Strong opened the show with a promo to order the on-demand version of Death before Dishonor and their outstanding 1 hour time limit draw. I think that knowing the match when 1 hour takes a little bit away from it but it was an awesome match. Strong called for a rematch the next time the title’s defended.

    This show was taped at Terminal 5 in New York City, so it should be a hot crowd and they’ve got a heck of a tag match to kick it off.

    War Machine (Hanson/Rowe) vs The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)

    The Bucks are out with their IWGP Junior Tag Team titles and get a great reaction with a YOUNG BUCKS chant during their ring entrance. No adherence to the Code of Honor as the Bucks would prefer that War Machine “Suck It”, which they don’t terribly appreciate.

    War Machine have the early advantage and Rowe clears the ring by overhead pressing Nick onto his brother. They follow them outside the ring and we get Superkicks #1 and #2 as both Bucks connect on both members of War Machine but don’t even knock them down. They then hit simultaneous Asai moonsaults but get caught by War Machine. Superkick #3 is Nick on Hanson and that knocks him down. #4 is Matt on Rowe and he stays on his feet. Nick then nails Rowe with a Senton splash while Matt drapes him between the ring apron and the floor. That draws another YOUNG BUCKS chant.

    Bucks double-teaming Hanson in the ring. Combination top rope splash and standing moonsault from the Bucks only get a one count on Hanson, who then takes them both out with a double clothesline. Superkicks #5 and #6 are both Bucks on Hanson and that knocks him out of the ring. Nick then takes out both members of War Machine with a crash and burn dive, which draws a TOO SWEET chant from the crowd. Nick landed badly, drawing medical attention as we go to break.

    Back from break and Rowe pulls Matt away from the doctors and throws him into the ring. War Machine double-teaming Matt while Nick is getting his leg iced. AJ Styles comes out to check on things during this time. Crowd chanting for AJ. Beating goes on for several minutes and the crowd really turning on War Machine during this. Matt gets a brief hope spot that ends with a double body-slam and then Rowe press slamming Hanson onto Matt and then Hanson powerbombing Rowe onto Matt but Matt rolled out.

    AJ decides to take over for Nick and gets a tag from Matt. AJ is a house of fire and the crowd is loving it. AJ then takes out the ref with a clothesline that was aimed at Rowe. Matt is then in for superkicks #7 on Rowe and #8 on Hanson. Powerbomb by Rowe on Matt but Nick comes in and hits superkicks #9 on Hanson and #10 on Rowe. AJ with the Sunday Bloddy Sunday DDT on Rowe and then a Styles clash. Ref counts the three.

    WINNERS: THE BULLET CLUB (MATT JACKSON AND AJ STYLES) by pinfall

    Nick seems just fine during the celebration. Adam Cole cuts a backstage promo on Kyle O’Reilly for tonight’s main event. Cole is really questioning where he stands in ROH as there’s dissension in the Kingdom. Cole insists there is no dissension and his friendship with O’Reilly has nothing to do with the Kingdom. They broke in together as a tag team, they’ve been there for the most important moments in each other’s lives and have respect and admiration for each other.

    A Roddy Piper “I stand for the silent” commercial aired during this break. R.I.P Hot Rod.

    Cedric Alexander w/Veda Scott vs Romantic Touch

    Caprice Coleman joins the commentary table for this one. Coleman is there to talk about Alexander and “whether he’s changed”. Alexander attacks before the ring intros with three straight running dropkicks into the corner. Coleman says this is his new-found aggression and it’s what he was missing all along.

    Coleman explains that Alexander changed out of need, out of fear and out of needing to keep his job. Coleman vows to show that he can do things the right way and be successful. This is basically an extended squash, as it should be. Touch gets brief offence in, tossing Alexander out of the ring and then hitting a dive to take him out but Scott distracts him to allow Alexander to get the advantage. He hits the Lumbar check for the pinfall shortly after.

    WINNER: CEDRIC ALEXANDER by pinfall

    Fans are chanting for Moose after the match. Scott cuts a promo in-ring. She basically says the same thing that Coleman did but in a slightly different way. She asks Touch to rip off the mask of Romantic Touch and expose Rhett Titus. Coleman comes in to break it up but Alexander shoves him off. This brings out Moose from the back and Alexander bails. Alexander is MUCH better in this role.

    Jay Lethal and Truth Martini cut a backstage promo. Lethal is set to become the greatest champion in ROH history. He congratulated Roderick Strong for taking him to the limit but the bottom line is he couldn’t get the job done and he’s to the back of the line because he’s got a lineup of people to defend against. Kyle O’Reilly and Hanson are brought up as potential challengers but Truth insists that Lethal is the greatest champion in ROH history and the House of Truth is Ring of Honor.

