Category: Post Type article

  • SUN UPDATE: UFC Canada, GFW, Dwayne Johnson movie, McGregor, Rhodes, LU star on AAA

    By dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s TNA Slammiversary show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    We’re also looking for reports on tonight’s WWE house shows in Roanoke (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt,  Sheamus, Ryback, Dean Ambrose) and Reading, PA (Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper, King Barrett, New Day), as well as the weekend NXT shows in Cocoa Beach, FL on Friday night and Citrus Springs, FL on Saturday night.

    TNA SLAMMIVERSARY ON PPV SUNDAY

    Robbie E vs. Jessie Godderz

    Awesome Kong & Brooke vs. Taryn Terrell & Jade & Marti Bell

    Magnus vs. James Storm Non-sanctioned match

    Davey Richards vs. Austin Aries – Winner gets to choose the Iron Man stipulation for the TV match already taped as the fifth match in the best-of-five for the tag tiles

    Matt Morgan vs. Bram

    Bobby Lashley & Ken Anderson vs. Ethan Carter III & Tyrus

    King of the Mountain match:  Jeff Jarrett, Eric Young, Drew Galloway, Bobby Roode and Matt Hardy

    Raw will be Monday night in Washington, DC.  This is the one show of this PPV cycle that Brock Lesnar isn’t booked on.  He will be back the following Monday. 

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Hershey, PA.

    A story about the life and career of Buddy Landel, plus the Jose Aldo injury, Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock and whether it was or wasn’t real and Cora Combs and the last link to the heyday of U.S. women’s wrestling are the main stories in the June 29 issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

    The Latest Wrestling Observer June 29, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Buddy Landel obituary, Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice coverage

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

    You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

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

    Rates are:

    For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52.  In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com  For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.

    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.

    We first look at the injury to Jose Aldo Jr. and thoughts on the 7/11 fight with Conor McGregor.  We look at the different options UFC had in this situation.

    We’ve got a major story on the life and career of Buddy Landel.  We look at the circumstances of his death, why Landel never reached the level of success his ability should have gotten him, his life before and after wrestling, and the story that, at the age of 24, changed the direction of his career.

    Landel talked about getting fired from Crockett Promotions at what turned out to be the high point of his career, examine the talk of his being given the world title at the time, as well as his own very candid thoughts about if he had won the title.  We look at what was planned for him, and how his firing changed the entire history of the business because it in a roundabout way led to the creation of the Four Horseman.

    We look at the situation with Crockett Promotions in the middle of a hot period in 1985, the Starrcade 85 show, and the Flair vs. Rhodes program.  We look at the story behind Landel’s statement that he and Flair broke Elvis’ attendance record in Raleigh and the true story of that night.

    We also look at his run in Tennessee including the last sellout at the Mid South Coliseum and the angle leading to that, as well as the famous 27 fall Texas death match that was among the best matches of the 80s. We look at his start in sports, growing up as a fan, and how Landel got into pro wrestling.  We look at his early years, his first push, the creation of the Nature Boy gimmick, working with Junkyard Dog in Mid South, his return to Crockett Promotions and why he never got another chance, what Buddy Rogers told him, and the last stages of his career and life after wrestling.

    We also look in depth at the Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock right.  We look at different kinds of works, and the ones that could not have happened and the ones that could have.  We look at what the person closest to the action said about it, as well as a look at the background of Ken Shamrock.

    We also have a lot more about the records set for the fight, as well as future matches that both or either could do going out of this.  We also look at other business notes for the show, as well as Bellator’s next major event in September, and full coverage of the TV event.

    We also have an update on Daniel Bryan, Bret Hart talks Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns and others, Dolph Ziggler’s future prospects, Talk of another NXT live special this summer, More on the next WWE network special show, notes on a former tag team of the year candidate team that WWE is looking at getting, more on Tough Enough, as well as Dwayne Johnson projects and injuries to Jamie Noble, Erick Rowan and Tyson Kidd.

    We also have notes on why Randy Orton wasn’t at TV this past week, frustration from the inside on WWE creative, Hogan talks WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels in a movie, WWE house shows, the sad plight of Chyna, as well as a look at the weekend NXT and WWE house shows as well as weekend business.

    We also have coverage of the ROH Best in the World PPV show, and where the company is headed.

    We’ve also got a story on the life of Cora Combs, the last link to the Billy Wolfe/Mildred Burke glory days of women’s wrestling.  We look at her career, her decision in the promotional split that ended up taking the women’s side of wrestling down, the Moolah years, being in the first woman’s match ever held in New York and the story behind it.  We also look at the last period of her career, as Lady Satan, working against her daughter, as well as look at some of the oldest wrestlers of all-time and the oldest living wrestles..

    We’ve also got full coverage of the weekly UFC show in Germany and the rise of Joanna Jedrzejczyk.  We look at her unique stardom, as well as other coverage of the show.

    We also have notes on how the WWE’s Payback PPV did and where the PPV business currently stands.

    The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.

