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Category: News

  • Daily Update: Raw ratings competition, NXT changes, NJPW Super J results

    While there is a lot of talk about Raw ratings, which, unless John Cena’s drawing power is really strong for his return, they would hit seasonal record lows going against both the Warriors vs. Thunder game seven and the Sharks vs. Penguins game one in the NHL finals, another story has started to surface: TicketMaster and the WWE’s web site have pulled the planned SummerSlam weekend NXT show off their schedule. 

    Decisions and schedule changes happen all the time though. If you remember, last year’s show in Brooklyn was NXT’s biggest success in history, drawing a legit sellout with the Bayley vs. Sasha Banks match that may have been the best women’s match in company history. Even internally, people have been asking questions and right now there are no answers other than the show is no longer on the schedule. At least some in NXT are very concerned about that and the billing of the 6/8 show as “The End.” 

    We’re looking for live reports from Raw tonight in Green Bay, featuring the return of John Cena to Dave@WrestlingObserver.com.

    NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM HIROSHIMA ON TUESDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

    • Bushi vs. David Finlay
    • Matt Sydal vs. Rocky Romero
    • Kushida vs. Gedo
    • Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kyle O’Reilly

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Rockford, IL  We’re also looking for reports on this show.

    NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM NAGOYA ON THURSDAY (taped for New Japan World, available later in the day)

    • Volador Jr. vs. Chase Owens
    • Jushin Liger vs. Tiger Mask
    • Bobby Fish vs. Will Ospreay
    • Ricochet vs. Trent Baretta

    THE ROUND-UP

    If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

    Figure Four Weekly 5/23/2016: More strange developments in WWE’s concussion lawsuit deposition – Last week we talked a bit about both Evan Singleton’s deposition in the WWE concussion lawsuit as well as a video of a concussion presentation held in developmental during Singleton’s time under contact. Among other topics, there’s been a bit more movement on that front.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    READ IT HERE: May 30, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Return of Seth Rollins and the WWE brand split, plus tons of news

    With two of the biggest news stories of the year, the WWE brand split and the UFC sale both in play, we’ve got a new issue of the Observer packed with news.

    Our lead story looks at the brand split, with what we do know, what has and hasn’t been decided and the background of how it went down. There’s also more info on the UFC sale talks.  Plus there is coverage of the return of Seth Rollins, the build to Money in the Bank and have coverage of Extreme Rules, the negotiations for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight and look more at the Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor rumors. Take an in-depth look at the departure of Cody Runnels (Rhodes) from WWE and his future prospects, plus look at his complaints regarding people in the company. All this plus a look at the New Japan Super Juniors tournament, the funding of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, the World Cup trios tournament coming up and a feature on the last PWG show.

    The lead story looks at every aspect of the brand split.  It looks at the original goals and reasons for it and what did and didn’t work, plus how it’ll be different this time, how the touring will work, and an examination of what talent knows and tentative plans in place.  Vince McMahon’ reaction is a big part of this, and this issue explains how the deal went down, the story behind the story and other aspects to be considered. There’s also a look at Smackdown going live, the affect on the fan base, the affect on TNA and why it was important to get Smackdown away from Thursday.

    Another big story in this issues is Extreme Rules, the decision to make Seth Rollins a heel and current plans for Money in the Bank, and also match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

    Details about what’s going on with Conor McGregor, including Colin Cowherd’s claim that Mayweather vs. McGregor is happening, as well as a look at the Nate Diaz negotiations last week and what McGregor has said publicly.

    Finally, this issue looks at Cody Runnels leaving WWE, what he said was the reason why, and a look into those reasons, and a look at the realities of WWE business decisions and his background.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PREVIEW.

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    Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: April 19, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Davey Boy Smith hospitalized with spinal infection, WCW Spring Stampede. The health situations involving both Davey Boy Smith and Japanese woman wrestler Emiko Kado took turns for the worst this past week.

    MONDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    Before starting, I just want everyone to spend a moment thinking of & honoring those who Memorial Day was named for: people who lost their lives in service to this country. That is the supreme sacrifice, and hopefully we all recognize that because of their efforts, we are able to live the type of lives we are able to right now. 

    NXT is booking shows outside Florida going forward. In fact, they just announced a tour in July with shows on 7/14 in Indianapolis, 7/15 in Cincinnati and 7/16 in Louisville. 

    The record low Raw number for non-football season would be 3,116,000 viewers on April 25. Without Cena’s return, I don’t think there’s a chance they get that number. 

    Tonight’s Raw show should not only introduce the seventh person in the Money in the Bank match but also start some build for the key matches on the undercard. Enzo & Cass vs. The Dudleys and a technical match with Dolph Ziggler vs Baron Corbin were scheduled as of earlier today. Another tease is The Hatch happens tonight and lots more social media activity from Bray Wyatt, who should be back any week now if not tonight.

    Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer radio covering all the news on the brand split, Raw and take email questions that can be sent to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com.

    Today’s Super Juniors results from Yonago:

    • Chase Owens (2-2) beat Trent Baretta (2-2)
    • Tiger Mask (2-2) beat Will Ospreay (1-3)
    • Bobby Fish (2-2) beat Volador Jr. (2-2)
    • Ricochet (3-1) beat Jushin Liger (2-2) 

    WWE

    • John Cena said he would be wearing shorts that were given to him by Ellen Degeneres.
    • Seth Rollins will be headlining “the Reigns tour” this coming weekend with multiple person title matches, usually with A.J. Styles, on dates in Odessa, Lubbock and Amarillo.
    • The Marine 5 starts production tomorrow in Vancouver and will include The Miz, Maryse, Naomi, Heath Slater, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. In theory, some or all of those names should be out for several weeks. If Miz loses the title tonight, that would be why. If he doesn’t, the title may be on ice for a little while.  
    • Dwayne Johnson officially announced he was going to star in the Sony Pictures adaption of “Doc Savage” as well as produce the movie through his Seven Bucks Entertainment company. Savage is a DC superhero comic book character with super strength and intelligence.   
    • The Seth Rollins documentary starts right after Raw on the WWE Network. 
    • The TakeOver go-home show featuring the contract signing for Asuka vs. Nia Jax will be on NXT on Wednesday night. The big show featuring Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe in a cage match and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries will be a week from Wednesday from Full Sail University.
    • Summer Rae threw out the first pitch at the Chicago Cubs game on Friday.

    UFC

    • Lots of surprises last night so this is how the picks went

    3-2 – Mike Sawyer, John Pollock, Paul Fontaine

    2-3 – Josh Nason, David Bixenspan, Front Row Brian

    1-4 – Steve Juon, me, Ryan Frederick

    0-5 – Mike Sempervive

    • UFC Bad Blood TV special at 9 p.m. Eastern tomorrow night on FS 1 runs down the nine year long feud between Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz which comes to a head on Saturday night.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • Lineup for tomorrow night’s Impact is:

    Mike Bennett vs. James Storm

    Gail Kim & Jade vs. Sienna & Allie

    Robbie E & Jessie Godderz vs. Rockstar Spud & Tyrus with Mike Bennett as referee

    Bram vs. Bobby Lashley for the King of the Mountain title

    Drew Galloway vs. Abyss & Crazzy Steve in a handicap match.

            This is also the next to last episode of Impact before the 6/12 Slammiversary PPV show.

