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  • UFC’s Paige VanZant finishes second on ‘Dancing With The Stars’

    UFC strawweight Paige VanZant may not have a UFC title in her immediate future, but on Tuesday night, she came justthisclose to a different kind of championship: a Dancing With The Stars title.

    After scoring a perfect 30 in her final dance with partner Mark Ballas, combined with a 59 from Monday’s show and fan voting, she and Ballas lost to overall winner Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd and third place finishers Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy. DiMarco was lauded for competing at a high level despite being deaf. They didn’t reveal the fan voting, but PVZ and Ballas were slightly in the lead before that was taken into the equation.

    Despite a dancing background, PVZ wasn’t seen as an immediate favorite when the latest season of the ABC hit kicked off several months ago. But week by week, she continued to score big and finished consistently near the top of the weekly competitions. 

    Just 22 years old and coming off a devastating loss to Rose Namajunas in December, she was announced as joining the Kickboxer cast this week and seems closer to Hollywood and non-fighting opportunities than an impending UFC return. 

    Featherweight contender and teammate Chad Mendes was shown several times in the audience.

  • Eden Stiles/Brandi Runnels asks for, gets WWE release

    Brandi Runnels announced Tuesday that she was leaving WWE, following her husband Cody’s departure last week.

    Runnels, who used the name Eden Stiles in the promotion, wrote on Twitter, “What I’ve been teasing for weeks: I’ve been offered a new opportunity outside of WWE.
    So I’ve decided to part with WWE after tonight.”  She also plugged her website, BeingBrandiRunnels.com.

    The WWE then announced via Twitter and their website that Runnels had been released as of today.

    Runnels worked in local news in Michigan before moving to Florida to try modeling. She signed a deal with WWE in 2011 and quit the next year. She returned in November 2013 as a ring announcer shortly after marrying Cody two months earlier. She worked as a ring announcer and occassional interviewer on Smackdown starting in October 2014.

    Earlier tonight, Cody tweeted “Lot of folks say “ride or die” these days…well @RealEdenWWE is just that in the next 24hrs, most people will realize what I’m saying”, following that up with a tweet referencing Game of Thrones.

  • WWE RAW ratings grow slightly

    The Monday, May 23rd edition of WWE Raw was up slightly this week to 3.26 million viewers, up three percent from last week.

    This show came the day after the Extreme Rules PPV with the cliffhanger ending featuring the return of Seth Rollins.

    The number was hurt by the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors NBA playoff game that did 6.14 million viewers. For a comparison, Raw last week did 3.17 million viewers but the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA playoff game did 8.71 million viewers, which was much tougher competition.

    The first hour was actually slightly down from last week, but the rating was up because the show didn’t have the big third hour drop of the week before.

    The three hours were:

    • 8 p.m.: 3.36 million viewers
    • 9 p.m.: 3.33 million viewers
    • 10 p.m.: 3.12 million viewers

    Dancing with the Stars’ final Monday night show of the season featuring UFC’s Paige VanZant in the final three contestants did 12.34 million viewers. The show brought in 69% of its audience by women in the 18-49 demo.

    The Friday replay of Monday Night RAW from May 16th did 467,000 viewers on SyFy with no promotion whatsoever. That show, and Wynona Earp (which site friend Lance Storm has a small role in) were the only two shows on that network to crack the top 150 cable programs for the night.

  • Daily Update: Raw after Extreme Rules, Seth Rollins, McGregor vs. Mayweather

    According to some fans, WWE had a “thumbs in the middle” night on Sunday with Extreme Rules. The show was basically nothing, but it did have two excellent matches. The first excellent was the four way for the Intercontinental Championship featuring Miz vs. Cesar007 vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens. This match was incredibly paced and well worked with a lot of innovative maneuvers, and more importantly, the crowd was into it. I’d put it up there with the best matches of WWE so far in 2016.

    However, the main event Extreme Rules match for the WWE title between Roman Reigns and AJ Styles was “phenomenal.” Styles proved why he is the man in a career making performance. It was awesome to see this “outsider” get a chance to showcase his abilities. However, in the end, it was all about the return of Seth Rollins who ran in after the match to lay out Reigns. Rollins received an enormous babyface reaction upon doing so, and it was a tremendous way to go off the air on Sunday night. 

    However, more important than what happened on Sunday was the follow up on Monday Night Raw. There was a lot of positive speculation from fans on social medial all day, but the final rating was up very slightly. Nonetheless, many were not happy after watching Raw. Our own Alan O’Brien has an excellent piece on how WWE immediately screwed it up. He points out the comparison of bringing Alberto Del Rio back as a face only to turn him heel immediately, which is exactly what they did with Rollins. In the case of Del Rio, it was a bad decision. As of right now, it sure seems like a bad decision to turn Rollins. 

    Only time will tell if the “New Era” of WWE will yield positive returns. However, if making AJ Styles into a bonafide star is the only thing that happens, that may be enough to consider it successful. 