    We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –More on AAA’s Verano de Escandalo show

    –Former WWE star signs major deal as a brand ambassador with one of the biggest movie companies in the world and his duties

    –Another former WWE star working big shows in AAA

    –Notes on future AAA shows

    –Ricochet returns to Japan

    –Notes on the next Dragon Gate iPPV show

    –Final event of the Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial tour

    –Notes on the upcoming NOAH GHC jr. tournament

    –More G-1 Climax notes as far as TV goes

    –New Japan heads to Singapore

    –Notes on Dusty Rhodes and Tommy Rogers

    –More on Global Force Wrestling

    –Lots of PWG notes

    –Notes on Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore show

    –Pro wrestling returns after 20 years to one of its most famous former arenas

    –More on Lucha Underground

    –Notes on upcoming ROH shows

    –A look at the next month of ROH television

    –More on people leaving TNA

    –Story behind Hernandez coming to TNA

    –More on TNA PPV show

    –TNA wrestlers appear on Destination America programming

    –UFC press conference coming

    –Major official leaves UFC

    –Lots of new UFC fights

    –More talk about UFC events in the future in Mexico City

    –Why Dana White didn’t go to the UFC show in Germany

    –Dana White talks about a reality show he’s filming

    –Latest on the heavyweight title picture

    –Lots of changed matches on the UFC shows

    –UFC injury updates

    –Lots of new UFC fights

    –Stiffest MMA suspension to date to a former champion

    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.

    SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • Nothing from the weekend in combat sports made it to the Google listings.  For twitter, the biggest numbers were Yoel Romero (70,800), Jeff Jarrett (3,229), Jacare Souza (3,158), Gay Jesus (6,699) and Slammiversary (3,434).
    • San Andreas was No. 6 at the box office this weekend and is estimated at doing $5,275,000 and is at $141.9 million domestic after five weeks.
    • The UFC Canada comment regarding a potential 12/5 show after New York fell through was:  “Following the news in New York, we are now looking at the schedule for the remainder of the year and will be making event decisions in the coming weeks.  There is nothing to announce or confirm at this time.”
    • GFW will make the official announcement of Nick Aldis, formerly Magnus, with the promotion tomorrow. 
    • A story on Dwayne Johnson’s new movie project “Rampage”
    • Conor McGregor will be a guest on Conan O’Brien on TBS on Thursday night. (thanks to Jon Southerland)
    • This week, Dusty Rhodes was on the cover of Globe Magazine and Kevin Nash, as part of Magic Mike XL (which opens this week) was on the cover of People Magazine (thanks to Jeff Gagliardo)
    • All Elite Wrestling has a show at Arena Mexico today headlined by Shelton Benjamin & Rush vs. Volador Jr. & Ezekiel Jackson, plus Marco Corleone & La Mascara vs. Hernandez & Heddi Karaoui.  Notable that Hernandez was still booked there as of yesterday with the TNA PPV today.  Jackson, who is Big Ryck in Lucha Underground, is also notable because All Elite is considered competition to AAA.
    • Gunner and James Storm are now taking independent bookings through Bill Behrens at showbis@aol.com  Gunner is flying out of Greensboro and Storm out of Nashville.  Also available is Moose out of Atlanta, as well as A.J. Styles (Atlanta), Drew Galloway (Tampa), Matt Sydal (Tampa), Sean Waltman (Philadelphia), Christopher Daniels (Los Angeles), Frankie Kazarian (Los Angeles), Devon Dudley (Orlando), Tommy Dreamer (New York LaGuardia), DDP (Atlanta), Shane Helms (Raleigh), Earl Hebner (Richmond), Abyss (Cincinnati), Eric Young (Nashville), EC 3 (Tampa), Big Ryck (Los Angeles) and The Young Bucks (Los Angeles).