    • TNA announced a VIP experience for Slammiversary for $129 with priority seating at the show and the tapings over the next few days, as well as a post-show party with the wrestlers a poster, and nighty meet and greets and autograph sessions.
    • A.J. Brooks, the former A.J. Lee, on Twitter wrote, “Just finished my book.  No co-writer.  No ghost writer.  Just me, lots of carbs and an adorably evil mind.”
    • Progress Wrestling from yesterday in London, England at the Electric Ballroom for the Strong Style 16 tournament:  Mark Haskins b Pete Dunne, Mikey Whiplash b Damon Moser, Zack Gibson b Kenny Williams, Jack Gallagher b TK Cooper, Big Daddy Walter b Dave Mastiff, Chris Hero b Mark Andrews, Sami Callihan b Matt Cross (Son of Havoc in Lucha Underground), Tommy End b Rampage Brown, James Davis & Rob Lynch b Nathan Cruz & El Ligero  
    • Smash Wrestling vs. Progress Wrestling takes place in Toronto on 9/17 and 9/18 at the  Franklin Horner Community Centre.  Nothing has been announced but the push is the stars of Progress like Zack Sabre Jr., Will Ospreay, Mark Andrews, Jimmy Havoc and Marty Scurll and the stars of Smash like Courtney Rush (Rosemary in TNA), Pepper Parks (TNA), Cherry Bomb (TNA), Matt Cross and Johnny Gargano.
    • A story on Cowboy Frankie Laine, who passed way last week, can be read here, from his hometown newspaper.
    • A story on a book about Manitoba pro wrestling history is here.
    • World Series of Fighting on NBC Sports has this show scheduled for 7/30 in Everett, WA at the Xfinity Arena:

    Marlon Morales vs. Josh Hill for the bantamweight title

    Alexandre Almeida vs. Lance Palmer for the featherweight title

    Phoenix Jones vs. Caros Fodor in the battle of adopted brothers from Seattle

    • In Your Face Wrestling on 6/11 in Delanson, NY at the Duanesburg YMCA features Brutal Bob Evans and HC Loc.
    • I Believe in Wrestling from Saturday night in Orlando for the Florida J Cup:  Jonny Vandal b Jay Rios, Kota Sekifuda b CT Brown, Aaron Epic b Slade Porter, Jon Cruz b Xander Vargas, JD Amazing & Brandon Scherer & Chico Adams b Braydon Knight & Tyranus & Josh Parker, Jonny Vandal b Kota Sekifuda, Aaron Epic b Jon Cruz, Santana Garrett & MJ Knight & Nova Girl b Queen Raquel (TNA) & Dominique Fabiano & Jenson Fratelli, Jonny Vandal b Aaron Epic to win tournament.  Next show is 6/18 with Rhett Giddins vs. JD Amazing and Santana Garrett vs. Thea Trinidad (Rosita in TNA). 
    • CWF presents a free wrestling show at Tim Horton’s on 145 Hazel Rd. in St. Catherines, ONT on Wednesday at 6 p.m. to support Tim Horton’s Camp Day 2016. 
    • Another free event takes place tonight in the parking lot of Tim Horton’s at 1495 Regent Ave. in Winnipeg with donations accepted for Tim Horton’s Children Foundation to send underprivileged children to camp put on by Canadian Wrestling Elite..
    • Conflict Wrestling on 6/12 in Kitchener, ONT features a tribute show for Edith Marie Marsh, headlined by Will White vs. John Atlas and Kaitlin Diemond vs. Jennifer Blake.
    • CZW Tournament of Death on 6/11 in Townsend, DE at 2 p.m. at 179 Ebenzer Church Rd. features these tournament matches

    Alex Colon vs. Danny Havoc in a light tube death match

    Masada vs. Conor Claxton in a barbed wire madness match

    Tim Donst vs. Rickey Shane Page in a stipulation of Donst’s choice match

    Jeff Cannonball vs. Matt Tremont in a Home Run Derby match.

            There will also be non-tournament matches including:

    Devon Moore vs. Dale Patricks in a scaffold match

    DJ Hyde vs. Josh Crane in a panes of glass match

    • Maryland Championship Wrestling on 6/10 in Joppa, MD at the MCW Arena feature Jimmy’s Seafood Slamboree with Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Damien Sandow appearing at 6 p.m. for a meet and greet.  Sandow will also wrestle on the show.
    • CWE from last night in Fort William, ONT:  Jason Kincaid b Joe Keys, Silas Young b Robby Royce, Anderson Tyson Moore b Travis Cole to keep the CWE title, Lio Rush b Tyler Colton-DQ so Colton keeps the TV title, Danny Duggan b Wildman Firpo, Lio Rush & Jason Kincaid & Anderson Tyson Moore b Silas Young & Tyler Colton & Travis Cole.  Next tour is 9/22 to 10/2 featuring Ethan Carter III.

    Today in Professional Wrestling History: Joe Stecher wins World Title; Inoki vs. Andre; Gordy wins UWF Title

  • Daily Pro Wrestling History (05/30): Joe Stecher wins World Title; Inoki vs. Andre; Gordy wins UWF Title

    1925 

    St. Louis, Missouri:
    – Joe Stecher defeated Stanislaus Zbyszko for the World’s Heavyweight Wrestling Title 

    1943
    Mexico City, Mexico:
    – Joe Silva defeated Adolfo Bonales to win the Mexico National Lightweight Title  

    1945
    Toronto, Iowa:
    – Marshall Estep defeated Ken Fenelon for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title 

    1956
    Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
    – Killer Kowalski defeated Yvon Robert for the Montreal World Heavyweight Title

    1963
    Amarillo, Texas:
    – AWA Champion Verne Gagne drew with Amarillo World Champion Dory Funk Jr when the 60 minute time limit expired in the 3rd fall
    – Tokyo Tom beat Dory Funk Sr in 2 out of 3 falls 
    – Bob Ellis & Wahoo McDaniel & Ricky Romero beat Killer Karl Kox & Mike DiBiase & Sputnik Monroe

    Kansas City; Kansas:
    – In a Lumberjack match, Masked Medic #1 and Masked Medic #2 beat Steve Bolus and Steve Kovacs
    – Bob Geigel beat Sonny Myers
    – Larry Hamilton beat Roy Collins 
    – Joe Scarpello beat Rock Hunter via dq

    1964
    Manchester, England:
    – Bobby Steele defeated Chick Purvey to win the European Middleweight Title 

    Mexico City, Mexico:
    – Benny Galant defeated El Rayo de Jalisco to win the NWA World Middleweight Title 

    1966
    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Herb Welch and Al Costello defeated Karl and Eric von Brauner in a tournament final to win the vacant Mid-America version of the NWA World Tag Team Titles

    1970
    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Dr. X on a reverse decision 3rd fall dq 
    – Blackjack Lanza & Lars Anderson beat Red Bastien & Pepper Gomez

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Bobby Hart defeated Johnny Valentine for the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title 

    1973
    Hamburg, Pennsylvania:
    – Tony Garea & Haystacks Calhoun defeated Professor Tanaka & Mr. Fuji for the WWWF World Tag Team Titles 

    1974
    Kansas City; Kansas:
    – The Interns (w/ Dr. Ken Ramey) defeated Omar Atlas & The Viking
    – Bob Geigel & Rufus R. Jones defeated Bob Brown & Lord Alfred Hayes 
    – Don Fargo defeated Mike George

    1978
    Osaka, Japan:
    – Antonio Inoki defeated Andre the Giant by countout to win the first-annual New Japan Pro Wrestling MSG League

    1980
    Denver, Colorado:
    – The Crusher beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel in a non Title Cage Match
    – Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura beat Greg Gagne & Wahoo McDaniel
    – Jerry Blackwell went to a no contest with Dino Bravo

    1981 
    San Juan, Puerto Rico:
    – Jack Brisco defeated Kim Song for the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Title

    Charlotte, North Carolina
    – Sweet Ebony Diamond defeated Greg Valentine to win the NWA Television Title 

    1983
    Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
    – Little Tokyo defeated Cowboy Lang for the NWA World Midgets Title

    1984 
    Tampa, Florida:
    – Angelo Mosca defeated Mike Rotundo to win the Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title 

    1986 
    Houston, Texas:
    – Terry Gordy defeated Hacksaw Duggan in a tournament final to win the UWF title

    1986
    Des Moines, Iowa:
    – The Shadow (Jaymie Knight) won a 13-man battle royal to win the vacant NWA Central States Heavyweight Title 

    Oakland, California:
    – Jerry Blackwell won a battle royal
    – Nick Bockwinkel beat Larry Zbyszko
    – in a non title match, Midnight Rockers beat AWA Tag Team Champions Buddy Rose & Doug Somers

    1996
    Caguas, Puerto Rico:
    – Sean Morley (Val Venis) defeated El Bronco for the WWC Television Title 

    1998
    – Hysteria defeated Vance Nevada to win the Canadian Wrestling Federation Junior Heavyweight Title

    2000 
    Nampa, Idaho:
    – Sean Stasiak and Chuck Palumbo defeated Kronik (Brian Adams and Brian Clark) for the WCW World Tag Team Titles 

    2001 
    Santa Ana, California:
    – Evolution (Nova and Frankie Kazarian) won a tournament for the vacant UPW Tag Team Title

  • Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett signed for UFC Germany return

    A battle of former UFC heavyweight champions was announced as the main event for UFC’s return to Germany.

