By Dave Meltzer
dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Smackdown tonight on Syfy:
Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension vs. Prime Time Players for a tag title shot
Ryback vs. Stardust
Kevin Owens vs. Zack Ryder for NXT title
Neville vs. Kofi Kingston
Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus
New Japan World has a live show from Korakuen Hall tomorrow morning at 5:30 a.m. Eastern and 2:30 a.m. Pacific
Jushin Liger vs. Barbaro Cavernario
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Chase Owens
Yohei Komatsu vs. Baretta
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gedo
Tiger Mask vs. David Finlay
Mascara Dorada vs. Rocky Romero
Bobby Fish vs. Nick Jackson
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto & Togi Makabe & Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi
This will lead to Sunday’s Best of the Super Junior tournament finals at 4 a.m. Eastern and 1 a.m. Pacific. In the main event, B block winner Kushida will face the A block winner. If Taguchi beats Owens, he will face Kushida. If Owens wins and Kyle O’Reilly beats Gedo, O’Reilly goes to the finals. If Taguchi and O’Reilly both go to draws, Taguchi advances. If Taguchi wins and O’Reilly draws, Taguchi advances. If Taguchi draws and O’Reilly wins, O’Reilly advances.
In a busy news week, we’ve full coverage of all of UFC’s changes when it comes to drug testing, as well as other things the company is doing for fighters, looking at the pluses, the minuses, and the loopholes in the new system of drug testing. We also look at Brock Lesnar vs. Steve Austin, Samoa Joe in WWE and how it’s changed, Destination America and wrestling, we’ve got a look at Money in the Bank, Elimination Chamber, the death of Tommy Rogers, UFC in Brazil, Dwayne Johnson’s latest projects and the retirement of Masashi Aoyagi.
The new issue is up on the site at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/42867-june-8-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-tommy-rogers-bio-austin-lesnar-notes-wwe-signs-samoa-joe-full-time-more
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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
Our lead story looks at the UFC’s new drug testing program, the keys to the program, questions that still need to be answered, loopholes, how often fighters will be tested, ability to beat the system and more.
We look at Brock Lesnar vs. Steve Austin, Austin’s promo on the WWE Network, Austin vs Lesnar history, and the value of next year’s WrestleMania on PPV and the Network.
We look at the new deal Samoa Joe is talking with WWE about, how the deal has changed, Joe’s future on the indies, Joe’s ROH future, what led to the change, as well as an update on the Tyson Kidd injury situation in the match with Joe.
We also preview and update Destination America and wrestling, as well as the competition on Wednesday nights. We update Destination America on TNA and ROH, comparisons, how TNA hurt itself if it needs to shop for a new outlet by his actions this past two weeks, DA promotion of the two shows and why ROH on DA is only good for TNA.
We’ve got full coverage of the Elimination Chamber show, as well as a look at Money in the Bank, burning out programs, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
We have a look at the life of Tommy Rogers, looking at the highlights of his career, how he achieved stardom, the last years of his life, how he got into wrestling, how The Fantastics were formed, the feuds with the Midnight Express and The Sheepherders, the first Clash of Champions, the first Crockett Cup, and time in Japan.
We also look at Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE, the 7/4 show in Tokyo, Sami Zayn injury update, Rusev injury update, Kevin Owens new changes, Lots of Dwayne Johnson career notes, why WWE won’t tape TV in Kentucky, Lots of WWE acting notes, WWE hiring, NXT updates, Stephanie McMahon looking at selling more stock, Finn Balor talks career, lots of notes about people at the training camp, Nelson Frazier lawsuit and annual income for Mabel and Viscera.
We also note Kevin Owens talking his career, Ric Flair talk show,who Flair wants to manage, WWE stock updates, notes on all the WWE and NXT house shows plus business notes from the past week.
We also look at how the Brazilian economy affects UFC in different ways, how it is similar to situations with pro wrestling in the past, as well as a look at Saturday’s show with match-by-match coverage and business notes.
We also look at the pro wrestling career of Masashi Aoyagi, and how he got into wrestling, what promotion he kicked off and how that changed the wrestling business and more.
We also have our monthly WWE & TNA business breakdowns.