    • Santana Garrett and Colt Cabana debut with GFW on the 7/9 show in Appleton, WI.  Cherry Bomb Laura Dennis debuts on 7/10 in Erie, PA.  Johnny Gargano is booked on 7/11 in Eastlake, OH.
    • Josh Nason went 5-0 in predictions last night on the UFC show, while David Bixenspan, Front Row Brian, Steve Juon, Jack Encarnacao and Mike Sempervive went 4-1, me and Mike Swayer went 3-2 and John Pollock went 2-3.
    • Bayley was off the NXT shows this weekend due to a broken hand. 
    • Karen Jarrett talks going to TNA
    • TNA Slammiversary airs live in France on Mai Chaine Sport at 2 a.m. and will be re-airing on 7/5 at 8 p.m.
    • Hoosier Pro Wrestling canned food drive show last night in Columbus, IN which brought over 1,200 cans of good to the East Columbus Community Center: Scarecrow b Jonathan Owens, AJ Hawkins b Wicked Clown, Clint Poe b Dewey Brown, Mitch Johnson & Miss Alice b Stompin Steve to win the Intergender tag team titles, Drax O’Brien & Lightning Bolt Jackson b TVZ, Flash Flanagan b TJ Kemp.  Next show is 8/1 (thanks to Jerry Wilson)
    • World League Wrestling from Friday night in Troy, MO:  Jon Webb (NOAH) b Michael Magnuson, Derek McQuinn b Jon E. Rock, Leland Race b Dustin Bozworth-DQ, Stacy O’Brien b Heather Patera, Dave DeLorean & Jayden Fenix b Brandon Espinosa & Justin D’Air, Superstar Steve Fender & Derek McQuinn b Dave DeLorean & Jayden Fenix to win tag titles (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
    • Lucha Xtreme TV from last night in Fresno, CA:  Prince Nagi & Kevin El Divino b Johnny Dynamo & Aki So, Mustafa Saed & CB 3 b Vintage Dragon & Cyanide, Johnny Plinko b Marcus Eriks-DQ (thanks to Jon Southerland)
    • Smash Wrestling on 7/19 at 4 p.m. in Toronto before Battleground at the Franklin Horner Community Center with Matt Cross vs. Tarik in an I Quit match, Chris Hero vs Rich Swann, Johnny Gargano vs. Scotty O’Shea and Drew Gulak & Biff Busick vs. Overdogs, plus Super Smash Brothers, Candice LaRae and more.
    • The Crash runs Friday night in Tijuana at Auditorio Municipal with La Parka & Psycho Clown vs. Parka Negra & Zorro and ACH vs. Bestia 666 vs. Extreme Tiger (Tigre Uno) vs. Pentagon Jr., plus two other Lucha Underground wrestlers with B-Boy vs. Famous B and Australian Suicide & Rey Hours vs. Flamita & Daga. (thanks to Kris Zellner)
    • The Iowa Northwoods League baseball team the Waterloo Bucks has pro wrestling night on 7/9 at Riverfront Stadium featuring an appearance by Kevin Nash.  He will sign autographs before and during the game, throw out the first pitch and do 1/2 inning of broadcasting.  The first 500 fans will get a foam wrestling belt.  This is the night before the Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame events in Waterloo.
    • Alberto El Patron, Tommy Dreamer and Colt Cabana headline 7/12 in Pasadena, TV o na show called Bustin For Autism produced by Lone Star Championship Wrestling with the show at 6 p.m.  Alberto faces Houston Carson, Cabana faces Raj Singh (Jinder Mahal), Hernandez faces Ray Rowe of ROH and Dreamer faces Lance Archer and Cherry Ramons faces Joey Ryan.  Also scheduled to appear are Jim Duggan, Scott Norton, Katrina and Ivelisse from Lucha Underground, Candice LaRae, Gene Snisky, Matt Riviera, Greg Anthony and Chaz Taylor.
    • Great North Wrestling on 8/14 in Brockville, Canada at the Memorial Center with Road Warrior Animal as the referee for Hannibal vs Darko.  Honky Tonk Man is also on the show.
    • Chael Sonnen talks a number of subjects including the heavyweight division of UFC, Joe Rogan, politics, steroids, drug legalization, Mel Gibson, Racism and of course… the current state of the Heavyweight division. It’s an hour and twenty minute interview, so the below video is time coded more specifically to his MMA comment. Some highlights as they relate to MMA.