    Andrei Arlovski (25-12) will face Josh Barnett (34-8) in the main event on 9/3 in Hamburg, Germany at the Barclaycard Arena. The event will be broadcast on UFC Fight Pass with a 2 pm eastern main card start time.

    While both are long-term veterans of the sport, they have never faced each other in the past.  Arlovski was back in title contention with a six-fight winning streak until losing his last two fights via knockout, a quick loss to new champion Stipe Miocic, and a knockout loss to next title contender Alistair Overeem.

    Barnett suffered a shocking loss to Ben Rothwell on the January FOX show.  While losing to Rothwell isn’t shocking, Barnett lost via submission, and Barnett was considered one of the best submission heavyweights in the world, having never lost via submission in MMA competition (he submitted once due to shoulder injury against Mirko Cro Cop, but never to an actually submission move), and, when facing some of the best grapplers in the world in grappling matches, he hadn’t lost via submission in more than 15 year, since a 2000 match with Ricardo Almeida, and from a skill standpoint, that wasn’t even the same guy.

    Barnett is also a pro wrestler in Japan, although has not done pro wrestling in 17 months.

  • WWE live event results, La Crosse, WI: Baron Corbin pins Cesaro

    By Lenny Bakken

    Byron Saxon was the host, ring announcer and bell ringer.

    1. Kane & Big Show defeated Eric Rowan & Braun Strowman clean pinfall.

    2. Sasha Banks defeated Summer Rae with the bank statement.

    3. Baron Corbin defeated Cesaro via pinfall.

    4. Rusev w/Lana defeated Sin Cara with the camel clutch.

    5. Paige & Becky Lynch defeated Lana & Dana Brooks.

    6. Vaudevillians vs. Shining Stars vs. New Day in an elimination match:  Vaudevillians first to be eliminated by Shining Stars and then New Day defeated Shining Stars.

    7. Alberto Del Rio vs. Dean Ambrose:  Dean Ambrose won via pinfall.

    Best spots of the night were in the Ambrose match also. (Dean superplexed ADR off the top rope. Also Dean flew threw the middle ropes onto ADR on the floor.)

    Overall a very entertaining show and the crowd seemed very pleased with the talent’s efforts.

  • John Cena dances, discusses if a hot dog is a sandwich on ‘Today’

    WWE is not taking its somewhat perilous competition situation lying down.

    John Cena was on NBC’s The Today Show Monday in New York, a mainstream promo stop before he was to head to Green Bay, WI, to return on Raw later Monday night. The appearance was to promote his return as a special thing.

    But is a hot dog a sandwich?

    Given the second and third hours are going head-to-head with the seventh game of the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA playoff semifinal, and the game one of the Stanley Cup finals, this will be the toughest competition Raw will face from other programming in 2016 until the Olympics later this year.

    The question becomes where to place Cena on the show. The first hour is the only one not against the game, but the first hour on Memorial Day weekend is often low. But if Cena is on early and he’s not in the main event segment as well, it could lead to a big falloff late in the show due to the competition.

    The NBA finals, which will affect ratings far more than the Stanley Cup, open on Thursday against Smackdown. Games five and six will be on June 13 and June 16, so if needed, they would go against Raw and Smackdown that week. The expectation is a Golden State vs. Cleveland finals rematch will do monstrous numbers because of the stars involved (LeBron James, Steph Curry, etc).

    If there is a game seven needed, it would go head-to-head with Money in the Bank, but that’s not as big a deal with the network economy as it would be with the PPV economy.

    And now, John Cena dancing:

  • UFC Fight Night 88 Las Vegas live results: Thomas Almeida vs. Cody Garbrandt

    Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 88: Almeida vs. Garbrandt from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC’s annual Memorial Day Weekend event in Las Vegas is headlined by a bout between undefeated bantamweight prospects as 21-0 Thomas Almeida takes on 8-0 Cody Garbrandt. The co-main event features former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao moving up to the featherweight division as he takes on Jeremy Stephens. Also on the card, in a pivotal bout on UFC Fight Pass, it will be undefeated Aljamain Sterling taking on Bryan Caraway in bantamweight action. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.

    UFC Fight Night 88 Observer Picks & Preview
    UFC Fight Night 88 DFS Playbook

    Coverage provided by Ryan Frederick

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6 PM ET/3 PM PT)

    HEAVYWEIGHTS- CHRIS DE LA ROCHA (4-1, 0-1 UFC) VS. ADAM MILSTEAD (7-1, 0-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Milstead is making his UFC debut. They start swinging wildly to start. Milstead with a big right hand and de la Rocha pulls guard. They scramble up and Milstead lands a knee. They trade right hands. Milsread with another big right hand. de la Rocha lands one and then gets a takedown but they scramble up against the cage. Milstead with an elbow against the fence. Not much happening in the clinch. They break. de la Rocha is cut. They trade big punches and both are starting to tire early. Milstead with a big right hand and then two more. Milstead with a combo and a big right hand. Milstead landing punches and de la Rocha initiates a clinch against the fence. They break and Milstead with a solid left hand. de la Rocha scores a sloppy takedown but they get to their feet. Milstead with a big elbow in the clinch. They break. Milstead with a big left hook and a right hand and misses a head kick. 10-9 Milstead.

    ROUND 2- They trade punches to start to second. Milstead with a big uppercut followed by a right hand. They trade punches in a scramble. de la Rocha with a right hand. They trade big punches. de la Rocha has a large cheering section in the arena. de la Rocha shoots for a takedown against the fence. He’s working for it but eats a big elbow from Milstead. They are broken up with not much going on in the clinch. de la Rocha goes for a kick but Milstead catches the leg and lands a big right hand. Milstead starting to tee off and has de la Rocha in trouble. de la Rocha is bleeding very badly. Milstead with two big right hands. Two more big right hands and another couple shots and the referee steps in and stops this fight. Milstead with a big TKO win in his UFC debut.

    Official Result: Adam Milstead def. Chris de la Rocha by TKO (punches) at 4:01 of Round 2

    BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#4) ALJAMAIN STERLING (13-0, 4-0 UFC) VS. (#8) BRYAN CARAWAY (20-7, 5-2 UFC)

    ROUND 1- This is a big fight in the bantamweight division. Sterling with a quick front kick and another. They trade punches. Sterling with a jumping kick that misses but lands a spin kick. Sterling grabs a single leg but Caraway defends. They trade punches in the clinch. Sterling grabs the back and drags Caraway to the ground and has the hooks in and is looking for the choke. Sterling with punches from the back. Sterling has an arm over the neck. Caraway escapes but Sterling with big punches from the back and he tries to set up the choke again. Sterling still has the back and landing big punches from the back. Sterling has a modified choke in looking for the finish. Caraway survives. Big round for Sterling. 10-8 Sterling.

    ROUND 2- Caraway looks to land a right hand quickly. Sterling shoots for a takedown but Caraway sprawls and has the neck of Sterling looking for a choke. Sterling escapes to his feet. Sterling with a body kick and then another. Sterling lands a big right hand and a big leg kick. Caraway lands a right hand. Sterling with a leg kick. They trade strikes and clinch against the fence. Not much happening but they break the clinch. Sterling just misses a spinning back fist. Caraway shoots for the takedown but Sterling defends against the cage. Caraway gets him down though. Caraway with punches from the top. Caraway looking for the back. Caraway transitions to the back and is landing punches. Caraway gets into half-guard. Caraway looking for a choke but the round ends. 10-9 Caraway, 19-18 Sterling.

    ROUND 3- This round will decide it and its interesting how the judges scored the first. Sterling with a leg kick. Caraway looks the fresher of the two. They trade and Caraway misses a takedown. Sterling with a front kick followed by a right hand. Caraway gets a takedown but Sterling has the neck. Not much happening on the ground. They scramble to the feet but Caraway looking for another takedown. He gets it after Sterling lands a big knee. Caraway in the half-guard. Sterling has an inverted triangle locked in but Caraway escapes. Caraway not doing much and Sterling looking for the ref to stand them up. Caraway gets to the back of Sterling and looking for a choke. Sterling stands up and Caraway is on his back. Caraway with punches from the back. They go back to the mat and the fight ends. Real interesting decision coming up. 10-9 Caraway, 28-28.