    Mandy Leon is here for Inside ROH and it’s a look at Kyle O’Reilly, leading up to his title challenge. They show footage of O’Reilly submitting Lethal during a tag match in March. That was followed up by a 30 minute draw for the TV title in April in Hopkins that I was there live for.

    Main Event – Adam Cole vs Kyle O’Reilly

    Both guys are out without their partners. Christopher Daniels joins the commentary table. Kelly refers to him as The Fallen Angel but Daniels corrects him and states that he’s now “The Almighty” Christopher Daniels. This was mentioned on the iPPV and I was wondering if I’d missed when it had started. They do adhere to the Code of Honor to start.

    Daniels is here because ReDRagon is the top contenders to the tag titles held by Daniels and Kazarian and also because the Addiction framed The Kingdome with their KRD ruse earlier this year. Grappling exchange to start with neither guy getting an advantage and the fans show their appreciation.

    Their bloodbath a couple years ago in NYC is brought up early as the match that put both guys on the map. Fans chant HEADLOCK CITY as they exchange headlocks for a minute or so. In fact O’Reilly has Cole in another headlock as we go to the first break.

    Back from break and they’re still chanting HHEADLOCK CITY but Cole tries to get out of it with a suplex but O’Reilly holds onto the headlock. Cole hits the ropes for a break and then rolls out of the ring. O’Reilly follows him out and puts the headlock on again but Cole rushes him into the ring barrier.

    Daniels stands up at commentary taunting O’Reilly but Cole takes out Daniels with a shove. Daniels takes off the headset and attacks Cole, drawing a DQ. O’Reilly comes in to defend, which brings out Kazarian.

    MATCH ENDS IN A NO CONTEST

    Fans are chanting FUTURE SHOCK (Cole and O’Reilly’s former tag team name) as they fight off Daniels and Kazarian. Cole takes a mic and challenges “these two old bastards” to face him and O’Reilly tonight. Even though Daniels is in a jeans and T-shirt, they appear to accept the challenge.

    The Addiction (“The Almighty” Christopher Daniels/Kazarian) vs Future Shock (Adam Cole/Kyle O’Reilly)

    Cole starts against Kazarian and gets the advantage. He quickly tags out to Daniels, who’s double-teamed by Cole and O’Reilly. They rip his shirt off and give him alternating chops and kicks to the chest. We go to break with O’Reilly in control of Daniels.

    Kazarian hits a clothesline from the outside to turn things around for the champs and now they’re double-teaming O’Reilly. They trades tags while continuing to double-team O’Reilly. Daniels even knocks Cole off the apron to distract the ref in a great old school heel move. O’Reilly makes the hot tag after a couple of minutes of this and Cole does the “ADAM COLE BABY” spot in a face role for the first time. Doesn’t get quite the reaction I thought it would.

    Cole hits a Shining Wizard on Daniels for a two and then puts on the Figure Four. Kazarian breaks that up with a legdrop, which brings in O’Reilly. The champs double-team him but Cole hits an O’Connor roll from behind on Daniels to get the win.

    WINNERS: FUTURE SHOCK by pinfall

    Before the announcement of a winner is made, Chris Sabin is out to make it a 3 on 2 attack but this brings out Bobby Fish and it’s all even and a wild brawl in and outside the ring. Eventually Cole, Fish and O’Reilly clear the ring. Michael Bennett, Matt Taven and Maria come out to observe at the top of the ramp and they don’t look pleased with their stablemate Cole. Fans are chanting NEW REDRAGON as the show closes.

  • VIDEO: UFC 190 Embedded, Episode 5

    Fight week continues with UFC Embedded for UFC 190, taking place tonight in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil live on pay-per-view. In this episode, final preparations are made for UFC 190 as it is weigh-in time. UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey enjoys a bath while she cuts weight while her challenger, Bethe Correia, hits mitts in the sauna to cut weight. We hear from UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Then, it is weigh-in time, and things get heated between Rousey and Correia. All of that and more, so check out episode five of UFC 190 Embedded above.

  • UFC 190 and WSOF 22 Picks From The Secret Psychic Spy~!

    By the Secret Psychic Spy (secretpsychicspy@yahoo.com)

    Starting Bankroll: $1,500

    Current Bankroll: $896.41

    Last week: 2/5 Overall 70/124 (56%)

    The bankroll took a bit of a hit last week, going 2/5. If Duke had managed to finish in the third round like she looked like she was about to, that would’ve meant a profit but c’est la vie! Two big shows this weekend, with UFC 190 and WSOF 22. I’ve got 1 value pick from the WSOF event and 4 from the UFC show.