    “That’s a tough dude right there man…. I did not know he was as good as he is. … I was shocked, I did not think that he could hold up against Cain and not only did he hold up, he BROKE Cain. Yeah that submission was there, but if it hadn’t been a guillotine it would have been an armor it would have been a choke, Cain was ready to be done. There were a million different ways to end that fight… That’s the point of fighting. To make the other guy quit.”

    On whether there’s a current case to be made for Werdum being among the top 3 heavyweights of all time, Chael addressed Fedor, Werdum’s standing losses, and then of course went full Chael on the heavyweight division –

    “The whole point for point thing doesn’t exist. You want to figure it out, let’s get in the cage. A few of us will enter regardless of weight class and we can figure this damn thing out.

    … The bottom-line is Jon Jones will show up and kick his ass right now (Werdum). He’d kick his ass it wouldn’t even be a problem. Daniel Cormier could go up and kick his ass! It’s the heavyweight class, he’s a tough guy, but it’s a wimpy weight class it always has been. If you’re a good athlete and you’re a heavyweight, you go into the NFL! You don’t go into cage fighting, the weight-class sucks and I don’t have respect for it, so there.”

    ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)

    1963 – El Santo beat Karloff Lagarde to win the Mexican national middleweight title

    1966 – Billy Joyce beat Ian Campbell in Edinburgh to win the British heavyweight title

    1974 – Jumbo Miyamoto & Junko Sasaki beat Sandy Parker & Betty Niccoli to win the WWWA tag titles

    1974 – Anibal beat Adorable Rubi in Mexico City to win the Mexican national middleweight title

    1987 – Chigusa Nagayo beat Dump Matsumoto to win the Grand Prix tournament

    1998 – Yukihiro Kanemura & Hiromichi Fuyuki & Koji Nakagawa beat Hayabusa & Hiskatsu Oya & Ricky Fuji in Hachinohe to win the FMW six man street fight tag titles

    2008 – Minoru Suzuki & Taiyo Kea beat Joe Doering & Keiji Muto in Osaka to win the All Japan world tag title

    2008 – Kennichiro Arai & Taku Iwasa & Shinobi beat Shingo Takagi & Gamma & Yamato in Nagoya to win the Open the Triangle Gate titles

    2014 – Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori beat Suwama & Joe Doering in Sapporo to win the All Japan world tag tltles

  • WWE Boston June 27 house show results: Rock makes surprise appearance, John Cena vs. Kevin Owens

    By Kyle Poissonnier

    Really, really good crowd.  Been to a few New England events living in Portland, ME, and this was by far the best crowd.

    Mark Henry vs. I-C Champion Ryback

    Henry got a good reaction. Good reaction for Ryback.  Slow match, good support for Ryback.  Henry messed up the ending failing to get in place for Ryback’s splash so Ryback readjusted in mid air for a splash and win.  No shell shock.

    Neville vs. Kofi Kingston

    Great heel heat on Kofi.  Really knows how to work the crowd.  Neville got a good reaction.  Some really great fast paced action in this one.  10 min match with Neville scoring a red arrow for a win.

    Heath Slater and Luke Harper vs. Axelmania and Macho Mandow

    Honestly a terrible match.  Axelmania and Macho Mandow are not that over and actually got booed a few times. Forgettable match with Axelmania and Macho Mandow picking up a pinfall victory.   

    Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler vs. King Barrett and Sheamus

    Great response for Ziggler and Jericho got a huge returning pop.  Some Mic time for all before the match with Jericho and Ziggler making fun of Sheamus.  Good match, good back and forth with Jericho hitting the codebreaker on Barrett for the win.

    U.S. Champion John Cena vs. NXT Champion Kevin Owens

    Owens has that heel cool factor as the crowd popped for him. He taunted Cena’s dad in the front row. Cena got a big hometown reaction.  This was literally a replay of their 2nd match at money in the bank.  Great spots, tons of false finishes.  Match went almost 20 minutes until Owens Low-blowed Cena for a DQ, he rolled back in and got an AA to make the crowd happy.  Best match of the night.  Chants of “this is awesome” a lot during this match.

    – Bo Dallas came out and basically ran down Boston for five minutes and how bad it’s sports teams have become and trashed Tom Brady.  He started singing which seemed to go on for wayyyy too long.  The Rock’s music hit and at first I think most people thought it was a joke.  He promptly walked out and got an enormous pop.  The last time I was in the garden in 2001 was one of the last times the Rock appeared at a house show.  Lots of shock and cheers.  Rock got in the ring and mocked Bo for a while and stuck up for Boston, told Bo to take a victory lap before hitting him with a rock bottom and people’s elbow.  Posed for the crowd and left everyone in the crowd happy.

    Naomi VS Paige vs. Divas Champion Nikki Bella

    Honestly the crowd was so shocked from the Rock most people had their heads down in the phones on social media in shock.  No energy, slow match, there was a fan vote stipulation I cant remember.  Nikki took the pin for the win.  Most people stayed on phones or took a bathroom break.

    Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

    Wyatt got a good reaction.  Crowd loved his entrance.   Reigns came out to about 80% cheers and support.  Still a much better reaction than he gets on TV.  Pretty slow match, ended after about 6 minutes with a double count out- which obv they had to do not wanting to a give a victory to either man before they meet at Battleground.  Fans booed the finish quite a bit.  Cheered Reigns though as he left.

    WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

    Show went well over 3 hours at this point, so crowd was really drained at this point a little even though they gave Ambrose a great pop.  Good back and forth and Ambrose had some really good near falls that got the crowd back into it.  Bray Wyatt came down and slammed the door on Ambrose’s head allowing Rollins to climb out and win.  After the match, Reigns came down to help Ambrose spearing Wyatt and clearing the ring  Ambrose and Reigns stayed and celebrated with the crowd sending them home happy.       

  • Updates regarding Kurt Angle and talent leaving TNA

    – Kurt Angle will be having surgery to remove a tumor on his neck but it is not a major operation and he is expected to be ready to wrestle in about three weeks, which would be touch and go with the next tapings from July 22 to July 29.

    – TNA’s Bob Ryder stated on Twitter that Awesome Kong and Taryn Terrell are still under contract, until December and March respectively, contrary to what was reported here earlier today.

  • After Dark Radio for tonight 12 ET/9 PT: Steven Streufert talks the Bluff Creek Project, Bigfoot, tons more!

    After Dark Radio with Bryan Alvarez returns tonight streaming LIVE AND FREE from the After Dark Radio Show website on the Dark Matter Radio Network. You can also now stream the show through the front page of this website using the link on the right-hand side of the front page!

    The show airs at MIDNIGHT ET/9 PM Pacific for two hours!

