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  • Indictment of Jimmy Snuka

    It’s a gigantic news week in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with the main feature story on everything that led to the indictment of Jimmy Snuka after 32 years, plus Irv Muchnick, who has reported on the story for years gives his views on the proceedings, and we also look at Hulk Hogan’s attempt at redemption of his character, the full story behind the shooting at the Performance Center, notes from Battle of Los Angeles, the retirement of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Hayabusa walks to the ring, Bram gets arrested, WWE fires Zahra Schreiber, UFC brings back Travis Browne, a rundown of the PPV business in WWE in 2015 and the latest monthly business report from WWE & TNA.

     The issue is on the site right now at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/44362-september-7-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-snuka-indicted-shooting-at-wwe-performance-center-and-tons-more Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show on the history of the site are at  http://www.f4wonline.com/member/signup.php

    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@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com You can also order at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

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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. Our lead story goes back to 1983 with an in-depth look at the death of Nancy Argentino, how the media caused the case to be reopened, a look at the charges against Jimmy Snuka, the different statements on the subject by Snuka, Snuka’s lawyer speaks, notes on documentation and testimony from the time, lots of notes regarding evidence, where Jimmy Snuka stood in the wrestling business in 1983, how Buddy Rogers fits into this story, what Snuka told police the morning after Argentino died as well as testimony from those who treated Argentino before her death. We also look at the autopsy report, the police report from that time, the strange question that was never answered regarding the case being dropped, what Snuka has said to different people, the brawl in Syracuse before Argentino’s death, how the pro wrestling business in 1983 is so completely different from today and the previous legal action regarding this case.  Irv Muchnick also does a piece on the indictment talking about several points from the indictment. We also look at Hulk Hogan appearing on Good Morning America and Nightline in a way to get his job back and repair his public image.  We look at the WWE reaction, what Hogan said, what does and doesn’t hold up, the timeline issues with his various stories, neighbors of his growing up contradict his story and more. We also look at the story of the man who was shot in front of the Performance Center, the circumstances of the shooting, and the different things he had done in recent months regarding his obsession with wrestling. We also look at Battle of Los Angeles, how the tournament went, highlights from the weekend and celebrities at the shows. We also look back at the career of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, including his new job with UFC, his becoming the top heavyweight in the sport at one time, his background, his debut in RINGS, his move to Pride, his fight with Bob Sapp, his three fight series with Fedor and his UFC run. We look at the arrest of Thomas “Bram” Latimer of  TNA, police details of what happened, TNA’s response and what is next for him. We’ve got a story on Hayabusa, one of the best high flyers from 15-20 years ago and his attempted recovery from near paralysis. We’ve got a look at Travis Browne and his reinstatement in UFC. We look at the firing of Zahra Schreiber, the girlfriend of Seth Rollins, by WWE. We also look at WWE & TNA business when it comes to house shows, merchandise, ratings and other categories for the past month. We also have a PPV chart with how all the shows in the first seven months of the year have been, and compared them with the last few years. We also look at WWE signing one of the major international women stars and why she’s not going to be wrestling in NXT, the return of Dr. Wagner Jr. & L.A. Park to Arena Mexico and how it got over, top pro wrestling star gets a reality show gig, and some major title changes. We also look at maneuvering for the 2017 and 2018 WrestleMania, and the favorites, the 10/3 Madison Square Garden WWE live special, notes on lots of indie stars on WWE’s radar, ticket sales for NXT in the U.K., a new WWE movie, Update on Wade Barrett, action figure sales, announcing changes, SummerSlam edits, lots of notes on various WWE lawsuits, Dean Ambrose talks Renee Young, Fan tries to attack Ambrose, Sara Lee in NXT, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT house shows over the past week. We also look at a number of top stars who worked recently in Bolivia, the last AAA TV taping and AAA wrestlers in a bodybuilding contest. We update Wrestle-1 and the three generations of green mist stars trios match. We also look at the Dragon Gate summer tag team tournament and its big show in Fukuoka and what came out of it. We look at All Japan’s last major show and its current singles tournament. We look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s next major show, including a title match that was set up in the U.S., a well as the bracketing in the upcoming junior heavyweight tag team tournament. We look at the weekend IGF show, a record that will be set at the next Tokyo Dome show, and the NWA title change. We also look at U.S. stars who usually don’t tour Japan that are going shortly. We’ve got more on the planned bio movie on Chris Benoit, Angelo Mosca getting his number retired, the weekend GFW shows and angles, Preston City Wrestling’s weekend show, former TNA star retires and a unique main event, plus early notes on this year’s WWC Anniversary show. We also update the TNA TV situation, the Lucha Underground TV situation, the next ROH PPV show, new roles for people in ROH and notes from the weekend show. We also look at changes in UFC main events, can UFC sell 70,000 tickets to its November show with Ronda Rousey, Rousey talks when she expects to retire, Cyborg, the date with the marine and notes about live shows on Fight Pass this month.  We also look at this week’s PPV show, talks about the Jan. 2 Las Vegas card, a star fighter retires, Chad Mendes wants a rematch with McGregor, what happened recently with Jose Aldo, Rousey T-shirt sales, plus lots of more fights. We also have a look at Bellator’s next major show, including the updated card, as well as plans for the big November show.  We look at the Fan Fest with Fedor and Sakuraba, as well as notes on last week’s show. We also look at the arrest of Chris Leben, and new restrictions on weight cutting that is being tried out for in California. If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

