Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA on a super huge weekend! All the news on McGregor vs. Aldo, including the story of a plane having to be turned around after two Irish fans got into it over the fight, One FC fighter tragically passes away after weight cutting, plus Dr. Lucha appears to talk Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio and more! Check it out~!
A special show this week as Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa are joined by the one and only Jim Cornette to talk about his latest book,Tuesday Night at the Gardens – Pro Wrestling in Louisville! Of course there are a number of other subjects tackled, including a lot regarding the state of the independent scene and some of the workers who are a part of it not taking their craft as seriously as they should.
Among the other topics discussed are:
– The state of the indy wrestling scene and those not taking the craft seriously
– The collectible and convention business today, including the one item Jim wishes he still had
– A lot on the lack of emotional investment in the product today, why that is, and is there any way to change it at all, including whether or not you inform the audience that change is coming
– How Jim came to get his hands on the material that comprise the Mid Atlantic DVD collection which is also still available at jimcornette.com
– What it was that made two different versions of the Midnight Express such great teams
– Why it was easier to become polished professional wrestlers back in the day as opposed to today
– Jim’s favorite match in the Louisville Gardens as a fan, and his most memorable moment in that venue as someone involved in pro wrestling…and more!
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The Bryan & Vinny Show — WITH DAN! — is back today with special guest host Dan Masters who generously donated $250 to Whale Scout for the chance to, yes, TALK ABOUT MONDAY NIGHT RAW WITH VINNY. Hardcore fellow, and a classy fellow as he’s from the UK! We’ve also got our NXT review, Granny’s weekly appearance and so much more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back today with special guest Nick Aldis, AKA Magnus, to talk his new bodybuilding book up now at Amazon.com, his recent biceps injury, thoughts on the wrestling business as a whole and why we need to go back to simpler booking and more flashy characters, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back today with tons of things to get into, including notes on Breaking Ground and the new season of Lucha Underground, Dave Meltzer’s preview of the weekend UFC main events, plus Blue Pants Leva Bates joins us to talk SHINE this weekend! A fun show as always so check it out~!
With three UFC events in three days, who needs sleep?
For the next three days, JNPO host Josh Nason will do 15-minute preview shows highlighting five things to look for on each show. With UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. Van Zant set to go live in just a few hours, the first one has arrived.
Your five things:
– Why the main event of Paige Van Zant vs. Rose Namajunas is so damn fun
– Why Josh is giving the edge to Michael Chiesa in his very important co-main event battle against Jim Miller
– How the reaction for Sage Northcutt’s second trip into the Octagon is going to be something to watch for
– Why the excitement level of John Howard vs. Tim Means is a coin flip
– The importance of the buried Aljamain Sterling-Johnny Eduardo prelims fight
Listen by clicking below or right clicking to save. Get ready for three days of fight heaven!
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On Thursday, WWE COO Triple H did his usual conference call before big NXT events, this time hyping up the Wednesday, December 16th WWE Network event from London, England.
Here’s some highlights and the audio itself which ran just under 40 minutes:
– He ran down the card and teased some impending announcements.
– He was asked about pushing emotion on the NXT brand as opposed to a lack of that in promos on the major brand. He made a reference to ‘some like chocolate, some like vanilla’ as he’s done before and said when it comes to NXT, he picks the flavor.
– He was asked about three-hour shows. He said the company has to be more creative, come up with a better format, and that they hear people’s frustrations. “It’s fixing it, trying to fix it, and it is what it is. We’ll get there…trust me.”
– He was asked about Finn Balor not being called up to the main roster despite there being an injury crisis. He essentially said that while he has experience in Japan, he’s still learning some things at NXT like promos, etc. He doesn’t want to call guys up to be Band-Aids when there are injury issues. He wants people to have a long-term plan in place for when they come up.
– He was asked about relationships with groups like Evolve and the possibility of opening up relationships with emerging UK groups (ones that our Alan Boon talks about weekly!) to find new talent.
– He was asked about implementing some of the ideas that begin in NXT making their way to WWE. He said that slowly, you see some things bubbling their way up but again referenced the chocolate/vanilla comparison. As far as things he’d like to see change, he mentioned how the women are characterized, but that things take time to change.
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Listen by clicking below or right clicking to save:
Photo: Memphis Wrestling History
The latest JNPO has landed with special guest Denny Burkholder of CBSSports.com! Josh and Denny went for an hour discussing all kinds of interesting nuggets in the worlds of wrestling, MMA, and sports media in general.
A few highlights:
– How CBS Sports.com has covered MMA in the past, and how Denny helped in that effort in the early days
– The method of pitching stories to the site, especially with pro wrestling
– How he became a lapsed MMA/UFC fan
– Whether the buzz for Saturday’s UFC 194 has got him to click the ‘buy’ button
– The backstory of his oral history of WWF 1985, how he contacted the talent, and what he learned that he didn’t know before
– His observations on Wendi Richter and Paul Orndorff
– Why Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper weren’t part of the story
– What he didn’t want to tell Don Muraco
– The backstory of his Andre The Giant feature and making it different than other Andre stories
– The bizarre story of the whereabouts of Andre’s casket…and more!
*****
Subscribers can listen to the show by clicking below or right clicking to save:
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including a preview of a huge weekend ahead for UFC, the future of Daniel Bryan and Sting after their injuries, Smackdown and Tribute to the Troops notes, New Japan results and Tokyo Dome line-up, questions and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including Raw ratings from Monday, the return of Lucha Underground and more, plus Paul Ace Fontaine joins us for a full preview of THREE STRAIGHT UFC SHOWS leading to Jose Aldo Jr. vs. Conor McGregor on Saturday! A fun show as always so check it out~!