    [Dan Velten]

    NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON TUESDAY FROM YAMAGATA (this won’t air live but should be up sometime Tuesday on New Japan World)

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

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Norfolk, VA. Roman Reigns & Usos vs. A.J. Styles & Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson is the advertised main event. 

      THE ROUND-UP

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

      Wrestling Observer Newsletter

      READ IT HERE: May 23, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE Extreme Rules preview, Vince McMahon sells portion of WWE stock, tons more

      A look at what’s next for WWE after Extreme Rules, the UFC sale with lots of exclusive info, Vince & Linda McMahon selling their stock, Chris Weidman’s injury and how that changes plans, the staggering drop in kids viewing for WWE and exactly who watches the TV today, plus UFC 198 coverage and Best of The Super Juniors tournament news are among the stories covered in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

      More on the injury returns and summer ideas and why WWE could have its deepest talent roster in a long time in very short order. Plus, talk about the NXT/WWE balance and why talent is actually more important for arena business if in NXT.

      There is also an extensive look at the Extreme Rules show.

      In addition, updates on the UFC sale, including news about who is in, who is not in, what it all means, what is being sold, where Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta fit in and UFC fixture who indicates he’s likely gone if the sale goes through, all in covered in this issue.

      A glimpse into Vince McMahon’s stock sale, what it means, how much money did he get, and how his stock sale only increased the difference in the value of UFC vs. WWE, and for how much Vince McMahon bought the company.

      More on the injury to Chris Weidman, how it happened, his future, Michael Bisping’s title shot and more on UFC 1999.

      Also in this issue, find out who watches WWE on television and how many in each different age group.

      Find out how WWE has changed the schedule of the Cruiserweight tournament and why, more on the arrest of Adam Rose, more on Stephanie McMahon’s book, how Stephanie will be pushed on television going forward, how Stephanie will be marketed as the face of the company, and another WWE firing.

      Finally, there’s full coverage of UFC 198, including business notes including early estimates on success, ramifications of the show, match-by-match coverage, looking at the judging of close fights and poll results.

      CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PREVIEW

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

      TUESDAY NEWS

      Even with UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor under contract to UFC, the story about him boxing Floyd Mayweather is still getting a lot of play in the sports media with mid-September Las Vegas dates being speculated on. This was discussed at length on many daily sports shows including FS1’s Colin Cowherd and Prime Time Sports in Canada.

      Former WWE security director Jimmy Noonan was on Fox News talking about what some of the talents are “really like” and what his duties were. He talked about where fans are the craziest and some stories on Brock Lesnar. It’s a short clip, but an interesting one.

      Last Friday’s Bellator 155 on Spike did 653,000 viewers, right around their year to date average. It was down about 8% from last Saturday’s show (Phil Davis vs. King Mo), but up from the May 2015 show on the same weekend. The show was headlined by the lackluster Rafael Carvalho vs. Melvin Manhoef middleweight title bout.

      WRESTLING

      MMA

      • In the sweet irony department, Rousimar Palhares is complaining about illegal blows in his quick KO loss on Saturday’s Venator show in Italy.
      • AKA head Javier Mendez came on Submission Radio to discuss why his charge Luke Rockhold’s upcoming UFC 199 title fight with Michael Bisping is going to be taken very seriously even though Rockhold has already beaten him. You can listen to the interview here.
      • Here’s a Bleacher Report feature on the conflict of interest between MMA managers representing fighters and also running smaller organizations.

      EVENTS

      • TONIGHT – Frankie Kazarian and Silas Young team up and Lio Rush takes on Jason Kincaid for CWE in Regina, Saskatchewan at The Exchange (2431 8th Ave) – Purchase tickets online.
      • May 27 & 28 – Absolute Intense Wrestling “2016 JT Lightning Invitational Tournament,” Our Lady Of Mount Carmel, 1355 West 70th Street, Cleveland,Ohio
      • June 4 – UFC 199 from the Forum in Los Angeles with Michael Bisping getting his first title opportunity of his career battling Luke Rockhold for the middleweight belt
      • June 4 – In celebration of Metro Pro’s Sixth Anniversary, Demolition (Ax & Smash) will be in action on Saturday, Turner Recreation Center in Kansas City, Kansas. The event address is: 831 S. 55th St., Kansas City, KS 66106 – Tickets can be bought in advance.
      • June 5 – AAA’s Victoria World Cup men and women’s trio tournament finals at Los Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City which will be a live iPPV show
      • June 7 – New Japan Best of the Super Juniors finals from Sendai live on New Japan World
      • June 8 – NXT Takeover from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL featuring Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a cage match plus a loaded lineup that includes American Alpha vs. The Revival and probably Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries, which could be WWE’s match of the month.
      • June 12 – TNA Slammiversary headlined by Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title from Orlando
      • June 12 – Revolution Pro Wrestling in London, England headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
      • June 17 – AAW “Killers Among Us” features Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Johnny Gargano, Drago vs. Chris Hero, and more at 115 Bourbon Street (3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL) All Ages Event – Tickets available.
      • June 18 – UFC in Ottawa: Rory McDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
      • June 19 – New Japan Dominion, one of the company’s biggest events of the year, featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada in an IWGP title match and Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in a ladder match for the IC title
      • June 19 – WWE Money in the Bank from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas 
      • June 24 – ROH Best in the World from Concord, NC with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title 
      • June 25 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
      • June 26 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple   
      • July 7-11 The 10th annual Wrestling Observer/F4W convention in Las Vegas, EdinSanAntonio has all the information up on Facebook, or email him at F4Wfan@hotmail.com.