    Official Result: Bryan Caraway def. Aljamain Sterling by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT)

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- ERIK KOCH (14-4, 3-3 UFC) VS. SHANE CAMPBELL (12-4, 1-2 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Campbell with two leg kicks to start and he slips on a third. Koch with a left hand. They trade leg kicks. Koch lands a left hand and then another. Koch with a head kick followed by a left hand. They trade punches. Koch with a head kick that stuns Campbell and they trade against the fence before a clinch. Koch with some knees in the tie-up. They trade knees. Both still battling in the clunch and landing knees and they finally break. Koch with a high kick. They trade and Campbell goes for a takedown but it is defended against the fence. Koch gets a takedown after eating an elbow. Koch takes the back and transitions to another takedown. Koch gets the back again. 10-9 Koch.

    ROUND 2- Campbell lands a big punch and Koch immediately scores a takedown and is in the half-guard. Koch working to get into the mount but Campbell defending well on the bottom. Koch still working from the top and is setting up position but transitions to the back. Koch has the back and is looking to get the arm under the neck. Koch landing punches from the back and he locks a choke in and Campbell taps out! Big win for Koch in his first fight in over two years.

    Official Result: Erik Koch def. Shane Campbell by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:02 of Round 2

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- JAKE COLLIER (9-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. ALBERTO UDA (9-0, 0-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Uda makes his UFC debut. They clinch right away and Uda looks to land the knees. They break and Collier lands a left hook. They clinch again and trade knees and push the fight against the fence. Uda with a big knee as they break. Collier with a body kick. Uda with a big knee and a head kick and he has Collier in trouble. Uda grabs the back and lands punches and they go to the mat for a moment but scramble right back up. Uda has the body locked but misses a takedown and gives his back up to Collier.They clinch and land knees. They break and Collier with a spinning back fist. They clinch again. Each with a knee. They trade knees again. Collier scores a takedown. Collier in the full guard of Uda and lands a big left hand. Collier gets to his feet and it allows Uda to take his back and Uda looks for a choke. Uda ends on top landing punches as the round ends. 10-9 Uda.

    ROUND 2- They come out punching and clinch right up. Collier grabs the body looking for a takedown but Uda is defending. Collier with some solid punches as they break. They trade body kicks and Collier seemed to hurt Uda with his. Collier with some big punches and a spin kick and Uda goes down and Collier finishes him off with a couple more punches from the top. Big win for Collier as he hands Uda his first career loss.

    Official Result: Jake Collier def. Alberto Uda by TKO (strikes) at 1:06 of Round 2

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- ABEL TRUJILLO (14-6 1 NC, 5-2 1 NC UFC) VS. JORDAN RINALDI (12-4, 0-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Rinaldi is making his UFC debut on short notice against a tough opponent in Trujillo. Rinaldi with a leg kick. Trujillo lands a big right hand. Trujillo gets a takedown and is in the full guard of Rinaldi. Trujillo with a body punch from the top. Trujillo gets to his feet and Rinaldi stays on the mat until ordered up by Herb Dean. Trujillo with a big right hand and then stuffs a takedown attempt from Rinaldi. Rinaldi ducks under a left hand from Trujillo and they clinch against the fence. They trade punches and Trujillo lands big with a right hand. Left hook by Trujillo. Front kick by Trujillo. Trujillo lands a big right hand as they exchange punches. They trade left hands as the round ends. 10-9 Trujillo.

    ROUND 2- Trujillo gets a takedown to start the second round. Rinaldi grabs the arm looking for the armbar but Trujillo defends it well. Trujillo now in the full guard of Rinaldi. Trujillo stands up and Rinaldi gets to his feet. They trade punches and Rinaldi grabs the back of Trujillo and scores a takedown along the fence. Rinaldi has the back and the hooks in and is looking for the choke. Rinaldi with punches from the back. Rinaldi has an arm under the neck. Trujillo escapes the attack and they start to each land punches on the mat. Rinaldi still working for the choke. He has Trujillo flattened out but no choke in. Trujillo staying out of the choke but eating punches from Rinaldi. Trujillo scrambes out to the top but the round ends before he is able to do anything. 10-9 Rinaldi, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- Trujillo quickly goes for a takedown and lands a big right hand. They trade punches and each man connects. They scramble on the mat and to the feet and Rinaldi lands a knee. They trade and Trujillo defends a takedown and they clinch against the fence. They break. Rinaldi goes for a takedown but eats a knee from Trujillo. Trujillo with a big right hand. Rinaldi with a head kick. Trujillo with a right hand and he looks the fresher of the two with two minutes left. Trujillo throwing bombs at Rinaldi and some are landing. Trujillo with a left hook and another and he has Rinaldi rocked. Trujillo gets a takedown in what will probably guarantee him the win. Trujillo with punches from inside the guard. Neither man doing much on the mat. Rinaldi tries to scramble but eats a hammerfist from Trujillo, who gets to his feet. Herb Dean orders Rinaldi up. Trujillo with a left hook. 10-9 Trujillo, 29-28 Trujillo.

    Official Result: Abel Trujillo def. Jordan Rinaldi by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#6) SARA MCMANN (8-3, 2-3 UFC) VS. (#7) JESSICA EYE (11-4 1 NC, 1-3 1 NC UFC)

    ROUND 1- Both women are in desperate need of a win here. Eye with a right hand. They trade and McMann goes for a takedown and they clinch against the fence. McMann with a couple of knees. McMann just holding on and not doing much. McMann with a knee. Another knee by McMann. They trade right hands. McMann misses a right hand. Eye lands a right hand. Both miss punche attempts. Eye with a missed body kick. Not much happened. 10-9 McMann.

    ROUND 2- They trade punches. Eye with a right hand. McMann slips after getting hit by Eye. They trade punches and Eye lands as she circles away. McMann goes for a takedown but it is defended by Eye who lands a punch. They trade punches and McMann goes for a takedown and gets it. McMann with some hammerfists from the top. Eye throws up the leg to defend. McMann moves to side control and scrambles to the back. McMann with punches from the back and a knee to the body. 10-9 McMann, 20-18 McMann.

    ROUND 3- McMann with a leg kick and Eye fires back with a combo and a leg kick. Eye with a leg kick and a right hand. McMann gets a takedown and is in side control. Eye looking to scramble out. McMann lands punches from the back. McMann has the back. Back elbow from Eye. McMann still has the back. McMann with punches from the back. Eye tries to scramble out but McMann still has the back and is landing punches. McMann looking for a north-south choke. She gets into the half-guard of Eye. McMann with some punches from the top and Eye starts to land from bottom but the fight ends. 10-9 McMann, 30-27 McMann.

    Official Result: Sara McMann def. Jessica Eye by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 9 PM ET/6 PM PT)

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- JOSH BURKMAN (28-12 1 NC, 6-7 1 NC UFC) VS. PAUL FELDER (11-2, 3-2 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Burkman going for side kicks. Each land leg kicks. Burkman with a head kick. Burkman with a leg kick. Felder with a head kick. Felder with a body kick. Burkman misses a right hand. They trade punches. Felder with a head kick. They trade punches and Burkman lands a right hand. Burkman with a leg kick. Each mand lands big and they are throwing bombs at each other. Burkman gets the takedown and is in side control. They get to the fence and Felder wall walks up. Burkman with a leg trip and they go down for a moment but get right back up. Burkman with a knee to the body. 10-9 Burkman.