    Tonight we will be joined by special guest STEVEN STREUFERT of the Bluff Creek Projectfor an awesome discussion! We will also be taking your open lines phone calls on any topic imaginable! Check the website for NEW call-in numbers/email addresses in addition to our normal toll-free line.

    We will also be discussing tons of news, both from our website, afterdarkradioshow.com, our Facebook page, and, of course, Artbell.com, plus taking your phone calls, emails and Twitter questions!

    All of the phone numbers are available at afterdarkradioshow.com. You can send in emails on any topic to bryan@afterdarkradioshow.com. Remember, this show survives on your participation, so please send those emails or be prepared to call!

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (June 28): legendary Mankind vs. Undertaker Hell In A Cell match, Ken Shamrock vs. The Rock

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1923 – In St. Louis, Missouri at the Polish Hall; Wladek Zbyszko defeated Ivan Orloff in 2 straight falls. Also, Jack Kelly defeated Barney Kuczma. (Wladek Zbyszko was billed as the World Greco-Roman wrestling champion).

    1939 – In St. Louis; Warren Bockwinkel beat Swede Swenson, Joe Stecher defeated Joe Millich and Jim Logas beat Mannie Marqulis

    1946 – In St. Joseph, Missouri before 4,200 fans; Mildred Burke beat Juanita Coffman, Bobby Bruns defeated Ray Villmer, Bill Lee double countout with Dean Detton and Sonny Myers defeated Nate Brown.

    1955 – In Minneapolis before 7,200 fans; Butch Levy & Leo Nomellini beat Kinji Shibuya & Ike Eakins, Ilio DiPaolo beat Shag Thomas (as King Toby), Johnny Kostas drew Dick the Bruiser as Bruiser Afflis and Red Bastien beat Al Warshawsky

    1962 – Ilio DiPaolo & Joe Scarpello defeated Mr. M and Bob Geigel to become the first AWA Canadian Open Tag Team Champions in a one night tournament in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada.

    1963 – In Lewiston, Minnesota; AWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff beat Doug Gilbert & Don McClarty in 2 out of 3 falls.

    1966 – In Davenport, Iowa; AWA Tag Team Champions Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon & the Alaskan, Billy Red Cloud beat Chris Markoff, Wilbur Snyder beat Big K by dq and Eddie Sharkey drew Doug Gilbert

    1969 – In Bloomington, Minnesota; In a Non title match, Bill Watts beat AWA Champion Verne Gagne. Also, Flying Redheads Red Bastien & Billy Red Lyons beat Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon, Wilbur Snyder beat Dr. X by dq, Pampero Firpo beat Stan the Moose and Bob Geigel beat Rene Goulet

    1974 – In Sheboygan, Wisconsin; The Crusher beat Larry Hennig, Wahoo McDaniel beat Larry Heiniemi (sub Billy Graham) in 2 out of 3 falls, Greg Gagne beat Buddy Wolff by dq and Jim Brunzell pinned Bill Howard

    1975 – In St. Paul, MN; AWA Champion Verne Gagne no contest Baron Von Raschke, Chris Taylor beat Mad Dog Vachon by countout and Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Mitsu Arakawa & Kim Duk

    1978 – In Davenport, Iowa; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Rufus R Jones and Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens beat Jim Brunzell & Steve Olsonoski (sub Greg Gagne)

    1979 – In Winnipeg; Billy Robinson & Verne Gagne beat Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens, AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Super Destroyer Mark II by dq, Billy Robinson beat Lord Alfred Hayes by count out, Stan Hansen & Bobby Duncum beat Greg Gagne & Wahoo McDaniel, Jesse Ventura beat Paul Ellering and Buddy Wolff beat Ron Ritchie

    1980 – In Milwaukee; In a No DQ Match, AWA Tag Team Champions Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon beat Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura, In an Arm Wrestling (Special Referee: The Crusher) Dino Bravo beat Jerry Blackwell and Tito Santana beat Super Destroyer Mark II

    1981 – In St. Paul, MN; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Baron Von Raschke, Jesse Ventura beat The Crusher by dq, Tito Santana no contest Sheik Adnan, AWA Light Heavyweight Champion Mike Graham beat Buck Zumhofe, In a Handicap Match, Jerry Blackwell beat Ben Deleon & Juan Valez, Adrian Adonis beat Jim Brunzell and Brad Rheingans beat Laurent Soucie

    1982 – Chief Jay & Jules Strongbow defeated Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito for the WWF Tag Team Titles in New York City at Madison Square Garden.

    1986 – In an ESPN special event in Oakland, California; Jerry Blackwell beat AWA Champion Stan Hansen by dq, Nord The Barbarian beat Nick Bockwinkel, Curt Hennig & Midnight Rockers beat Buddy Rose & Doug Somers & Alexis Smirnoff, Scott LeDoux no contest Larry Zbyszko, Colonel DeBeers beat Brad Rheingans (sub Scott Hall), Jimmy Snuka beat Jay York, Sherri Martel beat Candi Devine to win AWA ladies title and Earthquake Ferris beat Ali Kahn. Attendance was 1,500.