      Today in Professional Wrestling History: 5/24 Harley Race defeats Dory Funk for NWA World Title; Flair regains NWA World Title over Von Erich

    • WWE RAW Hits & Misses: Matches that matter; Seth Rollins misstep: Charlotte’s nightmare

      It’s time to run down the highlights and lowlights of the first RAW in the build to next month’s highly anticipated Money In The Bank PPV:

      –The Hits–

      The matches had stakes….for once.

      For long-suffering fans that have been long accustomed to three hour RAWs filled with meaningless time-filling matches, Monday night’s show was refreshing. Five of the seven matches on the card were high-stakes Money in the Bank qualifiers, with only Chris Jericho’s win over Apollo Crews lasting less than 10 minutes. This relatively strong episode of RAW proved just how much better televised wrestling is when the in-ring content feels like it actually matters.

      The ‘Phenomenal’ main event.

      One day removed from putting his body on the line with outrageous abandon at Extreme Rules, AJ Styles produced the goods again in his show-closing MITB qualifier against Kevin Owens. Owens’ heel mannerisms were as on-point as ever, again dubbing himself the ‘Headlock Master’ and failing to deliver on a teased dive. Telling Cole to “shut up, I can hear you from here!” at one point was also a major highlight.

      Both men pulled out all the stops in this 18 minute bout with AJ hitting a springboard 450 splash and Owens busting out his springboard moonsault and a package fisherman buster. While it was marred slightly for me by the expectation of interference from the spurned Club, that refreshingly did not arrive with Owens instead picking up the clean victory. I felt that the powerbomb onto the ring steps, coupled with the aforementioned battering he sustained the previous night, provided adequate cover for Styles to take a second consecutive loss here.

      Good booking and clean finishes.

      The main event wasn’t alone in having a well-executed clean finish that made sense. All seven matches on the show finished conclusively without distraction or interference. (I’d love for someone to go back and check when that last happened!)

      Although the match took time to build, putting Sami Zayn over Sheamus clean with a hot finish felt like a significant moment for the Canadian. Later, Cesaro’s selling of his shoulder, including failing to execute the swing, was marvelous, and the finish, consisting of a quick uppercut/Neutralizer combo, was thrilling.

      To the best of my knowledge, no finishing moves were kicked out of on the show either despite it being filled with clashes between top guys. This is something the company has moved away from in the last half-year or so, which makes the silly decision to double-down on Roman Reigns’ unbeatable, unsympathetic superman image by having him kick out of two Styles Clashes on Sunday all the more glaring.

      Enzo’s comeback.

      Although the recently concussed Mr. Amore appeared to forget his lines at one point – with Cass on the verge of jumping in to save him – his comeback was still absolutely electric. Even the repetition of the “no dimes” gag wasn’t enough to nullify this man’s bountiful charisma. Having Cass squash Bubba Ray Dudley underlines how high the company is on the big man. If he learns to work quickly and keeps his lil’ buddy in his corner to do his talking, the sky’s the limit for these two.

      No McMahon interaction.

      Following on from Stephanie and Shane’s segment being cut from Extreme Rules, we saw no interaction between the McMahon siblings on this show. Given that last week’s main event Women’s title segment revolved around them, all I can say is this: long may it continue.

      –The Misses–

      Charlotte’s third hour nightmare.

      While I must give credit to her always emotional father for being able to cry on cue, Charlotte Flair’s promo at the top of the third hour was an absolute unmitigated disaster. Charlotte has demonstrated before, on the RAW after Wrestlemania, that she is not capable of handling the heckling of a hostile crowd and her attempts to overcome Baltimore’s dissatisfaction here was even worse than that bomb. Like Richard from Silicon Valley, Charlotte becomes more inarticulate as the pressure increases. Hark at the line: “You’re just….to me….DEAD!”.

      WWE pulls a Del Rio with Seth Rollins.

      Despite Rollins’ massive babyface reaction on this show and on the previous night’s Extreme Rules, the WWE chose to instruct the former champion to cut an unambiguous heel promo in the opening segment. Forfeiting the natural sympathy accrued by a guy who has been through rehab hell is reminiscent of the opportunity missed by the company earlier this year when they forced the returning Alberto Del Rio into the perplexing Mex-America nonsense, against the wishes of the fans. The company has just exited a program between Roman Reigns and AJ Styles, where the latter remained a babyface, and it was arguably the most well-written main event feud in some time. The decision to go in a more black and white direction with Rollins feels like a huge misstep.