    Pick 1 – Clifford Starks (11-2) -145 over Mike Kyle (21-12-1) I’m betting $100 to win $68.97

    This is from the WSOF show. Both guys are on opposite career paths, with Starks looking great since joining WSOF and Kyle….not so much. Starks has won 3 straight since being cut from UC and should make it 4 here in the WSOF opener.

    Pick 2 – Fernando Bruno (15-2) +150 over Glaico Franco (12-3) I’m betting $100 to win $150

    Two guys from TUF Brazil squaring off in the finals of the Lightweight tournament squaring off here in a feature fight on tonight’s PPV. Bruno is on a longer winning streak coming into his official UFC debut and he’s also higher ranked in Brazil. He is moving up a weight class so will be smaller but I still like the plus odds here.

    Pick 3 – Jessica Aguilar (19-4) +325 over Claudia Gadelha (12-1) I’m betting $100 to win $425

    I think these odds are insane. Aguilar has won 10 in a row and was the number one ranked strawweight in the world up until a couple of months ago. I’ve seen most of those 10 fights and Aguilar always seems to find a way to win. And she’s beaten some quality fighters in that stretch, mainly in WSOF and Bellator. Gadelha is the favorite because she took the Joanna Champion to the limit when they fought last year but she shouldn’t be this big a favorite.

    Pick 4 – Clint Hester (11-4) -150 over Vitor Miranda (10-4) I’m betting $100 to win $66.67

    Hester had a setback in his last fight, getting KO’d by Robert Whitaker but prior to that he’d been on a 4 fight win streak since his UFC debut. He’s the more accomplished fighter and should have little trouble with Miranda, who has just two UFC fights, splitting the results.

    Pick 5 – Shogun Rua (22-10) -210 over Rogerio Nogueira (21-6) I’m betting $100 to win $47.62

    Rua’s record non-withstanding, he has the better resume in UFC, having been a former champion and fighting a much higher level of competition than Little Nog. Nog was blitzed by Anthony Johnson in his last fight and it’s tough to recover from a beating like this. Whatever happens, this fight should be quick and I like the power of Rua against the submission skills of Nogueira here.

    All told, I’m betting $500 with a chance to win $658.25

    On with the betting game.

    2015 Betting Game: Secret Psychic Spy vs Ryan Frederick

    Current Standings:

    Ryan Frederick: $1,082.53 (Picked Eye, Leites, Lawler, Gordon, Hein, Alvarez, Ortega, Noons, Browne, Magny, Matthews)

    Secret Psychic Spy: $1,470.18 (Picked Duke, Rivera, Samman, Bosse, Amirkhani, Henderson, Breese, Pyle, Wee, Andrews)

    We both lost last week, picking female underdogs. I think I came closest to winning as Duke came on strong. Many thought she at least earned a draw with a 10-8 third but she did handily lose the first two rounds. Eye was completely outclassed by a vastly improved Tate, as she’s now set to challenge for the title, probably on January 2nd.

    This week, I’m picking Fernando Bruno in the TUF Brazil Lightweight finals at +150 for the reasons listed above.

    Ryan’s pick:

    I’m going Jessica Aguilar +340 over Claudia Gadelha. They are very closely matched and I’m honestly quite shocked the betting lines are as far apart as they are. While I picked Gadelha in my official preview piece, it is hard to overlook Aguilar at her current odds. She was ranked as the top strawweight in the world, ahead of Gadelha, and her signing is a huge boost to the division. I’m going with the, what is on the odds, upset, though I wouldn’t see it as much of an upset in reality.

    Good luck, enjoy the fights and remember, don’t bet more than you can afford to lose and try to have fun with it!

    –

  • Brazilian judge bans kids from UFC 190

    By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com

    Rio de Janeiro judge Pedro Henrique Alves issued a ruling Friday that would ban anyone under the age of 14 from attending tonight’s UFC 190 event at the HSBC Arena.

    The UFC announced today that the promotion regrets the decision and will refund the ticket amount to those who are not allowed to attend.

    The amazing part of this story is that the event will be airing live on Globo in Brazil, meaning probably 10 million or more people of all ages in Brazil will be watching on television.

    There is a pro wrestling precedent from 1957, and for roughly the next 20 years, there was a ban on attending pro wrestling by anyone under the age of 14, which kind of puts all those MSG sellouts into perspective. This stemmed from the famous riot in the Dr. Jerry Graham & Dick the Bruiser vs. Argentina Rocca & Edouard Carpentier match.

  • WWE News: Notes on Raw tickets in San Diego

    There is a presale going on right now for the 10/26 Raw show in San Diego at the Valley View Casino Center.