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

    Our most requested issues in our history are:

    *November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)

    *December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)

    *August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)

    *March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a

    *October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)

    *July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)

    *February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)

    *May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)

    *January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)

    *February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)

    *March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)

    *April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)

    *May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)

    *June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)

    *June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)

    *July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)

    *August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)

    *September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)

    *October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)

    *January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)

    *February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)

    *February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)

    *March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)

    *March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)

    *July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)

    *July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)

    *August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)

    *August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)

    *October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)

    *November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)

    *January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)

    *March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)

    *May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)

    *June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)

    *July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

    *August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)

    *September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)

    *October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)

    *November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

    *December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)

    *January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)

    *January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)

    *April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)

    *April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)

    *July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)

    *September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)

    *October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)

    *November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)

    *November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)

    *November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)

    *December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)

    *January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)

    *March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)

    *March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)

    *March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)

    *April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)

    *July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)

    *August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)

    *October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)

    *November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .

    *December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)

    *January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)

    *March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)

    *April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

    *August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)

    * September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)

    * September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)

    * September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)

    You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.

    We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..

    To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter. 

  • WWE NXT 9/3 Orlando, FL, house show results: Bayley vs. Emma, Dusty Rhodes tag tourney match, Apollo Crews

    Submitted by Edwin Ayala Jr.

    – Solomon Crowe defeated Elias Samson by submission with the Crowebar.

    – Bull Dempsey defeated Angelo Dawkins with a top rope flying butt drop. – Hugo Knox cut a heel promo.

    – Nia Jax & Dana Brooke defeated Peyton Royce & Carmella when Jax pinned Carmella after a twilt-a-whirl backbreaker followed by a slam.

    – Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – First Round: Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley defeated Noah Kekoa & Alexander Wolfe when Ryder pinned Wolfe after a Doomsday Device Rough Ryder. – Apollo Crews defeated Ty Dillinger with a gorilla press slam followed by a standing moonsault. – Bayley appeared a special guest and cut a promo saying she was thankful to the fans for the support and that a new series of challengers would be coming after her for the title and Emma interrupted her and challenged her for the title. Bayley accepted the challenge and that it would be the main event tonight. – Tyler Breeze defeated Baron Corbin. – NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillians defeated Jason Jordan & Chad Gable to retain. – NXT Women’s Champion Bayley defeated Emma with the belly-to-belly suplex.

  • Global Force Wrestling 9/3 Cedar Rapids, IA, house show results: Colt Cabana, Magnus, Sonjay Dutt, Hacksaw Jim Duggan

    Submitted by Adam Martin

    – From Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium, the first of three Iowa shows this weekend

    Colt Cabana def. Ariya Daivari

    Lots of comedy in this one with Cabana messing with Daivari’s head gear and rug that he brought to the ring. Cabana was very interactive with the small crowd and was one of the more popular acts of the night.