      Apollo Crews loses his first match of consequence.

      After schlepping around primarily on the C-shows, Apollo Crews finally met a WWE opponent of significance in Chris Jericho on Monday night. Alas, he conclusively lost the weakest of the five MITB qualifiers and botched a spot where he was supposed to kip-up and avoid a Lionsault along the way. Falling victim to a beatdown by Sheamus earlier in the show was supposed to provide cover for the loss, but the fact that Crews was still smilin’ upon his entrance and showing no ill-effects whatsoever completely ruined that. The future is not looking bright for him.

    • Daily Pro Wrestling History (05/24): Harley Race defeats Dory Funk for NWA World Title; Flair regains NWA World Title over Von Erich

      1961

      Duluth, Minnesota:
      – Verne Gagne & Wilbur Snyder beat Hard Boiled Haggerty & Gene Kiniski

      1963 

      Omaha, Nebraska:
      – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Duke Hoffman
      – Bill Miller went to a double DQ with Waldo Von Erich 
      – AWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff beat Doug Gilbert & Guy Mitchell

      1967 

      Fargo, North Dakota:
      – Verne Gagne & Bob Geigel beat AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race by dq 
      – The Crusher beat Chris Markoff

      1973 

      Kansas City, Kansas:
      – Harley Race defeated Dory Funk, Jr. for the NWA World Heavyweight Title (This was the title change that was supposed to go to Jack Brisco, but Funk suffered an auto accident and couldn’t defend against Brisco so a change with Race in Kansas City was planned)
      – Danny Little Bear fought Bob Brown to a draw 
      – Bob Geigel & Bobo Brazil defeated Togo the Great & Tokyo Joe

      Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
      – Superstar Billy Graham & Ivan Koloff beat Wahoo McDaniel & Angelo Mosca in 2 out of 3 falls 
      – AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch in a no DQ match

      1976 

      Charlotte, North Carolina:
      – Ric Flair defeated Wahoo McDaniel for the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title in a title vs. hair match

      1984 

      Yokosuka, Japan:
      – Ric Flair defeated Kerry Von Erich for the NWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Title in 2 out of 3 falls

      1985 

      Kobe, Japan:
      – King Kong Bundy & the Masked Superstar defeated Shunji Takano & Seiji Sakaguchi
      – Iron Mike Sharpe defeated WWF Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiro Saito via disqualification
      – The Cobra & Kantaro Hoshino defeated El Canek & Enrique Vera
      – Pedro Morales fought Strong Machine #1 to a double countout
      – Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura defeated International Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch via count-out to win the titles
      – Andre the Giant fought Antonio Inoki to a double countout

      Denver, Colorado:
      – Jim Brunzell & Baron Von Raschke & Larry Hennig beat Road Warriors & Paul Ellering
      – Butch Reed beat Baron Von Raschke
      – Greg Gagne beat Nick Bockwinkel 
      – Fabulous Freebirds, Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts beat Brad Rheingans & Jim Brunzell

      1987 

      Chicago, Illinois:
      – Tim Horner fought Eddie Gilbert to a draw
      – Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts defeated Sting & Rick Steiner
      – Terry Taylor fought Chris Adams to a no contest
      – The Rock N’ Roll Express, Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane in a non-title Best 2 out of 3 falls match
      – Michael Hayes defeated Big Bubba via disqualification
      – Manny Fernandez & Vladimir Pietrov defeated Barry Windham & Brad Armstrong
      – NWA U.S. Champion Nikita Koloff defeated Ivan Koloff in a chain match
      – Dusty Rhodes & the Road Warriors defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair, NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard, & Lex Luger

      1990

      St. Louis, Missouri:
      – Bob Orton pinned Dutch Mantel
      – Johnny Ace pinned Fatu
      – Norman pinned Cactus Jack
      – The Road Warriors defeated NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane in a non title match
      – Rick & Scott Steiner defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions Doom via disqualification
      – The Junkyard Dog pinned NWA World Champion Ric Flair in a non-title steel cage match

      2009

      TNA Sacrifice: Orlando, Florida:
      – Amazing Red defeated Kiyoshi
      – Eric Young and Lethal Consequences (Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed) defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir and The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)    
      – Taylor Wilde defeated Daffney (with Abyss) in a Monster’s Ball match    
      – Suicide vs. Daniels ended in a draw. Suicide retained the TNA X Division Championship    
      – Angelina Love defeated Awesome Kong (with Raisha Saeed) to retain the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship    
      – Samoa Joe defeated Kevin Nash
      – Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode) defeated The British Invasion (Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams) (with Rob Terry) in the finals of the Team 3D Invitational Tag Team Tournament
      – A.J. Styles defeated Booker T  in an I Quit match to retain the TNA Legends Championship
      – Sting defeated Mick Foley, Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett

    • New Japan Best of the Super Juniors Night 3 results: Kushida vs. Rocky Romero

      Day 3 results of the Best of the Super Junior tournament are in. Here’s what went down this morning in Niigata, all Block A matches:

      Kushida vs. Rocky Romero

      They did some mat wrestling early. Kushida was out of the ring and Romero opened the ropes. So like a true dope, Kushida enters and Romero jumps him. New Japan faces are really dumb at the cheap heel heat bait sometimes. Kushida made a comeback and hit the sliced bread but Romero kicked out. Romero made a comeback of his own and won with his running knee strike. Last half of the match was very good.