    ROUND 2- Burkman with a body kick and Felder fires back a leg kick. Burkman with a right hand. Felder with a leg kick. They trade punches. Felder with a leg kick.They trade and Felder lands a right hand. Felder with a combo. Burkman with a body kick. Felder with a hard both kick. They trade and then clinch. Burkman with a knee to the body and switches position. They break the clinch with just over a minute left in the round. Felder with a right hand. Felder rocks Burkman with a left and they trade against the fence. Felder clinches and lands a knee. Felder with an elbow. Felder gets the back of Burkman and lands a knee. 10-9 Felder, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- They trade nice combinations to start the final round as this one likely decides it.Felder with a spin kick and slips for a moment. Felder with a big right hand. Felder lands a right hand. Burkman just misses a right hand. Felder with a leg kick and then another. Burkman with a knee kick and Felder counters with a leg kick. Felder just misses a head kick. Burkman with a left hand. They clinch and Felder lands a big knee as Burkman pushes the fight against the fence. Burkman has the body lock looking for a takedown and he gets it, Felder gets right back to his feet. They battle for position. They battle for underhooks. Burkman is bleeding pretty good right now. They are broken up from the clinch. Burkman with a late takedown as the fight ends. 10-9 Felder, 29-28 Felder.

    Official Result: Paul Felder def. Josh Burkman by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    WELTERWEIGHTS- JORGE MASVIDAL (29-10, 6-3 UFC) VS. LORENZ LARKIN (16-5 1 NC, 3-5 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Larkin with a left hand. They trade punches and Larkin lands a leg kick. Larkin with a big body kick. They trade punches and Larkin lands a leg kick and then a right hand. Masvidal lands a right hand following a leg kick. Larkin with the jab and then a leg kick. Masvidal with a leg kick. They each fire off punches at the other. They clinch against the fence. Each with some knees in the clinch. Larkin lands on the break and lands a leg kick. They trade punches and Larkin just misses an uppercut. Masvidal gets poked in the eye and is in a lot of pain. This could end the fight. Replay shows it was a bad eye poke and the doctor is checking on Masvidal. Masvidal is able to continue and lands a leg kick. 10-9 Larkin.

    ROUND 2- Larkin with a huge leg kick in the opening minute of the round. Masvidal with a leg kick of his own. They trade leg kicks. Larkin just misses an uppercut. They trade punches and Larkin clinches with Masvidal against the fence. They battle for underhooks but break. Masvidal with a soft head kick. Larkin with a body punch. Larkin with a leg kick. Masvidal lands a right hand. They clinch against the fence. Larkin lands a big punch. They are firing away at each other. Masvidal with a leg kick but Larkin counters with a solid combo. They trade punches and Larkin with a knee. Larkin gets a late takedown at the end of the round. 10-9 Larkin, 20-18 Larkin.

    ROUND 3- Larkin with a huge leg kick. Larkin with a big uppercut and they clinch. Both men throwing bombs at each other against the fence. Masvidal just misses a flying knee. Masvidal grabs the neck and pulls Larkin to the ground and they scramble back to their feet. Masvidal is deep on a takedown attempt against the fence. Masvidal gets a brief takedown as Larkin bounces right back to his feet. They thrown wild punches at each other and then clinch again. Larkin with some short punches as Masvidal is in on a takedown and then lets go. Masvidal going for another takedown but it is again defended. Larkin going for the takedown and lands a spinning elbow as the fight ends. 10-9 Larkin, 30-27 Larkin.

    Official Result: Lorenz Larkin def. Jorge Masvidal by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- CHRIS CAMOZZI (23-10, 8-7 UFC) VS. VITOR MIRANDA (12-4, 3-1 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Camozzi with a leg kick. Miranda with a body kick and Camozzi lands a leg kick. They trade kicks again. Miranda with a leg kick. Camozzi with a left hand. Miranda with a leg kick and then a body punch. Camozzi with a nice combo that backs Miranda against the fence. Camozzi with a leg kick. Miranda with a body kick. Camozzi goes for a head kick but Miranda grabs the leg and they scramble to the mat. They each land punches on the mat as they have their legs all tied up. Camozzi with some punches and Moranda isn’t doing much. 10-9 Camozzi.

    ROUND 2- Camozzi with a nice combo to start off the second round. Miranda with a body punch. Miranda with a high kick. Miranda with a body kick. Camozzi catches the leg and gets a takedown and is in the guard of Miranda. Camozzi with some body punches from the top. Miranda tries to scramble out and it allows Camozzi to take his back. Camozzi looking to flatten Miranda out but Miranda is working to get to his feet. Camozzi in the half-guard and landing punches from the position. Other than that, not much action. Camozzi with some big elbows as the round ends. 10-9 Camozzi, 20-18 Camozzi.

    ROUND 3- Miranda has a cut and it was checked on before the round. They trade punches and Camozzi scores the takedown and is looking to take the back. Camozzi is on top looking to improve position but not much action going on. Miranda scrambles to his feet. Miranda is bleeding pretty badly. Miranda lands a head kick but Camozzi comes back with a combo. They trade punches. They clinch and Camozzi lands a knee. Miranda with a high kick. Miranda lands a right hand. Miranda with a big high kick. Camozzi lands a left hand. Camozzi with a solid combo. Miranda misses a big left hand. Miranda with a leg kick. Camozzi with the short jab. Miranda lands a left uppercut. Camozzi should take this fight pretty easily. 10-9 Camozzi, 30-27 Camozzi.

    Official Result: Chris Camozzi def. Vitor Miranda by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    WELTERWEIGHTS- (#10) TAREC SAFFIEDINE (16-4, 2-1 UFC) VS. (#11) RICK STORY (18-8, 11-6 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Story with a leg kick to start. Story misses on some left hands. Saffiedine with a leg kick. They trade punches and clinch and Story pushes against the fence. They scramble on the mat for a moment but end up clinched back against the fence. Story with some body punches as Saffiedine has ahold of him. Neither man can separate from the other. Story with a right hand and they clinch against the fence again. Story with some big body punches at the close and Saffiedine lands a knee and a kick that was clearly after the bell. 10-9 Story.

    ROUND 2- Saffiedine with a high kick and then a leg kick. Saffiedine with a front kick. Story slips after a leg kick and Saffiedine gets on top but they get right back to their feet. They clinch but notjing happens. Story with a leg kick and Saffiedine fires back with his own leg kick. Saffiedine shoots for a takedown but it is defended. Story pushes Saffiedine against the fence. They try to break but Story again pushes Saffiedine against the fence in a clinch. Story lands some punches against the fence and back to the clinch. They break for a moment and Saffiedine lands a punch and Story goes back in the clinch and lands some short knees. 10-9 Story, 20-18 Story.

    ROUND 3- Saffiedine with a leg kick. Story with his own leg kick. Story with some big body punches as he gets in close range and they clinch. They break. Story with a leg kick but Saffiedine counters with a left hand. Story lands a left hand. They clinch again against the fence. Story with some body punches against the fence. They trade punches and Story again with the clinch against the fence. They each land punches as they break. This fight is on repeat with all the clinch, break and clinch again action. Story with a leg kick and Saffiedine fires back his own leg kick. They trade punches. They exchange again. Story with body punches. Story goes for a takedown but it is defended. 10-9 Story, 30-27 Story.

    Official Result: Rick Story def. Tarec Saffiedine by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

    FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#2 BW) RENAN BARAO (33-3 1 NC, 8-2 UFC) VS. (#9) JEREMY STEPHENS (24-12, 11-11 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Barao making his debut at 145 pounds. Barao with a quick leg kick. Barao with a body kick. Stephens with a leg kick. Barao lands a right hand. Stephens with a leg kick but Barao catches it and fires off a combo. Barao with a leg kick. Barao lands a right hand. Stephens with a body kick. Barao with a leg kick. Barao with a leg kick. Barao shoots for a takedown but it is defended against the fence. Barao with a couple of knees. They break the clinch. They trade punches. Barao with a body kick. They clinch and knee lands from Barao. Barao tries a trip and it breaks the clinch. They trade punches and Barao with a spinning back kick. Barao shoots for a takedown but it is defended. Barao has the back but the round ends. 10-9 Barao.