    Tommaso Ciampa def. Kevin Matthews

    Ciampa was quite popular with the snarky wrestling fans in attendance chanting “NXT” his way. Matthews did well working as a heel to try and get the crowd involved throughout the match.

    Mickie James def. ODB

    More comedy spots with the referee in this one. James was very popular with the crowd and later during intermission taking photos and signing autographs. ODB was also very over with the audience including a post-match promo.

    Jeff Jarrett was introduced and thanked everyone for attending. The New Heavenly Bodies interrupted Jarrett’s promo. A tag team called Zero Gravity ran out to make the save.

    Zero Gravity def. The New Heavenly Bodies

    Lots of flips and moves in this one. They set a pretty fast pace and did a good job of keeping the attention of the crowd.

    – Intermission featured people who purchased GFW guitars to take a photo with Jeff Jarrett at ringside. Various talent had tables setup with merchandise in the concourse area as well.

    Sonjay Dutt def. DJ Z

    The crowd was almost deflated by the time the intermission came to a close. Z requested his hair and face not be touched at the start of the match.

    – “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan was introduced and cut a nice promo about Iowa. He was interrupted by Ariya Daivari which prompted “USA!” chants. Duggan chased him off.

    Chris Mordetzky (Chris Masters) def. Nick Aldis (Magnus)

    Both guys worked real hard, but the crowd by this point seemed tired and ready to call it a night. Mordetzky wisely started playing up to the crowd getting in close. Aldis was over as a babyface.

    Notes:

    – Global Force Wrestling has aways to go in regards to live event presentation. Pro wrestling in a baseball setting just doesn’t seem to work. Marketing around the summer and the popularity of baseball games in smaller markets like this seemed like a good idea. A smaller and much more intimate venue would have done wonders for the overall live event presentation, especially with how poor attendance was.

    – The very humid weather didn’t help matters either. With hardly any local advertising or marketing in the weeks leading up to the show, it just felt like a very lackluster effort on the part of those behind GFW to bring people out to the ballpark. It was one of the most underwhelming pro wrestling events I’ve ever attended.

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (9/4): WCW Nitro debuts, Randy Savage wins KOR tourney, Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com
    1902 

    George Hackenschmidt defeated Tom Cannon for the European Greco-Roman Heavyweight Title in Liverpool, England 1911

    In their second meeting, Frank Gotch defeated George Hackenschmidt in two straight falls to retain the World Heavyweight Title before 30,000 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. 1935 

    Waterloo, Iowa; Ed (Strangler) Lewis beat Lou Plummer, Earl Wampler beat Louis Thesz and Dell Guthrie beat Stanley Mayslack 1941

    George Wagner (Gorgeous George) defeated Billy McEuin for the Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Title in Eugene, Oregon 1944 

    Bill Ludwig defeated Billy Williams to win the Florida Junior Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida. 1947 
    Kansas City, Kansas at Memorial Hall; In a tournament final with winner getting an MWA Title shot; Warren Bockwinkel beat Antone Leone. Semifinals; Warren Bockwinkel beat Jay Steele and Antone Leone beat Dick Trout. First round; Warren Bockwinkel beat Lee Wykoff dq, Jay Steele beat Roberto Pico, Dick Trout beat Cardiff Giant dq and Antone Leone beat Sockeye Jack McDonald 1951

    Ray Gunkel defeated Duke Keomuka for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas. 1963

    Georgia Championship Wrestling held a 12-man tournament in Columbus, Georgia to determine the first Georgia NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Champion. Joe McCarthy defeated Marco Polo to become the first Georgia NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Champion. 1964

    Dick the Bruiser and Wilbur Snyder defeated Angelo Poffo and Nicoli Volkoff to win the WWA World Tag Team Champions. 1965 

    Verne Gagne & Tex McKenzie beat Haru Sasaki & Mad Dog Vachon to win Nebraska Tag Team title in Omaha, Nebraska.  1968 