      Ryusuke Taguchi vs. David Finlay

      Today’s Taguchi costume was him wearing an eggplant hat. I’ll leave it to you, the reader, to figure out what he’s trying to convey here. This was solid. Finlay looks good and will probably benefit a lot from working a lot of the guys on his block. He made a good comeback and traded some good near falls with Taguchi. Cool finish as Taguchi went for a hip attack, he countered looking like he was going for a German suplex but Taguchi floated over and snapped on an ankle lock for the submission.

      Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gedo

      Pretty solid match. Gedo is so great in his style. He never does anything flashy but everything looks good and executes stuff really well when it matters the most. They traded submissions on one another throughout; Kyle worked on the arm, Gedo had a crossface in at one point. Kyle landed some stiff shots followed by a brainbuster, but Gedo kicked out. Kyle responded by immediately sinking in an armbar which got him the submission victory.

      Matt Sydal vs. Bushi

      Kind of just there as a match. Nothing wrong, just overly solid, if that makes any sense. They traded some back and forth offense. Some of the near falls toward the end were pretty good. Sydal won with the shooting star press, so Bushi (who is a favorite heading into this year’s tournament) has now lost twice in a row. One of the big themes of these tournaments is the slow rise towards victory, though, so we’ll see.

      Current tallies:

      Block A:

      • Rocky Romero – 4
      • Ryusuke Taguchi – 4
      • Kyle O’Reilly – 4
      • Gedo – 2
      • Matt Sydal – 2
      • David Finlay – 0
      • Kushida – 0
      • Bushi – 0

      Block B:

      • Baretta – 2
      • Chase Owens – 2
      • Jushin Thunder Liger – 2
      • Ricochet – 2
      • Bobby Fish – 0
      • Tiger Mask – 0
      • Volador Jr. – 0
      • Will Ospreay – 0

    • BJ Penn out of UFC 199 due to IV use in March

      UFC Hall-of-Famer BJ Penn is out of UFC 199 in roughly two weeks because he admitted to using an IV back in March. Yes, you read that right.

      Originally scheduled to fight against Dennis Siver and then Cole Miller on the June 4th event, Penn has been provisionally suspended by USADA for using an IV “in excess of 50 ML for more than a six-hour period” which is now banned in or out of competition except while used in a hospital, surgical procedure, or as part of a diagnostic clinical investigation.

      As you’ll see below, Penn said he was unclear that IV use was now banned year-round, saying it had changed since his last fight which was in July 2014. As FloSports’ Jeremy Botter pointed out on Twitter, Penn was talking about IVs being for “wimps” last year. 

      The 37-year-old was looking to make a comeback after a near two year absence and three straight lossses. 

      On his website, Penn released the following:

      “I voluntarily disclosed to USADA that during a non-fight period that I had an IV administered under the care of a doctor. The rule for IV usage had changed since my last fight in the UFC and was unaware of the change and voluntarily disclosed the information to USADA. I had no idea that IV use was banned 365 days a year. At no time in my career in martial arts have I ever doped and anticipate all test results from USADA will come back clean and will be working with the UFC to get the matter cleared up and return to fight as soon as possible.”

      The UFC released the following:

      “The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed BJ Penn of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation. Penn disclosed the usage of a prohibited method – the use of an IV in excess of 50 ML in a six-hour period – during a March 25, 2016, out-of-competition sample collection. In accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, Penn has received a provisional suspension, and has been removed from his scheduled bout against Cole Miller on June 4 in Los Angeles UFC will announce a replacement opponent for Miller shortly, and additional information will be provided by USADA and UFC at the appropriate time as the process involving Penn moves forward.”

    • The next Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, WWE’s Kane?

      Glenn Jacobs, who wrestles as Kane in WWE, said he was seriously considering running for Mayor of Knox County, as a Republican.

      He said he would make his decision after the presidential election.

      He said he’s talked with current mayor Tim Burchett about it.

      Knox County covers the city of Knoxville, the area that Jacobs lives in.

      Jacobs did an interview with WBIR television saying he’s looking at doing so because he cares so much about the community.

      “That’s the only reason I would consider getting into any sort of government because I do care very deeply.  and I think it’s incumbent upon people who care about the communities to try and make a difference.

      Jacobs noted that for work, he could live anywhere in the U.S., but settled in Knoxville because he love East Tennessee.

      Jacobs first lived in Knoxville when he worked under the name Unabom for Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion,. as a tag team partner of Al snow.