    1993 – The Bruise Brothers defeated the Rock n’ Roll Express for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Title in Council, Virgina; Jeff Jarrett defeated Brian Christopher for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

    1997 – Chris Jericho defeated Syxx for the WCW Cruiserweight Title in Inglewood, California.

    1998 – In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ken Shamrock defeated Rocky Maivia to win the King Of The Ring tournament. Also, The Undertaker defeated Mankind in a Hell In A Cell match and Kane defeated Steve Austin in a First Blood match to win the WWF World Heavyweight Title.

    2009 – At the Bash PPV, Rey Mysterio defeated Chris Jericho in a title vs. mask match to win the WWE Intercontinental Title. Also, Edge and Chris Jericho defeated Carlito & Primo and Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes to win the WWE Tag Team Championship and Michelle McCool defeated Melina to win the Divas Title.

    2012 – Badd Influence, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian defeated Kurt Angle & AJ Styles to win the TNA World Tag Team Titles.

  • F4W Vegas Summer Convention schedule (July 9-13): Dave & Bryan Q/A, dinners, UFC after party, more~!

    As the summer approaches, so does the annual Wrestling Observer Summer Convention, held in Las Vegas, NV, the weekend of July 9-12. While not a typical convention, it’s an annual summer get-together for our subscribers, wrestling/MMA fans, and general ne’re do wells.

    Please note the event is not being run by Dave Meltzer or Bryan Alvarez, so please email any questions to Ed Loredo (f4wfan-at-hotmail-dot-com). As of now, the schedule is as follows with all times approximate. Costs are assumed by attendee unless otherwise noted.

    Thursday, July 9

    — Dinner at Texas de Brazil: 5:00 pm
    — Invicta FC 13 at 8 PM. If interested in tickets, please conact Paul Fontaine.

    Friday, July 10

    — Banquet: 6 PM-9:30 PM at the Embassy Suites at 4315 Swenson Street in Las Vegas with a doors open time of approximately 5:30. Cost is $59 payable via Paypal to srjaialaiot-at-yahoo-dot-com if using the ‘Send Money To Friend’ option to avoid fees & include your message board name if appropriate. If you don’t use the ‘Send Money To Friend’ option, cost is $62. Limited spots remain on a first come, first served basis. Dinner includes baby back ribs, BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, baked potato bar with all the fixings, garlic bread, dessert and more. Dave Meltzer & Bryan Alvarez Q/A begin at approx. 7:30 PM and will last no later than 9 PM. 

    — If you’d like to attend just the Q&A, 10 standing room only spots are available for $15 each.  

    — Ed’s House Party: 9:00 PM. Donations for one night room rental and beverages can be made via Paypal to f4wfan-at-hotmail-dot-com.

    Saturday, July 11

    — 2nd annual Granny’s Gang Get-together at Johnny Rockets (Excalibur) at 11:30 AM
    — UFC 189 at MGM Grand at 3:00 PM
    — UFC 189 After Party at Dick’s Last Resort at Excalibur.

    Sunday, July 12

    — Lunch at Tacos & Beer: 11:30 AM
    — Kiss Mini Golf: 1:00pm
    — TUF Finale at MGM Grand at 3 PM
    — Karaoke downtown: Location TBD, 9 PM-close

    Monday, July 13

    — Lunch at Chen Chin in New York, New York: Noon

  • Bradley vs. Vargas Boxing controversy on HBO

    By Jeremy Wall

    Timothy Bradley Jr (32-1-1, 12KO) defeated Jessie Vargas (26-1-0, 9KO) via unanimous decision on Saturday, June 27th to win the vacant interim WBO Welterweight title. It drew 4,711 to the StubHub Center in Carson. It was promoted by Top Rank and aired on HBO. It was the 1,000th fight that HBO has ever broadcast, dating back to their first bout, which was George Foreman stopping Joe Frazier in the second round in Jamaica on January 22nd, 1973.

    Bradley-Vargas was an exciting fight that Bradley was obviously winning until in the final ten seconds of the twelfth round. Vargas staggered Bradley with an overhand right in the closing seconds of the fight. At the same time, the timekeeper hit the clapper to signal that only ten seconds remained. Referee Pat Russell though the sound of the clapper was the final bell and he stepped in and stopped the fight. Everyone else watching thought Russell stopped the fight because Vargas had staggered Bradley. Vargas was even celebrating on the ropes until the ring announcer explained the situation.

    The fight finished with scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-112 for Bradley.

    “It was very loud in that 12th round and I thought I heard the bell and the fight was over when the bell went off,” said Russell.

    “He caught me with a good shot at the end,” said Bradley. “The ref thought that he heard the bell. I was good enough. I could have maintained. I grabbed hold of him toward the end of the fight and I was squeezing him so tight it was like his mom was holding him. Hey, we can do it again.”

    “Can I get a rematch, man?” Vargas asked after the fight.

    “Why not? Why not? We can do a rematch,” said Bradley. “Hey, I don’t have a problem with that. We can definitely do a rematch, man. Jessie came out and fought hard.”