    Bob Kelly defeated Bobby Fields to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. 1969 

    – In Kansas City, Kansas; The Viking defeated Jack Armstrong, Stan the Mad Russian fought K.O. Cox to a double countout and  Danny Little Bear & Big Luke defeated Tarzan Tyler & The Great Kojika via DQ in three falls

    – Bob Kelly defeated The Blue Yankee for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi 1970

    – Buddy Colt defeated Nick Bockwinkel for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia

    – Bobby and Jerry Christy won the Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta, defeating Bud and Ray Osborne. 1972 

    – Jerry Brisco defeated Rip Hawk for the NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Title in Greenville, South Carolina.

    – Bob Brown and John Quinn defeated Steven Little Bear and Dutch Savage for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in New Westminster, British Columbia. 1975 

    In Kansas City, Kansas; Bob Geigel fought Ed Wiskowski to a double-DQ, French Martin defeated Paul Perschmann,Oki Shikina & Jesse Ventura & Sharon Brooks defeated Don Wayt & Scotty Campbell & Jean Antone, Tank Patton & Mr. Seki defeated Akio Sato & Prince Tapu, Jerry Oates defeated Baron Von Raschke via DQ and Jack Brisco defeated Danny Little Bear in three falls 1976 

    Dusty Rhodes defeated Ric Flair in Richmond, Virginia to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title. However, the title change was nullified because Rhodes had his feet on the ropes during the pin. 1978 
    David and Kevin Von Erich defeated Bruiser Brody and Gino Hernandez to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Title in Fort Worth, Texas 1979 
    In Raleigh, North Carolina; Ric Flair & Blackjack Mulligan & Ricky Steamboat beat Paul Jones & Baron Von Raschke & Nick Bockwinkel, Dewey Robertson vs Johnny Weaver and  Mr Wrestling Tim Woods vs The Scorpion 1980 

    – Giant Baba defeated Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Title in Saga, Japan

    – Roddy Piper defeated Buddy Rose to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title 1987 
     The WWF held its third-annual “King of the Ring” event at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Randy Savage defeated King Kong Bundy to win the King of the Ring tournament. 1989

    – Cuchillo defeated Yoshihiro Asai (Ultimo Dragon) for the UWA World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico. – Texas Dirt (Dutch Mantel) defeated Black Bart to win the CWA Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee 1990 

    Danny Collins defeated Richie Brooks for the British Heavy-Middleweight Title in Croydon, England 1991 
     Alex Porteau defeated Ricky Santana to win the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title reign in Cataño, Puerto Rico. 1992 
    Bestia Salvaje defeated El Dandy for the CMLL World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico. 1994

    Pierroth, Jr. defeated Vampiro in Monterrey, Mexico to win the Federación Internacional de Lucha Libre Heavyweight Title. 1995 

    WCW Monday Nitro debuted on TNT, live from the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The American Males (Marcus Bagwell and Scott Riggs) defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater (with Col. Robert Parker) in a non-televised match. Brian Pillman defeated Jushin Liger, WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Sting defeated Ric Flair by disqualification to retain the title. During this match, Lex Luger made his surprise return to WCW and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Big Bubba Rogers to retain the title. 1996

    Vance Nevada defeated JT Atlas to win the Canadian Junior Heavyweight Title in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1998
    Adam Pearce defeats Billy Joe Eaton in West Allis, Wisconsin to win the Mid American Wrestling Heayweight Title 1999

    Blade Boudreaux defeated Don Bass to win the NWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title in Brownsville, Tennessee 2004 

    Nuevo Gran Apolo defeated Ray Gonzalez for the IWA World Heavyweight Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

  • Boxing report: Santa Cruz vs. Mares aftemath

    By Jeremy Wall

    Leo Santa Cruz vs. Abner Mares was a fight so good that ESPN had to show it twice.