    • Daily Update: Raw, Money in the Bank, Seth Rolins returns

      Raw is at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore tonight. They’ll be starting work on the Money in the Bank show and the big thing will presumably Seth Rollins’ return interview as the show last night seemed to indicate a Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins title program. They’ll also be pushing John Cena’s return next Monday and we’ll get new directions for a lot of the key talent. They are advertising Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose & AJ Styles vs. Sheamus & Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens, but that means nothing as they just announce matches locally and don’t deliver them most of the time. We’re looking for live reports with Superstars matches, dark matches or anything else that isn’t part of the live show at newstips@wrestlingobserver.com

      We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s Extreme Rules 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

      NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON MONDAY FROM NIIGATA (this won’t air live but should be up sometimeMonday on New Japan World)

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

      NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON TUESDAY FROM YAMAGATA (this won’t air live but should be up sometimeTuesday on New Japan World)

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

      Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Norfolk  Roman Reigns & Usos vs. A.J. Styles & Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson is the advertised main event. We’re looking for reports on that at newstips@wrestlingobserver.com

        THE ROUND-UP

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        Figure Four Weekly 5/16/2016: WWE concussion lawsuit deposition takes a strange turn – Details on the developments in WWE’s concussion lawsuit, and more. Find out all the details in this weeks issue of Figure Four Weekly.

        Wrestling Observer Newsletter

        READ IT HERE: May 23, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE Extreme Rules preview, Vince McMahon sells portion of WWE stock, tons more

        A look at what’s next for WWE after Extreme Rules, the UFC sale with lots of exclusive info, Vince & Linda McMahon selling their stock, Chris Weidman’s injury and how that changes plans, the staggering drop in kids viewing for WWE and exactly who watches the TV today, plus UFC 198 coverage and Best of The Super Juniors tournament news are among the stories covered in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

        More on the injury returns and summer ideas and why WWE could have its deepest talent roster in a long time in very short order. Plus, talk about the NXT/WWE balance and why talent is actually more important for arena business if in NXT.

        There is also an extenisve look at the Extreme Rules show.

        In addition, updates on the UFC sale, including news about who is in, who is not in, what it all means, what is being sold, where Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta fit in and UFC fixture who indicates he’s likely gone if the sale goes through, all in covered in this issue.

        A glimpse into Vince McMahon’s stock sale, what it means, how much money did he get, and how his stock sale only increased the difference in the value of UFC vs. WWE, and for how much Vince McMahon bought the company.

        More on the injury to Chris Weidman, how it happened, his future, Michael Bisping’s title shot and more on UFC 1999.

        Also in this issue, find out who watches WWE on television and how many in each different age group.

        Find out how WWE has changed the schedule of the Cruiserweight tournament and why, more on the arrest of Adam Rose, more on Stephanie McMahon’s book, how Stephanie will be pushed on television going forward, how Stephanie will be marketed as the face of the company, and another WWE firing.

        Finally, there’s full coverage of UFC 198, including business notes including early estimates on success, ramifications of the show, match-by-match coverage, looking at the judging of close fights and poll results.

        CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PREVIEW

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

        MONDAY NEWS

        Bryan and I will be back tonight to talk Raw, the Shane McMahon interview, and more on Cody Rhodes as well as take your e-mail questions to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com.

        Pop TV President Brad Schwartz did an interview with PW Insider giving TNA a vote of confidence, saying what station would cancel its second highest rated show. Well, that’s actually happened quite a number of times to wrestling shows including TNA last year. Schwartz did the interview no doubt because of all the stuff about canceling the replay on Saturday after just four weeks and no mentions at all in the upfronts in March about TNA when plugging shows. Schwartz claimed when they started on the station they wanted to give as many people as possible a chance to find it, so they premiered it and repeated it, but now repeats don’t make sense with VOD and DVR’s and people watching when they want to anyway. The problem is Pop is not a staggered network like most entertainment networks so prime time means 6 p.m. on the West Coast, which is why Destination America would do the midnight replay, so they have a prime time showing. He tried to give the idea that it was the plan to do so for a few months and then cut down to one airing, which makes zero sense because why do the time slot change just a month ago if the plan was to dump it? He did explain about growing up watching wrestling on Saturday mornings, but again, if that’s the case you don’t dump it in four weeks. He noted they never marketed the Saturday show and the plan was always to have one two hour broadcast. He claimed repeats don’t work, although that’s notable because Pop’s highest rated show is a repeat.

        The ESPN 30 for 30 piece of Ric Flair was written about in Sports Illustrated this week. Rory Karpf is the director. The piece will be 90 to 120 minutes. The WWE has been fully cooperative as far as allowing them to use footage because of the WWE/ESPN relationship. 