    Even though it was an honest mistake by Russell, it may have saved Bradley from being knocked out.

    Bradley landed 232 of 676 punches for 34-percent compared to 203 of 630 punches for 32-percent landed by Vargas. So the overall fight stats were close, although it depends on how those stats break down round-by-round.

    Bradley earned $1.5 million. Vargas earned $600,000.

    Bradley was fighting for an interim title because Floyd Mayweather Jr is the regular WBO Welterweight titleholder. Originally, the Bradley-Vargas fight was intended for Floyd’s regular title because after beating Pacquiao in May, Floyd claimed he was vacating all of his titles. A few weeks later, however, Floyd changed his mind.

    The WBO prohibits fighters from holding titles in multiple weight classes at the same time. Floyd currently holds the WBC, WBA, and WBO Welterweight titles and the WBC and WBA Super Welterweight titles. He won the WBO Welterweight title from Pacquiao. In order to keep the WBO belt, Floyd has until Friday, June 3rd to pay the sanctioning fee and vacate his WBC and WBA Welterweight titles, otherwise he will be stripped of the WBO Welterweight title.

    Yes, it’s confusing.

    Bradley is one of the top pound-for-pound boxers and is most famous for his two fights with Manny Pacquiao in 2012 and 2014 respectively, the former of which Bradley won by split-decision. It was Pacquiao’s first loss since dropping a unanimous decision to Erik Morales in 2005. Pacquiao, however, beat Bradley in their 2014 rematch by unanimous decision.

    Bradley is also a former WBC and WBO Super Lightweight champion and holds wins over Lamont Peterson and Devon Alexander among others in that weight division. Bradley subsequently vacated those titles to move up to welterweight to challenge Pacquiao for the WBO Welterweight title. After Bradley won that belt in their first fight, he defended it against Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez, both fights taking place in 2013. He beat Provodnikov by unanimous decision in 2013’s fight of the year, also at the StubHub Center. He beat Marquez, who also holds a win over Pacquiao, by split-decision.

    Bradley, 31, has struggled recently, though. After losing the WBO Welterweight title to Pacquiao last year, Bradley came back with a split-draw against Diego Gabriel Chaves this past December. And now he was nearly knocked out in the twelfth round by Jessie Vargas, although Bradley won the rest of their fight.

    Vargas, 26, went into his fight against Bradley undefeated and was a former WBA Super Lightweight champion, beating Khabib Allakhverdiev in 2014 to win the title. Vargas had successful defenses against Anton Novikov and Antonio DeMarco before vacating the title to move up to welterweight to challenge Bradley for the interim WBO Welterweight title. Vargas also hired Erik Morales to be his head trainer for the fight.

    Vargas is still young and although Bradley seemed the better fighter, Vargas was good enough to challenge Bradley and then nearly upset him in the twelfth round with his overhand right. Vargas has potential. A rematch would be interesting, although Bradley would be once again favoured to win. Perhaps they can do the rematch for the actual WBO Welterweight title once it is vacated by Mayweather.

    If not a rematch with Vargas, another possible opponent for Bradley is Gennady Golovkin. There are a ton of fighters in the welterweight and middleweight range that are rumoured to be possible opponents for Golovkin, including Bradley, David Lemieux, Carl Froch, Andre Ward, Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, Floyd Mayweather Jr, and even Oscar de la Hoya.

    Bob Arum has said that if Bradley fights Golovkin, it will take place at 154-pounds, which is junior middleweight. Golovkin has only discussed going down to junior middleweight for a possible fight with Mayweather, which will never happen.

    “I can see it in a lot of ways, Bradley beating Golovkin,” said Arum. “He can’t knock him out, he can’t stop him, but he’s going to be very tough to hit, and Golovkin is going to take a lot of punches from Bradley. So, I really think this could be a super, super fight. I don’t see why not [the fight being on pay-per-view]. Now what you have to do is make it sell is to load it up it up with Hispanics.”

    “I do not think Golovkin will go down to 154-pounds,” said Bradley’s trainer Joel Diaz. “Also, one should interpret what Bradley means when he says he would be willing to face GGG. What he’s showing us with his words, is his mentality as a fighter, not avoiding anyone, to always be ready for the best.”

    Another possible opponent for Bradley is Sadam Ali. Ali, 26, is coming off a win over Francisco Santana in Ali’s debut on HBO on the undercard of the Klitschko-Jenning fights at Madison Square Garden in April. Ali is also promoted by Top Rank and has potential to be a great fighter and some box office potential, so this would be a good fight if Top Rank feels that facing Bradley would elevate Ali.

    Bradley-Vargas on HBO probably drew decent ratings. There wasn’t as much boxing competition on television this weekend as compared to last. The NBA and NHL playoffs are both over. UFC had a show on Fox Sports 1, but I think UFC is more so ratings competition for PBC than for HBO. PBC is trying to reach a younger demographic than HBO, which has been unsuccessful so far. That younger demo watches UFC. Also, people who subscribe to HBO to watch boxing aren’t going to miss a major fight, as that is somewhat like buying a pay per view and then not watching it. Bradley hasn’t really proven to be a draw on pay per view for his fights with Pacquiao and Marquez, however.