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:
–Update on this year’s Busca de un Idolo tournament
–Latest big matches from Arena Mexico
–Former star from more than 20 years ago returns to Arena Mexico for the first time in decades
–More on the AAA World Cup show
–Notes from the last two sets of AAA TV tapings
–Wrestle-1 world tour notes
–Road to Keiji Muto tournament
–Dragon Gate King of Gate tournament
–Next big Dragon Gate matches
–Cryptic tweet by an American who wrestles in Japan
–An interesting what if regarding New Japan bookings
–Politics of wrestling regarding New Japan
–What New Japan may have to change
–Notes on the Super Juniors tournament and all the results
–Benefit show for cancer-striken star
–Genichiro Tenryu’s final match in Osaka
–Update on GFW
–Mid Atlantic wrestling reunion
–Update on Terry Funk
–Update on Lucha Underground and Alberto Del Rio
–More on NESN deal
–What wrestling star has a 3.83 GPA in collage right now
–ROH notes from the weekend shows
–Really weird stuff in TNA
–Contract singing announcements
–Notes from a second TNA conference call with talent
–What happened with Tyrus and GFW
–GFW reaction
–TNA 2015 Hall of Fame plan that fell through
–Notes on TNA arena events
–Update on legislation to get UFC in Madison Square Garden
–Looking at Sara McMann’s complaints about he Reebok deal
–The business and income of Ronda Rousey
–UFC boosts minimum
–UFC lawsuit update
–Upcoming UFC title matches
–What happened with the Leslie Smith street fight on Saturday night
–UFC makes a number of cuts
–Update on T.J. Grant
–Update on Rashad Evans
–Lots of new UFC fights
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.
THURSDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
–We’ve got a new interview with Chris Hero up on the site talking the indie scene as well as his doing at least a two hour match, maybe longer in an ALS benefit match on Sunday in Waterloo, ONT at the Cross Body Academy. All donors will get a download of the match before its release. For every $500 in donations, Hero will wrestle for 30 minutes straight, and we’re now past $2300 for two plus hours. For more info you can go to http://smash-wrestling.com/als/
–TNA has announced a deal with Sony Six for a Hindi language feed of Impact starting on Saturday at 9 p.m. The Hindi airings will be built around Khoya, who is from India. The show will be called “Shera ki Kahaani,” built around Mahabili Shera, the original wrestling name of Khoya. (thanks to Himanshu Doi)
–War Machine Jon Koppenhaver was in the news yesterday after causing a problem in the court room. He was attempting to get charges of attempted murder, burglary and sexual assault in an alleged attack on former girlfriend Christy Mack thrown out after the savage beating Mack took which became a major national news story. Those were four of the 34 charges he’s facing. When the judge ruled against him, he caused a scene and demanded to be able to take a lie detector test. His trial on all the charges is scheduled for September.
–Metro Pro Wrestling celebrates its fifth anniversary with a show on Saturday night at the Turner Rec Center in Kansas City, with Tommy Dreamer as the headliner.
–On Monday night’s Observer radio, a question was asked about who the agent was when Sid Eudy (Sid Vicious) suffered his horrible broken leg in 2001. The agent was John Laurinaitis.
–In another note from last night’s show, Alicia Webb is dating Shawn Daivari. They’ve been together for years. Webb was Ryan Shamrock in WWE in the late 90s.
–Add Jessicka Havok to the list of those that have been in the Observer the last few weeks as far as being in Orlando this week for the current tryout camp. She was Havok in TNA earlier this year.
–Jim Cornette has signed a deal with Figures Toy Company for a legends of pro wrestling action figure. Cornette, New Jack and Mikey Whipwreck were the latest names announced by the company, which is also producing the ROH action figures line.
–WWE announced shows on 11/6 and 11/7 in Spain, in Barcelona and Madrid respectively.
–UFC.com is looking for a Managing Editor for its web site. You need a BA in Journalism, Art/Design/Creative Multimedia, Mass Communications, Advertising/Media or Linguistics/Language or equivalent experience, five plus years of journalism experience with a proven track record of quality reporting, A track record of management, solid news judgement, creative thinking and planning long-term coverage, understanding the sport and the UFC business model and the ability to work nights and weekends. For more info go to www.indeed.com
–Rolling Stone has a story on Bill Goldberg promoting Sunday’s Legends of Wrestling show at Citi Field in New York. Goldberg, Bret Hart and Ric Flair will be the headliners, although none of the three will be wrestling. He talks about doing one last match as well as a potential kickboxing match, his year in WWE, Brock Lesnar and more.
http://www.rollingstone.com/sports/features/bill-goldberg-on-kicking-ass-and-returning-to-the-ring-20150603
–The Mets sent out an e-mail blast to their season ticket holders with every seat for that show slashed by 50 percent in price. They just started promoting the show during the Mets game last night mentioning Flair, Hart, Goldberg, Rob Van Dam, Lita, Nasty Boys, Matt Sydal, Tommy Dreamer and Jim Duggan. They’re running the show in a 45,000 seat stadium.