        Sports Illustrated today made a list of the 50 fittest female athletes in the world. They have an explanation of how they do the lists, but it appears to me they’re looking for women who are athletes and also ripped. But from combat sports and wrestling these were the names on the list:

        • 31 – Kayla Harrison – U.S. women’s judo star who is likely to go into MMA after the Olympics
        • 30 – Miesha Tate
        • 26 – Michelle Waterson
        • 24 – Ashley “Charlotte” Fliehr
        • 19 – Ronda Rousey (you knew she’d be on the list)
        • 9 – Holly Holm
        • 7 – Claressa Shields – U.S. women’s boxing Olympic gold medalist

                No. 1 was listed as Jessica Ennis-Hill, a women heptathlete.

        Results in the best of the Super Juniors earlier today from Niigata:

        • Matt Sydal (1-1) beat Bushi (0-2)
        • Kyle O’Reilly (2-0) beat Gedo (1-1)
        • Ryusuke Taguchi (2-0) beat David Finlay (0-2)
        • Rocky Romero (2-0) beat Kushida (0-2)

                So a tournament story is the champ and top Japan current junior heavyweight has to play catchup.

        WWE

        • The Shane McMahon interview with Mick Foley on his return will air for one hour after Raw ends on the WWE network. 
        • For the weekend, WWE was the No. 5 most searched term yesterday with 200,000 for the PPV. That’s normal range for a WWE PPV show, but down from Payback which was 500,000. The Billboard Music Awards had 2 million and the Golden State Warriors had 1 million. But they beat the Penguins and the French Open. 
        • Ted DiBiase on Twitter mentioned to say prayers for George Steele who was going through some health issues. Best of luck to him in his current situation. He’s beaten some major health issues in the past.
        • Enzo Amore has been back traveling and will be at TV tonight. That doesn’t mean he’ll be used but it does mean he’s doing better, which is a good sign.  
        • Big E has been announced as attending the Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame ceremony in Waterloo, IA. He played football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and prior to that, was state heavyweight champion in high school in Florida. Dan Gable said, “I’m excited to have WWE Superstar Big E at one of our biggest events of the year. Working together always yields the best results. We appreciate the support of WWE.” Gerald Brisco is a huge supporter of the Dan Gable Museum and the Tragos/Thesz Hall of fame. He’ll be doing an autograph session on 7/23 at 2 p.m. and will attend the induction banquet which includes myself, Bob Backlund, Chael Sonnen, Joe Blanchard, Lex Luger, and JJ Dillon being honored.
        • For those traveling to Las Vegas for Money in the Bank, the Electric Daily Carnival will be in town all weekend and that will bring 100,000 tourists into town. Hotel in Las Vegas are now charging for parking for the new arena, but if you’re an MLife member, parking is free.
        • The company this past week taped Ride Along shows with the announcers, Michael Cole, JBL and Byron Saxton, and another with The Dudleys.
        • After the show last night they announced a return to the Prudential Center on 11/1, which will be a Smackdown taping.
        • Finn Balor is headed to the HMV Super Store at 333 Yonge St. in Toronto tomorrow at 5 p.m. for an autograph session.
        • WWE stock was down 39 cents per share to $16.64.  The decline is likely due to the news Vince McMahon sold so many shares at $16.50 last week.

        UFC

        • Paige VanZant has been inked and a role was especially created for her in the movie “Kickboxer:  Retaliation” after producers saw her on Dancing With the Stars.  Dave Bautista, Jean Claude Van Damme and Gina Carano are the three leads in the movie.
        • Joe Rogan is in Rolling Stone talking about UFC and Conor McGregor and even stronger about leaving. 