    Well, actually they showed the fight once on ESPN when it aired live Saturday, August 9th and then a second time on ESPN2 on Tuesday, September 1st at 9pm ET. Santa Cruz, 27, defeated Mares, 29, by majority decision to win the vacant WBA Super World Featherweight title. Scores were 117-111 twice and 114-114. It was Santa Cruz’s third world title in as many weight classes. He also holds the WBC Super Bantamweight title and he will have to give up one of those two titles within the next few weeks.

    The fight is a contender for match of the year, coming off the heels of another contender for match of the year on a PBC card on August 14th when Krzysztof Glowacki upset Marco Huck to win the WBO Cruiserweight title. That fight aired on Spike. PBC has been criticized for bad matchmaking for booking mostly squash matches on their free television broadcasts, but the quality of fights in recent weeks has been kind to PBC.

    The fight was hyped beforehand as all action and it delivered. Santa Cruz has the reputation for the highest per round punch rate among all boxers, which is an amazing stat. Against Mares, Santa Cruz threw 1,057 punches. Mares threw back 980 punches. That combines to 2,007 punches in total over twelve rounds. Ouch. After the fight both of their arms must have felt like squished tubes of toothpaste.

    Each fighter earned $1.25 million for the slugfest. It was a career payday for both. Santa Cruz improved to 31-0-1 with 17 KOs and Mares fell to 29-2-1 with 15 KOs.

    Both fighters talked about a rematch after, which would probably do good ratings, or could be used as a co-main on a pay per view. Jose Santa Cruz, Leo’s father and trainer, allegedly wants his son to move on to other contenders, though. Another possibility for Santa Cruz is WBC champ Gary Russell Jr., who is also under contract to Al Haymon.

    The fight took place at the Staples Center. They drew 13,109. The crowd was beyond hot. Both fighters are Mexican and from LA. Mares was portrayed as the heel in the pre-fight hype video, talking about how Santa Cruz has great punch stats because he has never faced someone as good as himself. Santa Cruz was portrayed as the guy that was above trash talking.

    Santa Cruz fought on the pay per view undercard of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight back in May. The commentary on ESPN was weird in that Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas kept talking about how Santa Cruz-Mares was payback to all the fans who thought Mayweather-Pacquiao was a bad fight.

    That was odd for two reasons. First, Mayweather-Pacquiao was back in May and Mayweather has moved on to other business. I’m not sure what Santa Cruz-Abner and Mayweather-Pacquiao have to do with one another. Second, Mayweather is fighting on pay per view against Andre Berto on September 12th. It is a poor choice to have your broadcasters talk about how Mayweather’s last pay per view fight sucked when he’s fighting on pay per view again in a week. That doesn’t exactly sell fights.

    The rating for Santa Cruz-Mares, however, was great. ESPN averaged 1.217 million viewers for the August 29th live telecast from 10pm to 12:12am ET. It was the third PBC on ESPN show and easily the most watched. The debut show on July 11th with Keith Thurman only drew 799,000 viewers going up against the massive July UFC pay per view featuring Conor McGregor. The second show on August 1st featured Danny Garcia vs. Paulie Malignaggi drew 1.073 million viewers going up against the massive August UFC pay per view featuring Ronda Rousey.

    This time, though, there was no UFC pay per view to spoil PBC’s party on ESPN, although the fight did go up against a pay per view fight between Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga that was promoted by Mosley’s company and took place at the LA Forum. Chances are PBC’s success on ESPN killed the Mosley-Mayorga buy rate.

    Santa Cruz-Mares was the most watched boxing match on ESPN since a February 22nd, 1998 flyweight title bout between Mark Johnson and Arthur Johnson. Santa Cruz-Mara peaked at 1.614 million viewers.

    The fight also aired on ESPN Deportes and set a boxing record for that station with 355,000 average viewers. It peaked at 453,000 viewers.

    The September 1st replay on ESPN2 drew 280,000 viewers.

    Let us see if PBC can keep their ball rolling into Mayweather-Berto.

    *****

    Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the biggest drawing heel of all time.

    Last week Showtime debuted the shoulder programming called All Access: Mayweather vs Berto. Showtime does All Access hype shows for all of their major fights.

    Most of the episode focused on Mayweather and how much people hate him, but how he is “TBE”.