    ROUND 2- Stephens lands a big right hand to start. Barao shoots for a takedown but it is stuffed. Stephens with a leg kick. They trade punches and Barao with a quick knee. Stephens with a left hand and then rocks Barao with an uppercut. Barao circling away and Stephens lands two more big uppercuts. Big right hand from Stephens and Barao lands a knee. Big punches from Stephens. Barao is slowing down and he goes for a takedown but it is stuffed. Stephens with a knee to the body and then some foot stomps. They each land short punches in the clinch. They break. Barao with a spinning kick. Stephens with a body kick. Stephens lands a left hand. They trade punches. Barao with a late takedown but Stephens lands a big elbow and is able to get to his feet and reverse position. 10-9 Stephens, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- Barao with a leg kick. Barao lands a left hand. Stephens lands a nice combo. Stephens with a left hand. Barao with a leg kick. Barao with a solid combo to the body. Stephens just misses a big left hook. Barao lands a left hand and goes for a takedown against the fence. Stephens with some knees to the legs of Barao. They trade punches. Both men landing big shots. Stephens lands a solid left hand after missing an uppercut. Barao goes for a takedown and gets it. Barao moves to the back of Stephens. They break. Barao just misses the spin kick to the face. Stephens lands a left hand. Stephens lands a big right hand. They trade body kicks. Stephens grabs the body but they break. Stephens lands a big left hand as the fight ends. Close deciding round. 10-9 Stephens, 29-28 Stephens.

    Official Result: Jeremy Stephens def. Renan Barao by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#7) THOMAS ALMEIDA (21-0, 4-0 UFC) VS. CODY GARBRANDT (8-0, 3-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Someone is going to suffer their first career loss. Garbrandt tries a cartwheel kick to start. They trade leg kicks. Garbrandt with a combo and just misses a flying knee. They trade punches. Garbrandt with a right hand. Garbrandt lands some punches and a big right hand. Almeida just misses a right hand. Garbrandt with a leg kick and a combo. Garbrandt with a huge punch and Almeida is in trouble. Almeida fires back though. They trade punches as Almeida looks to have recovered. Both men land big punches. Garbrandt with a big right hand and Almeida is down and out! Garbrandt scores the big knockout win!

    Official Result: Cody Garbrandt def. Thomas Almeida by knockout (punches) at 2:53 of Round 1

  • Daily Update: UFC Fight Night 88, plus the returns of John Cena, Sasha Banks, & Eric Bischoff

    Unless John Cena’s drawing power makes a huge difference in ratings for his return, Raw on Monday will be doing an all-time seasonal low number given the competition of game seven of the Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game and the San Jose Sharks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins game one of the Stanley Cup finals. The Warriors game won’t start until 9 p.m. but traditionally over Memorial Day weekend, because of the holiday, the audience comes late and a lot miss the first hour of Raw. Also, because of the holiday, the ratings will likely be delayed. They should set up the final man in Money in the Bank and start working on the undercard, plus they’ll probably hype to death Smackdown going live and the brand split.

    We’re looking for reports on WWE shows in Madison, WI (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and LaCrosse, WI (Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Rusev, Kalisto, Alberto Del Rio, Paige, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks).  newstips@wrestlingobserver.com

    UFC FROM THE MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER IN LAS VEGAS ON SUNDAY –  CLICK HERE FOR LIVE COVERAGE

    Fight Pass bouts at 6 p.m. Eastern

    • Adam Milstead vs. Chris De La Rosa
    • Bryan Caraway vs. Aljamain Sterling

    FS 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern

    • Shane Campbell vs. Erik Koch
    • Jake Collier vs. Alberto Pereira Uda
    • Abel Trujillo vs. Jordan Rinaldi
    • Sara McMann vs. Jessica Eye
    • Josh Burkman vs. Paul Felder
    • Jorge Masvidal vs. Lorenz Larkin
    • Chris Camozzi vs Vitor Miranda
    • Tarec Saffiedine vs. Rick Story
    • Jeremy Stephens vs. Renan Barao
    • Cody Garbrandt vs. Thomas Almeida

    NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM TOTTORI ON MONDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

    • Trent Baretta vs. Chase Owens
    • Tiger Mask vs. Will Ospreay
    • Bobby Fish vs. Volador Jr.
    • Jushin Liger vs. Ricochet

    Raw is Monday from Green Bay featuring the return of John Cena plus a Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin match.

    NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM HIROSHIMA ON TUESDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

    • Bushi vs. David Finlay
    • Matt Sydal vs. Rocky Romero
    • Kushida vs. Gedo
    • Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kyle O’Reilly

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Rockford, IL.

      THE ROUND-UP

      If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

      Figure Four Weekly 5/23/2016: More strange developments in WWE’s concussion lawsuit deposition – Last week we talked a bit about both Evan Singleton’s deposition in the WWE concussion lawsuit as well as a video of a concussion presentation held in developmental during Singleton’s time under contact. Among other topics, there’s been a bit more movement on that front.

      Wrestling Observer Newsletter

      READ IT HERE: May 30, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Return of Seth Rollins and the WWE brand split, plus tons of news

      With two of the biggest news stories of the year, the WWE brand split and the UFC sale both in play, we’ve got a new issue of the Observer packed with news.

      Our lead story looks at the brand split, with what we do know, what has and hasn’t been decided and the background of how it went down. There’s also more info on the UFC sale talks.  Plus there is coverage of the return of Seth Rollins, the build to Money in the Bank and have coverage of Extreme Rules, the negotiations for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight and look more at the Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor rumors. Take an in-depth look at the departure of Cody Runnels (Rhodes) from WWE and his future prospects, plus look at his complaints regarding people in the company. All this plus a look at the New Japan Super Juniors tournament, the funding of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, the World Cup trios tournament coming up and a feature on the last PWG show.

      The lead story looks at every aspect of the brand split.  It looks at the original goals and reasons for it and what did and didn’t work, plus how it’ll be different this time, how the touring will work, and an examination of what talent knows and tentative plans in place.  Vince McMahon’ reaction is a big part of this, and this issue explains how the deal went down, the story behind the story and other aspects to be considered. There’s also a look at Smackdown going live, the affect on the fan base, the affect on TNA and why it was important to get Smackdown away from Thursday.

      Another big story in this issues is Extreme Rules, the decision to make Seth Rollins a heel and current plans for Money in the Bank, and also match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

      Details about what’s going on with Conor McGregor, including Colin Cowherd’s claim that Mayweather vs. McGregor is happening, as well as a look at the Nate Diaz negotiations last week and what McGregor has said publicly.

      Finally, this issue looks at Cody Runnels leaving WWE, what he said was the reason why, and a look into those reasons, and a look at the realities of WWE business decisions and his background.

      CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PREVIEW.

      Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

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      Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: April 19, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Davey Boy Smith hospitalized with spinal infection, WCW Spring Stampede. The health situations involving both Davey Boy Smith and Japanese woman wrestler Emiko Kado took turns for the worst this past week.

      SUNDAY NEWS

      Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer radio covering the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, today’s UFC, the brand split and taking your questions that you can send to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com

      Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque will all be deposed in the Evan Singleton and Vito LaGrasso concussion lawsuit. Vince was deposed on Friday actually and Levesque on Tuesday. Dr. Joseph Maroon was deposed as well, and the plaintiffs want him deposed again.

      There have been teases of a “Hatch” on Raw tomorrow night. I don’t know if that has to do with the impending return to television of the Wyatt family (aside from Luke Harper, who still has several months before he’ll be able to wrestle).

      Sasha Banks returned to action last night in Winnipeg after her head injury suffered two weeks ago. They had a unique deal last night as Chris Jericho worked as the face and Dean Ambrose as the heel in the main event since Jericho grew up in Winnipeg.    

      Eric Bischoff is now looking for indie books for appearances, seminars, conventions and Q&A’s through Bill Behrens at showbis@aol.com. WWE will be releasing an Eric Bischoff DVD a week from Tuesday and the WWE Network will air a special on that at 5 p.m. on Thursday so his name will be back in the news. Other names available for bookings include Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Drew Galloway, Matt Sydal, Al Snow, Tommy Dreamer, Mike Posey, Jimmy Rave, Diamond Dallas Page, Moose, Nunzio, Tony Mamaluke, Kenn Doane, Blue Meanie, Stevie Richards, Shane Helms and more. He is also booking a number of ROH’s top stars including champions Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian for dates only outside the U.S. and Ontario.