        MISCELLANEOUS

        • A note regarding last night’s show when we were talking about the six-man opener on Saturday’s New Japan show and how well Will Ospreay worked with Volador Jr., while Ospreay doesn’t have experience in Mexico, he actually trained at a Lucha Libre school in London for some time so knows the style.
        • Wrestling Revolver on 6/10 in Cliva, IA at the Seven Flags Event Center features John Hennigan (Johnny Mundo) vs. Billy Gunn, Rhino vs. Trevor Lee, Tommy Dreamer vs. Bull James in a Hardcore match, Bob Holly vs. Sami Callihan, Su Yung vs. Jessicka Havok, Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Jack Evans, AR Fox vs. Michael Elgin plus PJ Black and Jody Kristofferson appear.
        • The Pentagon Black appearing this coming weekend in Shawnee, KS, is not Pentagon Dark or Pentagon Jr. from Lucha Underground, but the second Pentagon that worked in AAA.  He hasn’t lived in Mexico in many years.
        • Wrestling Invades America from yesterday in Swansea, IL:  Da’Marius Jones won over Paco Gonzalez and Mike Outlaw, Justin D’Air b Rosko, Barackus & Tyler Copeland b Kevin Lee Davidson & Brandon Aarons, Billy McNeil b Ace Hawkins, Jim Hoffarth b Jimmy D & Bobby D in a handicap match, Brandon Espinosa b Blake Belakis (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
        • Pro Wrestling Eclipse from last night in Oshawa, ONT:  Kobe Durst b Jake Parnell, Jim Nye & Buck Gunderson won over Jason Roberts & Mikey Finnegan and Vaughn Vertigo & Gabriel Fuerza, Michael Elgin NC Tyler Tirva, Ethan Page b Everett Connors, Jewells Malone won four-way over K.C Spinelli, Kaitlin Diamond and Xandra Bale, Phil Atlas d Space Monkey, Cody Deaner & Michael Elgin & Josh Alexander b Tyler Tirva & Tyson Dux & Joshua James.  Next show is 7/1, a free show as part of the Canada Day celebrations.
        • In the Marvel Agents of Shield show, there was a line where a military guy was yelling at the leader of Shield (a comic organization dealing with superhero threats and issues) and said, “That was stupid.  Really stupid.  Like betting on WrestleMania stupid.” (thanks to Mike DeGeorge)
        • Fenix vs. Pentagon Jr. takes place for Lucha Libre New York on 7/24 in Woodside, NY at  Club LaBoom.
        • Volador Jr. defends his UIPW title against both Caristico and Misterioso on 6/11 in Montebello, CA at the Grace Baptist Academy.
        • There is a Rayo de Jalisco Jr. 40th anniversary show on 6/18 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico with Ray & Lover Boy & Silver King vs. Capitan Furia & L.A. Park & El Hijo de L.A. Park as the main event.
        • Ignite Wrestling from Friday night in Fort Pierce, FL:  Klassic Brothers b Jude Jean & Josh Parker, Angel Rose b Red Velvett, Martin Stone & Aaron Epic b Rex Bacchus & Slade Porter, Kota Sekifuda b Jester Yorick, Jon Cruz & Jay Rios b Dirty Blondes, JB Cool b Mark Silva, Kahagas b Damian James, TNT b Braydon Knight & Chico Adams, Mr. 450 Hammet b CJ O’Doyle, Lince Dorado b Rhett Giddins (thanks to Kim Artlip)
        • Absolute Intense Wrestling’s 24-man JT Lightning Invitational tournament takes place on 5/27 and 5/28 in  Cleveland at Our Lady of Mt Carmel, with Homicide, Dan Severn, Tim Donst, Ray Rowe, Louis Lyndon, Tyson Dux, Tracy Williams, DJ Zema Ion, Colin Delaney, Cheech, Big Damo from the U.K,. Laredo Kid, Alex Daniels, B.J. Whitmer, Britt Baker, Brian Myers, Colt Cabana, Billy Gunn, Cedric Alexander, Veda Scott, Little Guido, Johnny Gargano, Candice LaRae and Josh Alexander.  Opening round matches are Severn vs. Delaney, Myers vs. Gunn, Alexander vs. Gargano, Rowe vs. Damo, Guido vs.  Donst, Dux vs. Williams, Alexander vs. Veda Scott, DJZ vs Laredo Kid, Daniels vs Baker, Lyndon vs. Cheech and Whitmer vs. LaRae.
        • TCW from yesterday in Rozano, Milan, Italy:  Antoninio Bellavita b Kombat Komedian to win Revolution title, Antonio Bellavita & Rocco Gioiello & Domenico Dinamite b Martini & Claudio Campari & Ciro Friariello, Saetta Nera b Fenice Rossa, Marchese b Darkness II, Marchese b Death Mask, Marchese b Break Bonsai, Pain b Marchese-DQ, Backslash & Oxlade Black b Sami Grayson & Violent Joe Turbo b Paziente Zero, Scandalo b Darkness II (thanks to Alessio Garbini)
        • CHIKARA’s U.K. tour is 5/27 to 5/30 with shows in Birmingham, Manchester, North Shields and Glasgow.  In Glasgow, the main event is Princess Kimber Lee vs. Hallowicked for the Grand Championship of Chikara.
        • Dynamo Pro Wrestling on 5/28 in St. Louis at the Ready Room.
        • Here is a David Crockett interview preview.

        EVENTS

        • June 4 – UFC 199 from the Forum in Los Angeles with Michael Bisping getting his first title opportunity of his career battling Luke Rockhold for the middleweight belt
        • June 5 – AAA’s Victoria World Cup men and women’s trio tournament finals at Los Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City which will be a live iPPV show
        • June 7 – New Japan Best of the Super Juniors finals from Sendai live on New Japan World
        • June 8 – NXT Takeover from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL featuring Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a cage match plus a loaded lineup that includes American Alpha vs. The Revival and probably Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries, which could be WWE’s match of the month.
        • June 12 – TNA Slammiversary headlined by Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title from Orlando
        • June 12 – Revolution Pro Wrestling in London, England headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
        • June 18 – UFC in Ottawa: Rory McDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
        • June 19 – New Japan Dominion, one of the company’s biggest events of the year, featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada in an IWGP title match and Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in a ladder match for the IC title
        • June 19 – WWE Money in the Bank from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas 
        • June 24 – ROH Best in the World from Concord, NC with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title 
        • June 25 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
        • June 26 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple   
        • July 7-11 The 10th annual Wrestling Observer/F4W convention in Las Vegas, EdinSanAntonio has all the information up on Facebook, or email him at F4Wfan@hotmail.com.