    The code is wwefan

    Tickets go on sale to the public on 9/11.

  • WWE San Diego July 31 house show results: Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens, Roddy Piper tribute, pre-sale code for October RAW

    Submitted by Sean Hummel

    – Chris Jericho b Kevin Owens via code breaker in a hot opener. An Owens promo opened the show.

    – Neville b Bo Dallas with the Red Arrow.

    – Rusev b R Truth with the Accolade

    – WWE Tag Team Champions Prime Time Players b New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) w/Kofi via spine buster bomb

    – Bellas b Naomi and Sasha Banks with Rack Attack. Naomi took the finish. 

    – Cesaro b King Barrett via giant swing into Sharpshooter

    – WWE Champion Seth Rollins b Dean Ambrose in a cage match after escaping following hitting the Pedigree.

    Notes:

    – RAW is coming to San Diego in October 26th at the Valley View Casino Center. Tickets go onsale to the general public on September 11th, but the pre-sale code to buy now is ‘wwefan’.

    – They had a 10 bell tribute for Rowdy Roddy Piper at the onset of the show. They put a graphic on the mini Titantron, and there were a couple of Roddy chants. It was well done given the timing. 

    – Byron Saxton did a nice job as ring announcer for the evening.

    – Refunds were offered since John Cena couldn’t appear.

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (August 1): Harley Race downs Jumbo Tsuruta, Nick Bockwinkel battles Curt Hennig

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1934 – In St. Louis, Missouri at the West Side Softball Park, Orville Brown beat Charley Strack and George Tragos beat Al Sparks by dq.

    1963 – Eddie Graham defeated Hiro Matsuda for the (Florida) Southern Heavyweight Title in Jacksonville, Florida; In Amarillo, Texas; in a Non Title Match, Dory Funk Jr. beat AWA Champion Fritz Von Erich

    1964 – In Omaha, Nebraska; AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Reggie Parks and Nebraska Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat Art Thomas

    1972 – In Tampa, Florida at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory; Florida Champion Paul Jones beat Jack Brisco by dq, Florida tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens no contest with Mr Wrestling Tim Woods & Ron Fuller, Zodiac beat Dale Lewis, Buddy Colt beat Johnny Walker and Hiro Matsuda beat Jim Dillon

    1974 – Bulldog Bob Brown defeated Harley Race in Kansas City, Kansas for the Central States Heavyweight Title.

    1980 – In Omaha, Nebraska; Nick Bockwinkel beat Canadian Champion Dino Bravo dq, Mad Dog Vachon & Greg Gagne beat Jerry Blackwell & John Studd and Tito Santana beat Super Destroyer Mark II

    1982 – Harley Race defeated Jumbo Tsuruta for the NWA United National Heavyweight Title (now part of the All Japan Triple Crown) in Tokyo, Japan.

    1987 – In Minneapolis; Nick Bockwinkel beat AWA Champion Curt Hennig dq, Wahoo McDaniel & DJ Peterson beat AWA Tag Team Champions Boris Zhukov & Soldat Ustinov in a non title match, Greg Gagne double countout with Larry Zbyszko and Original Midnight Express beat Steve O & Jerry Blackwell. Attendance was 850.

    1988 – In Memphis; AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Buddy Landel, Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden no contest Jeff Jarrett & Bam Bam Bigelow, CWA Champion Phil Hickerson beat Scott Steiner and Brickhouse Brown beat Max Pain. Attendance was 6,000.

  • Roddy Piper: tell us what your favorite matches & moments are

    By Josh Nason, WrestlingObserver.com

    Just six weeks ago, wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes passed away, setting off a social media family gathering of sorts with people sharing clips, favorite matches, and favorite moments. I noticed this and wanted to help gather a lot of those in one spot. I asked, you answered, and this post was created.

    On Friday, the wrestling world learned of the passing of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Unfortunately, it’s time to do this again, but hopefully it will give fans a chance to check out material that they’ve never seen or haven’t seen in a long time.

    So, I want to hear from you. What’s your favorite Piper match (singles or tag), promo, or Piper’s Pit segment that’s either available on the WWE Network or on YouTube/DailyMotion that fans could check out today? Email me (josh-at-wrestling-observer-dot-com) and put ‘Favorite Piper Match’ in the subject line. Give me who’s in the match, where it was, and why it meant something to you. If you want to include your name, awesome. If not, just say ‘Name witheld’. 

    Even if you assume that people are going to send in the same match, do it anyway. It’ll be a great litmus test for ones that really stand out.

    Email me by Sunday at midnight EST, and I’ll put together a list to post early next week. Thanks for taking part!