    At one point in the episode Mayweather grabbed a massive fistful of cash and began shadow boxing while holding it.

    Berto was painted as the underdog everyman who always pushes forward.

    The marketing gimmick with this fight is clearly that it is Mayweather’s supposed retirement fight and that if Berto beat him then it would be the biggest upset of all-time. The idea for people to tune in is to see the last chance for Mayweather to get his mouth shut.

    Whether all of this draws on pay per view remains to be seen.

    I don’t believe Mayweather will retire after this fight. I don’t believe that anybody believes that. I don’t believe that Mayweather believes that. Las Vegas Arena opens next year. Mayweather-Pacquiao II is obviously the best boxing match to open the arena, or at least be the first boxing match at the arena if UFC 200 opens it. Also, with the story that Pacquiao’s arm is healed and he is coming for revenge, Mayweather-Pacquiao II ought to draw well on pay per view, no matter what people’s opinion of the quality of their first fight.

    I don’t believe that The Money Team will leave all that money on the table.

    *****

    I’m here in Las Vegas for UFC 191.

    I’m not feeling a ton of hype in town for Mayweather-Berto. Maybe the hype train will get rolling after UFC 191 is over on Saturday. They both took place at the MGM Grand.

    I’ve talked to a ton of other UFC fans in town, many from around the world, and so far I’m the only person I know staying in town the extra week to see the Mayweather spectacle. I’ve even talked to boxing fans from Europe who are in for UFC 191 and they aren’t staying around for Mayweather. But maybe it is just the people I’ve been talking to.

    The final week is what is important for pay per view buys, anyway. We’ll see how the Mayweather people handle that final week and if they can keep the money rolling in.

    And isn’t it odd that UFC is choosing to headline a show at the MGM Grand with a Demetrious Johnson fight a week before Mayweather headlines at the same venue?

    *****

    Here’s a snapshot of the upcoming major boxing schedule on American TV.

    Sept 6th on CBS with Anthony Dirrell vs. Marco Antonio Rubio and Jamie McDonnell vs. Tomoki Kameda. This is a rehab fight for Dirrell. Dirrell is coming off a loss to Badou Jack in a title fight on Spike and Rubio hasn’t fought since being knocked out in the second round by Gennady Golovkin last October. McDonnell-Kameda is a rematch for McDonnell’s WBA Bantamweight title. McDonnell beat Kameda by unanimous decision on CBS in May. It was a good fight.

    Sept 8th PBC debuts on Fox Sports 1, replacing Golden Boy Boxing. Austin Trout fights Joey Hernandez. It is a showcase for Trout, who is getting a push on TV after last fighting in the untelevised undercard of a CBS show in May. Trout is 29-2 (16 KOs) and 29 years old. His losses were both by unanimous decision to Erislandy Lara and Canelo Alvarez. Hernandez, 31, is coming off a loss to Julian Williams in April, his second loss in his last three bouts. This is the first of what is purported to be a multi-year weekly series.

    Sept 11th PBC on Spike with Adonis Stevenson vs. Tommy Karpency and Errol Spence Jr vs Chris van Heerden. It is PBC’s debut in Toronto with the show taking place at the smaller Ricoh Coliseum (where the Toronto Maple Leafs farm team plays). It is promoted by Yvon Michel and co-financed by Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. And, since it is PBC, it is run by Al Haymon and his Wall Street money. MLSE is the company that owns the Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC the Air Canada Centre, and Ricoh Coliseum. MLSE is co-owned by Bell and Rogers, who are the media conglomerates that between the two of them own most of Toronto. Bell owns TSN (which broadcasts UFC and many PBC shows in Canada) and is in the process of buying the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. Rogers owns Sportsnet, which has WWE in Canada and also the lucrative NHL contract. Rogers also owns the Blue Jays and Rogers Centre. I’m not sure which of these companies owned Rob Ford. Anyway, Adonis Stevenson is the biggest boxing star to come to Toronto since boxing gloves were invented. These are showcase fights for both Adonis and Spence, the latter of whom is considered one of the best prospects in boxing. Adonis is a star in Montreal, but Montreal is not Toronto and boxing’s popularity is cold in Toronto, so PBC is starting from scratch here. They should have come with a better main event if they wanted to make a splash because I doubt they will draw on Adonis’ name alone, unless Toronto turns out to be an untapped market for boxing. The most notable thing here is how Al Haymon was able to merge his Wall Street money with Canada’s Bay Street money and get it all involved in boxing. Corporate leaders seem to all love Al Haymon. Maybe he’s a good kisser.