    PBC didn’t have a card this weekend. Next weekend is July 4th, so there’s no major boxing on television. I think the return of boxing to mainstream popularity in 2015 has greatly benefited HBO, which is PBC’s primary competition, even though it is PBC that is mostly responsible for boxing’s surge in popularity. Ratings on HBO have been way up this year, which probably means more of their subscribers are watching boxing, or HBO has increased its subscriber base with people who purchased the channel to watch more boxing.

    PBC feels like it is losing stream, especially after their dual network shows on NBC and CBS last weekend proved flat in the ratings. PBC, however, returns on July 11th, debuting on ESPN with Keith Thurman vs Luis Collazo in showcase fight for Thurman. PBC replaces Friday Night Fights on ESPN, although unlike Friday Night Fights, PBC will air on ESPN rather than ESPN2. It goes up against boxing on HBO Latino. PBC has also yet to debut on ABC, which is part of ESPN’s corporate family, and are rumoured to be debuting shortly on Fox Sports 1, which could include a deal to air on Fox. So, the war for hearts and minds in boxing still has a way to go.

    Speaking of PBC, Al Haymon made news recently. It’s noteworthy anytime Haymon is in the news because he does everything he can to avoid attention from the media. He was scheduled to be deposed Tuesday in California in a lawsuit against him and Warriors Boxing, a promoter he frequently works with for PBC events. The lawsuit was filed by Bad Dog Productions, who claimed that Haymon and Warriors tampered with Bad Dog’s promotional contract with Rances Barthelemy. Barthelemy is under contract to Haymon and fought on CBS last weekend.

    Haymon, however, came down with a mysterious illness and is unable to testify Tuesday. What timing. The attorney for Bad Dog says they will try and reschedule the deposition within the next thirty days.

    Also, earlier this week the California State Athletic Commission said they had discovered some time ago that Haymon had sabotaged rival promoters, mainly Golden Boy, which is one of PBC’s chief rivals. Haymon would hold dates at key venues (mainly Staples Center and the Forum) that prevented rivals from staging fights at those venues and then Haymon would drop his dates once his rivals scheduled fights elsewhere.

    “He was holding up the dates at the Forum and at Staples Center. We took that away,” said John Frierson of the CSAC.

    This is actually pretty common practice among combat sports and pro wrestling. Haymon reminds me so much of Vince Jr in the 1980s in Vince’s promotional tactics and methodology for what he attempted to accomplish by “taking over” pro wrestling. Junior, however, won his war, but what happens with Haymon remains to be seen.

  • TNA News: two more departures, Kurt Angle health update

    – Kurt Angle announced at Saturday’s TNA Wrestling tv tapings that he had a tumor in his neck that finally needed surgery. Angle has had a benign tumor in his neck for some time, dating back more than three years ago, that was starting to cause him problems of late with muscular atrophy.

    – Taryn Terrell and Awesome Kong’s TNA contracts expired as of this weekend and tonight’s Slammiversary is expected to be their last show, which explains Terrell losing her championship during the TV tapings this past week.

  • Kurt Angle health update

    Kurt Angle announced at last night’s tapings that he had a tumor in his neck that needed surgery.

    The situation is that Angle had a benign tumor in his neck for some time, probably dating back a year.  It was starting to cause him problems of late with muscular atrophy so he needed to get it taken care of.

  • NJPW Korakuen Hall 6-28-15 live coverage: Ten man elimination tag action

    By Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com
    Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jay White

    White played the subtle heel here, at one point using Taguchi’s famed hip attacks. They actually had a pretty solid match with a hot ending. A lot of the match was Taguchi doing the hip attacks, White would come in once in a while and almost had a win with a Boston crab. They exchanged some good near falls toward the end until Taguchi locked in the ankle lock and White tapped.

    Tiger Mask vs. Sho Tanaka

    Tanaka came at Tiger Mask immediately once the bell rang, but Tiger Mask slowed him down with some leg work. Tiger Mask worked on them some more, crotched Tanaka while making a comeback, laid him out with a butterfly suplex from the top rope and submitted him with a chickenwing. Another solid match, but rather short and Tiger Mask’s submission is kind of anti-climatic.

    Tiger Mask cut a short promo after, wishing Tanaka luck as he’s entering the NOAH Jr. Heavyweight tournament.

    Jushin Liger vs. David Finlay

    Liger dominated at the start but Finlay made a comeback and hit his father’s famous rolling senton. He even locked in the stretch muffler at one point. Liger came back with the palm strike and a Liger bomb for a near fall, but Finlay reversed into a small package for his own near fall. Finlay went for what looked like a brainbuster, but then Liger transitions quickly into an armbar and Finlay taps. So I guess the theme tonight is all the young lions are losing by submission.

    Mascara Dorada vs. Yohei Komatsu