      WWE & Pro Wrestling

      • Thanks to Alex Yohkna, Josh Anderson, Allan Albert, Rohan Unrao, Geoff Melnechuk, and Josh Hammerstein for the reports from the WWE shows last night.
      • After Raw tomorrow, they are airing a special called “Seth Rollins: Redesign, Rebuild, Reclaim” about his training to return. Yes, they produced a sympathetic show for a guy who turned back heel last week. I’d have expected that from WCW in 1998 or 1999.   
      • Corey Graves has been teasing a move to Smackdown, which would be a good decision. If that’s the case, he’d take the slot held by Byron Saxton, who would be exclusive to Raw.
      • Rolling Stone did an article on A.J. Styles.
      • An interview with Bayley regarding the UK tour is here.
      • Here is Mike Mooneyham on the WWE brand split.
      • Tons of discussion going around about Friday’s Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet match. We’ll talk more about it tonight. There is a story from Australia on the match. 
      • Today’s New Japan show in Osaka was one of the better shows of the year. No matches of the year, but so much good wrestling up and down the show. 
      • The Lucha Libre World Cup on Friday and Sunday will officially be on iPPV for $19 combined. There is no separate show ordering.  
      • Dixie Carter talks TNA.
      • A note on the Mike Johnson interview with Pop TV’s Brad Schwartz earlier in the week. The interview was set up with Johnson and Pop TV and not through TNA. According to Johnson, TNA was not even aware of the interview being done until after it was completed.

      UFC

      • UFC Fight Pass this past week debuted a “Where Are They Now?” series looking at memorable cast members of the early seasons of The Ultimate Fighter including Bobby Southworth, Luke Cummo, Noah Inhofer, Tait Fletcher, Shonie Carter and Din Thomas. I hope to god that Noah at least is still with that girl he walked off the show for because he missed her so much.
      • UFC Bad Blood airs on Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern on FS 1 as a build up for this coming Saturday’s Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber bantamweight title match.
      • Make sure to read this great story on Kevin Randleman.

      MISCELLANEOUS

      • There is a ton of pressure on J Robinson to resign as the University of Minnesota wrestling coach.
      • Jim Ross is doing a Fund Raiser for Headlock for Hunger with a new “Good Gawd Almighty” T-shirt to raise funds.
      • My friend Dave Doyle is raising money for Hire Heroes.
      • So on Friday my daughter asked me how come she sees her friends at school every day but all my friends live so far away. And I asked her what does she mean, and she goes, your friends in the Pink video. That’s when I discovered this.
      • Resurrection Fighting Alliance runs 6/3 at The Hangar at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Ca with Thiago Moise vs. Jamall Emmers for the lightweight title as the main event. The show will air at 10 p.m. on Friday night after the two hours of New Japan on AXS.
      • It should be noted that this past week’s New Japan show was only one hour because the kickboxing show started at 9 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. There will be both one hour shows and two hour shows depending on the week through 7/10.
      • The death of Tacoma, WA sports personality Stan Naccataro, who passed away at 88 on Wednesday, is notable because he lost his broadcasting job eight years ago for comments made on MMA. While primarily a baseball guy in town, he was also a well-known boxing announcer. “They put on two ounce gloves and exchange punches for a few seconds, then fall onto the mat while one guy tries to put a strangle-hold on the other guy. There’s no art to it, no strategy. Somebody’s gonna get killed one of these days. It ought to be banned. The kids love it through. There’s nothing like a good fight. I love the sport (boxing). It just breaks my heart that the next generation of boxing fans would rather watch this martial arts garbage.”
      • The Venator Fighting championships show from Milan, Italy, that features Mayhem Miller and Rousimar Palhares last week did 105,000 streaming viewers on MMA.TV according to the promotion. It was also on Fox Sports Italy and did 110,000 viewers, which is less than ICW does in the same market.
      • Insane Championship Wrestling has added a Canadian television deal on The Fight Network. It will air on late Thursday nights at 1 a.m.after the CMLL & AAA shows on Thursday nights.
      • NWA Cajun Heat on 7/2 in Morgan City, LA with two cage matches plus an appearance by Kevin Nash. 
      • Netflix will be airing “The Resurrection of Jake Roberts” starting on Wednesday. (thanks to Michael Bargas)
      • ROH tickets went on sale on Friday for a 10/22 show in Lakeland, FL.
      • Evolve on 6/10 in Ybor City, FL on iPPV that night:
      • Timothy Thatcher vs. Chris Hero for the Evolve title
      • Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams vs. Bravado Brothers for the tag titles
      • Johnny Gargano & TJP vs. Drew Galloway & Ethan Carter III
      • Matt Riddle vs. Cedric Alexander
      • Anthony Nese vs Fred Yehi
      • Ethan Page vs. Darby Allin   
      • Dynamo Pro Wrestling from last night in St. Louis: Makaze b Ozzie Gallagher-DQ, Keon Option & Justin D’Air won three-way over Rocket Mapache & Jackal and Danny Adams and Paco Gonzalez, Brandon Aarons won three-way over Kevin Lee Davidson and Evan Morris, Brandon Espinosa b CJ Shine, Outtkast b Ricky Cruz, Jake Dirden b Brandon Aarons (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
      • Wildkat Sports, which is Luke Hawx’s promotion in Louisiana, starts on the New Orleans affiliate Ch. 54 in September. Teddy Long will be working with the group as the TV General Manager.
      • Victory Commonwealth Wrestling on 6/30 in Toronto at the Super Wonder Gallery
      • Jim Cornette and Danny Davis talk about OVW as a developmental territory for WWE and how it fell apart.

      Today in Professional Wrestling History: Crusher vs. Harley Race; Charlotte wins NXT Women’s Title

    • Daily Pro Wrestling History (05/29): Crusher vs. Harley Race; Charlotte wins NXT Women’s Title

      1962 

      Minneapolis, Minnesota:
      – Pat O’Connor beat AWA Champion Mr. M via dq 
      – Doug Gilbert went to a draw with Bob Geigel
      – Thor Hagen beat Tiny Mills 
      – Joe Scarpello drew Stan Kowalski 

      1965 

      St. Paul, Minnesota:
      – The Crusher beat Harley Race in 2 out of 3 falls 
      – Rene Goulet beat Kurt Von Brauner
      – Reggie Parks beat Pampero Firpo dq
      – Chris Markoff beat Tiny Mills

      1968

      St. Paul, Minnesota:
      – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Luke Brown
      – Harley Race beat Bill Watts by dq
      – Larry Hennig beat Rene Goulet 
      – Dutch Savage beat Rock Rogowski (Ole Anderson)

      1977 

      Houston, Texas:
      – Terry Funk went to a draw with AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel (sub Harley Race, Race was to defend the NWA World Title but wrestled a double shot that afternoon and was not at the building in time to wrestle, so Bockwinkel wrestled Funk in his place)
      – Fritz Von Erich drew with Bruiser Brody
      – Bruno Sammartino beat Mike York
      – Jose Lothario went to a draw with AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
      – Cyclone Negro beat Chavo Guerrero
      – Fabulous Moolah beat Susan Green
      – Big John Studd beat Gino Hernandez
      – Jimmy Snuka beat Muhammad Farouk

      1983 

      Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
      – Leo Burke defeated North American Champion Johnny Weaver to win the title
      – WWF Intercontinental Champion Don Muraco defeated Rocky Johnson 
      – NWA World Champion Ric Flair pinned NWA U.S. Champion Greg Valentine

      1984

      Night of the Champions: East Rutherford, New Jersey:
      – National TV Champion Ron Garvin pinned Jake Roberts
      – Invader #1 pinned the Great Kabuki
      – NWA Jr. Heavyweight Champion Les Thornton defeated El Gran Apollo by count-out
      – Dusty Rhodes pinned the Assassin (Jesse Barr) 
      – NWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Koloff & Don Kernodle defeated Pez Whatley & Mark Youngblood
      – Wahoo McDaniel fought All Japan PWF Champion Stan Hansen to a double disqualification
      – NWA National Tag Team Champions the Road Warriors defeated Jimmy Valiant & King Kong Bundy when Road Warrior Hawk pinned Bundy
      – WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion Carlos Colon pinned NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard
      – NWA World Champion Ric Flair pinned NWA US Champion Ricky Steamboat 

      1988 

      Memphis, Tennessee:
      – AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Dutch Mantel
      – Jeff Jarrett & Great Senshi beat Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden by count out
      – CWA Champion Brickhouse Brown beat Bill Dundee via dq
      – Scott Steiner & Billy Travis beat Cuban Choir Boys to win Southern Tag Titles
      – AWA Tag Team Champions Badd Company (Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond) beat Gary Young & Don Bass
      – Tommy Gilbert beat Tom Brandi