    Also, Sept 11th, Top Rank has a TruTV show at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas with Oscar Valdez vs. Chris Avalos and Jesse Hart vs. Aaron Hart Jr. I might attend this one live.

    The afternoon of Sept 12th is PBC on NBC with Peter Quillin vs. Michael Zerafa and Cornelius Bundrage vs. Jermall Charlo for Bundrage’s IBF Middleweight title. Quillin is coming off a draw with Andy Lee on NBC back in May. Zerafa is only 23-years-old and is 17-1 (9 KOs), but is from Australia and has never fought in the US. Bundrage is 42-years-old, but has only lost one fight in his last eight bouts (by majority decision to Ishe Smith). Charlo is 21-0 (16 KOs) and 25-years-old. This one is an obvious passing of the torch, if one considers the IBF Middleweight belt a torch. This show for the most part also obviously serves as a hype show for the Mayweather pay per view later that day.

    The night of Sept 12th is Mayweather vs. Berto at the MGM Grand and on pay per view. Other televised bouts are Roman Martinez vs. Orlando Salido for Martinez’s WBO Super Featherweight title and Badou Jack vs. George Groves for Jack’s WBC Super Middleweight title.

    And that’s it for boxing’s hype cycle leading up to the Mayweather show.

    Jeremy Wall can be contacted at jeremywall1984@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @jeremydalewall.

  • NJPW Road to Destruction 9/4 results: Eight man tag action; debut of Juice Robinson

    by Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

    Welcome to this morning’s coverage of the New Japan Pro Wrestling show, taking place at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. We kick off the Road to Destruction tour as a eight man tag featuring the Bullet Club headlines, as well as the debut of former NXT star CJ Parker, now going under the name Juice Robinson. 

    David Finlay vs. Jay White

    Very good, technical match. Crowd was quiet for a lot of it but were into the big spots. Both guys had a back and forth match with a lot of mat wrestling and counters. Very different that what you would normally see, which is nice. Finlay hit the rolling senton. White tried to reverse but Finlay caught White with the stretch muffler and he had to tap out.

    Yuji Nagata & Sho Tanaka vs. Yohei Komatsu & Manabu Nakanishi

    Good match. Komatsu and Tanaka continue to look like they’re far beyond ready to move beyond the young lion stage and Nagata did his part well. There was one point in the match where Tanaka teased a deadlift on the immobile Nakanishi but he blocked it. Nagata and Komatsu had a nice exchange at the end with Nagata drilling him with a great belly to belly overhead suplex then pinned him with the backdrop hold.

    Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi Hashi and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Captain New Japan and Tomoaki Honma

    Another good tag team match. They didn’t work it entirely like a standard New Japan six man as they have a formula, and that’s what I liked about the match. Everyone looked good and had their moments. Liger and Ishii had a cool exchange, as well as Ishii and Honma. They did a spot where Liger laid out Ishii and Honma hit the kokeshi, then CNJ splashed him on the top rope but he kicked out. Sakuraba came in and put him in a sleeper, then Yoshi Hashi helped Ishii set up the sliding D but CNJ kicked out of that. Ishii followed with a brainbuster and pinned him.

    Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito and Juice Robinson vs. Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe and Katsyuori Shibata

    Looks like Tiger Mask is back after being out for most of the G1 with a neck injury. This was good but it’s clear that some people didn’t fit here. People were into it whenever Shibata and Naito interacted, and were also into Ibushi and Makabe, but crowd was dead whenever Robinson and Tiger Mask were in. Of course it’s not a main event so putting in junior heavyweights was a given, but still. Shibata cleared the ring with a big boot to Naito that sent him to the floor as Tiger Mask pinned Robinson with a roll up variation. Both Ibushi/Makabe and Shibata/Naito got into it after the match and had to be repeatedly seperated.

    Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano vs. Tama Tonga and Cody Hall 

    Just a match. Not bad, but nothing memorable at all. Most of the highlights involved Toru Yano being afraid of Tama Tonga whenever he got creepy and doing his trademark spots. Okada pinned Hall with the rainmaker.

    Roppangi Vice and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi and Mascara Dorada

    Good match. Nakamura and Goto worked together and so did RPG Vice, Taguchi and Dorada. Taguchi is doing this gimmick where he imitates Nakamura and it gets on Nakamuras nerves as he laid him out with a kick before the bell rang. At one point in the match Goto helped Taguchi land a sliding hip toss onto Nakamura and scored a near fall there. Good back and forth match from here as everyone has good chemistry with one another. Dorada and Beretta were the ones in the ring as Dorada tried to hop over Beretta but he grabbed him and hit the dudebuster as Romero hit the dropkick for the win.

    Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows and Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima

    This was a good main event. Lots of action and everyone worked well against one another, and the crowd was very much into it which helped as well. They did every New Japan multi man tag trope in the world with barricade spots, brawling out into the crowd, everyone pairing off with their rivals, etc. But the action was good enough that it turned out to be fine. The finish came after Gallows landed the Gallows Poll but Kojima kicked out. Gallows went to the corner to hit something but Kojima blocked and blasted him with a lariat for the win, setting up a future title program with them. It’s not the most interesting feud of all time, but considering the division is stale and uninteresting, and New Japan doesn’t have any plans to fix that, this is what we’ll get. 

  • UFC News: UFC announces Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit makeup date, more fights to a loaded UFC 194

    UFC announced three fights Thursday night, including two for the 12/12 UFC 194 show which is among the most loaded in recent years.

    – Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit, originally scheduled for mid-November in Melbourne, Australia, has been rescheduled as the main event for UFC 195 on January 2nd, 2016, in Las Vegas. Lawler suffered a thumb injury that caused the delay.

    – The December 12 UFC 194 event headlined by Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo and Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold got even deeper with the additions of Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Saenz at bantamweight and Max Holloway vs. Jeremy Stephens at featherweight.

    The card for that show also includes Yoel Romero vs. Jacare Souza, Demian Maia vs. Gunnar Nelson, Tecia Torres vs. Michelle Waterson, and more. 

  • VIDEO: UFC 191 Countdown

    DEMETRIOUS JOHNSON VS. JOHN DODSON

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWsV8sli1fI

    ANDREI ARLOVSKI VS. FRANK MIR

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mb0-0OJ_DQ

    ANTHONY JOHNSON VS. JIMI MANUWA

    ‘

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIP5GvZMqk8

  • VIDEO: UFC 191 Embedded, Episode 4

    Fight week rolls on with UFC 191 Embedded leading into Saturday night’s UFC 191 event from Las Vegas. In this episode, Demetrious Johnson talks about fatherhood and motivation with his coaches. Paige VanZant and her camp show off their dance moves before getting in a workout. Anthony Johnson talks about his fight against Jimi Manuwa while Manuwa gets a bite to eat before a workout. Frank Mir enjoys his son’s baseball game. Andrei Arlovski and John Dodson then enjoy some fun time together. All of that and more, so check out episode four of UFC 191 Embedded above.

  • VIDEO: UFC 191 Embedded, Episode 3

    Fight week rolls on with UFC 191 Embedded leading into Saturday night’s UFC 191 event from Las Vegas. In this episode, flyweight title challenger John Dodson rushes home from Las Vegas to Albuquerque for the birth of his daughter. The fighters competing on the card then take care of their usual fight week obligations including signing posters and participating in photo shoots. Dodson makes his return to Las Vegas for fight week and shows off some baby pictures to teammate and top lightweight contender, Donald Cerrone. All of that and more, so check out episode three of UFC 191 Embedded above.