      1995 

      Memphis, Tennessee:
      – Brian Christopher defeated Doug Gilbert for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title 

      2000

      Salt Lake City, Utah:
      – Jeff Jarrett defeated WCW World Champion Ric Flair to win the WCW World Title 

      Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
      – Too Cool defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Edge & Christian to win the titles

      2014 

      NXT Takeover: Winter Park, Florida:
      – Bayley defeated Sasha Banks by disqualification
      – Adam Rose defeated Camacho
      – The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) defeated El Local and Kalisto to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship
      – Tyler Breeze defeated Sami Zayn to determine the #1 contender to the NXT Championship
      – Charlotte (with Ric Flair) defeated Natalya (with Bret Hart) to win the NXT Women’s Championship    
      – Adrian Neville defeated Tyson Kidd to retain the NXT Championship

    • WWE Main Event results: Xavier Woods channels the power of the singlet

      Xavier “Mini E” Woods

      Big E and Kofi Kingston emerge from the back for an in-ring promo, sheepishly trailed by a rather embarrassed looking, singlet wearing, Xavier Woods. The New Day explain that Woods’ travel bag was stolen, thus prompting their largest member to come to his rescue with clothing from his limited wardrobe. Kofi, in his stupidly dated Dr. Evil voice, proclaims Xavier the New Day’s “Mini E”, which doesn’t help the trombonist’s fears that he may not be in possession of a “singlet body”.

      The Social Outcasts then interrupt, mimicking the New Day’s entrance with the Bo Dallas line: “Prepare to have a blast and give it up for the Social Outcasts!”. To the surprise of no-one, the Outcasts have Woods’ bag in tow. They raid its contents, which include some red underwear and a ‘My Little Pony’, the latter of which leads Curtis Axel to dub Xavier a “j-brony”.

      The Outcasts promise to return the bag if the New Day can defeat them in a match, a challenge that the tag champs eventually accept after a super-serious huddle. They are aware that they squashed these geeks in, like, two minutes on RAW the previous night, right?

      The New Day def. Social Outcasts by pinfall

      This was much longer than the RAW match, with eight minutes aired and a commercial break in the middle. There was a lot of stalling at the beginning, with both teams wiggling their butts at each other and exchanging Bo/New Day Trains for what seemed like a very long time. Even Lawler was forced to exclaim “we already saw that” after the New Day saw fit to engage in a second train.

      The highlight of the match was Woods trying to channel the “power of the singlet” by borrowing moves from Big E’s arsenal, including attempting an early bearhug on Axel that looked completely ridiculous. Later, Woods got the hot tag after the Outcasts got the heat on Kofi for a while, hitting Big E’s running splash on Heath Slater, before playing the big man’s part in the Midnight Hour for the win.

      Paige def. Summer Rae by pinfall

      A nothing match here, that was enlivened by Jerry Lawler successfully cracking Tom Phillips up with jokes about how much his parents hate him: “Your mother says you’re not her favourite, but you’re an only child!”. After an awkwardly worked, five minute encounter, Paige blocked a spin kick, hit a fallaway slam and the Rampaige to pick up the victory.

      Baron Corbin def. Jack Swagger by pinfall w/ Dolph Ziggler on commentary

      As much as I usually find Dolph’s misplaced confidence to be highly irritating, his over-exuberant commentary was admittedly very enjoyable here; think the verbal equivalent of Shawn Michaels selling for Hulk Hogan.  Although, suggesting that Lawler’s shirt sported “Flava Flav’s chain” is an equally antiquated reference to the one Kofi made earlier.

      Corbin’s pre-match inset promo tells us that Swagger is apparently another “technical wrestler” trying to achieve his dreams, while the quickly balding Baron is only here to “hurt people and make money”.

      Catty commentary keeps me entertained as Corbin’s resthold-heavy heat runs the risk of boring me to tears. Dolph: “I’ve been kicked by the boot of Swagger and it’s had way more effect on me!”. Lawler responds by mentioning the ten elbows/heart attack debacle. Get over it, folks!

      The finish sees Corbin make the ropes to counter the Patriot Lock, before kicking Swagger in the throat while the referee is trying to “create separation”. Corbin then pulls his opponent onto the ropes neck first, before following up with the End of Days and staring at Ziggler after the three count.

      Ziggler hypothesises that Corbin might be staring at Lawler, meaning that the final line we hear before the show goes off the air is: “Don’t let him drop an elbow!”. Meow.

      Final Thoughts

      Considering that the “comedy” on this show is usually the dirt worst, Xavier Woods’ Big E tribute was a pleasant surprise. Save for the announcing however, the second half of the show was a hard slog. Although I like Corbin’s vanilla midget antagonist character, he is far from ready to work long singles matches yet, despite his significant in-ring improvements over the last year.

    • WWE Peoria, IL, live results: Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles

      By Alex Yohkna

      – Enzo and Cass vs. The Dudley Boys

      Dudleys got a lot of heat ripping up signs and yelling at kids. Cass wrestled most of the match, but Enzo did quite a bit as well. Right away, Enzo took a double team back body drop/neckbreaker which definitely shows that he’s fully cleared, I would assume. He took a bunch of head hits and hard clotheslines, so I’d assume he’s fully ready to go. E&C won when Cass takes the hot tag and cleans house, tagging Enzo back in to hit their double finisher pinning Bubba. Decent match. Crowd was INSANELY LOUD for Enzo and Cass. I’d say biggest pop of the night, honestly.

      – Viktor vs Titus

      Crowd really got behind Titus. Nothing big here. Just a bunch of hard chest slaps to Viktor to get the crowd cheering. Titus wins with his spinebuster and poses with the little fans on his way back.

      – Tyler Breeze vs Goldust

      Not really much reaction for either person. Match was pretty slow up until Fandango ran out to help Breeze which quickly brought R-Truth’s music and him running out for the save. Goldust picked up the win and R-Truth and Goldust danced in the ring for what seemed like 20 minutes.

      – Gallows and Anderson vs The Hype Bros

      Mojo spent about 75% of the match in the ring. Ryder hits the Broski Boot on Anderson, but was quickly attacked by Gallows drawing the double team finish. Gallows and Anderson pick up the win here. Side note–Anderson’s trunks looked very similar to all of the Balor Club logos.

      – Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens

      Owens got a huge crowd reaction. Zayn did as well, but not as big as Kevin’s. Really good match. Zayn went over completely clean. Hits Owens with the Helluva kick after countering the pop-up powerbomb. Pinned him 1-2-3. No false finishes in this match. Was really good.

      – Sheamus vs Apollo Crews

      Sheamus cuts a promo apologizing for his actions on Raw then immediately attacks Crews once Crews gets into the ring. Really fun match between the two of them. Looking forward to seeing them work a program together. Sheamus hit a beautiful chokeslam/powerbomb, but Crews gets the win with a classic school boy roll up.

      – Natty vs. WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte

      Natty, by far, had the second loudest crowd reaction of the night. Not surprising as every time she’s in Peoria, the crowd loves her. This match was 10x better than the Extreme Rules match. Charlotte retains with a roll up while putting her legs on the second rope for leverage. It got the heat she needed and still puts Natty over as she can’t beat her clean. Very good match. Natty also hit a wonderful Batista Bomb on Charlotte.

      – WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles

      Almost identical to the match at Extreme Rules, and that was just fine! Great match! Roman looked extremely strong and AJ looked like a threat to pull away a victory the whole match. Roman went for the Superman Punch and AJ countered with the shoulderblock into Roman’s leg like at ER. Roman sold the leg injury for most of the match. AJ rolled him up into the calf crusher and had it broken up once Roman grabbed the ropes. The crowd was really into the match the whole time. 

      AJ never hits a finisher, but Roman wins after dodging the Phenomenal Forearm and turning it into a spear — the same ending as the Payback match — for the clean win. Both looked absolutely amazing. Those two work so well together. Crowd loved AJ and was very indifferent to Roman. The last two years Roman has loudest cheers, this visit was equal in boos and cheers.

      Overall wonderful show, they never disappoint in Peoria.