–Here is the FS 1 weekend UFC schedule
Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern are weigh-ins from New Orleans with Karyn Bryant, Kenny Florian, Dominick Cruz and Heidi Androl. The pregame show will be on FS 2 at 7 p.m. Saturday. Live fights start at 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. on FS 1, followed by the post-fight show at 1 a.m.
–FS 1 has a special “Inside American Kickboxing Academy” that will air on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern showing the training of Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier and Luke Rockhold.
–FS 1 also has a show previewing Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum on 6:30 p.m., and a very different Countdown show for UFC 188, Velasquez vs. Werdum and Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez, at 10 p.m. Sunday night.
–There is a pre-sale with the code word UNITED all day today for the 7/25 UFC show in Chicago headlined by TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao at the United Center. This show will air live on FOX and also feature Jessica Eye vs. Miesha Tate, winner gets a UFC women’s bantamweight title shot.
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1962 – Mike Sharpe & Buddy Austin beat Rikidozan & Toyonobori in Osaka to win the All-Asia tag title
1980 – Lizmark beat Supremo in Acapulco to win the NWA middleweight title
1981 – Antonio Inoki beat Stan Hansen to win the Madison Square Garden tournament
1990 – Yoshihiro Asai (Ultimo Dragon) beat Cuchillo in Tokyo to win the UWA middleweight title
1993 – Gran Hamada beat Villano IV in Tokyo to win the UWA super middleweight title
1995 – Lionheart (Chris Jericho) beat Gedo in Tokyo to win the WAR Int.jr. title
1999 – Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama beat Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki in Sapporo to win the All-Asia tag title
2004 – Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Tomohiro Ishii beat Leonardo Spanky (Brian Kendrick) & Low Ki in Hachinohe to win the Zero-One lightweight tag team title
2006 – Kenta Kobashi & Tamon Honda beat Takeshi Morishima & Mohammed Yone in Sapporo to win the GHC tag title, and Takashi Sugiura beat KENTA to win the GHC jr. title
2006 – Charly Manson beat Zorro in Pachuca to win the Mexican national heavyweight title
–Brian “Road Dogg” James was interviewed today for the Owen Hart DVD.
–A fund raiser to get Tommy Rogers’ body back from Hawaii to Florida for a funeral is at
http://www.gofundme.com/TommyRogers
–A very interesting story on how easy it is to beat the tests for EPO and why the biological passport isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-32983932
–John Cena was on Good Morning America today for a brief segment with the kid on Raw from Monday.
–Samoa Joe vs. Chris Hero headlines for Smash Wrestling on Saturday night in Toronto, which also features Matt Cross and Rich Swann.
–Rockstar Pro Wrestling has an iPPV tomorrow night in Dayton outdoors at 1106 E. Third St. with Ron Mathis vs. Abyss for the Rockstar championship and Davey Richards vs. Dave Crist.
–Chris Jericho donated $3,000 to the fundraising campaign for Brian Knighton (Axel Rotten) trying to raise money for surgery that will hopefully get him out of a wheelchair. For more info you can go to www.youcaring.com/brian-knighton
–Legacy Pro Wrestling on Saturday night in Palmyra, PA at the InTheNet Sports Complex with AR Fox and Shane Strickland.
–Grand Slam Wrestling on 6/20 in Moosic, PA at the Youth Center.
–Absolute Intense Wrestling on 7/10 in Cleveland at the Ohio City Masonic Arts Center with Josh Alexander vs Ricky Shane Page, Tim Donst vs. Nick Gage and Ethan Page vs. Eddie Kingston in an I Quit match.
–New England Championship Wrestling on Saturday night in Everett, MA at the Rec Center with Slyck Wagner Brown vs. Brad Hollister.
–Dr. Wagner Jr. & El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. face L.A. Park & El Hijo de L.A. Park in the main event of a Lucha Libre show in Houston.
–Chael Sonnen interviews Randy Couture on his podcast at www.podcastone.com/chaelsonnen
–Brian Solomon has a book signing for his book Pro Wrestling FAQ on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble in Westport, CT.
–The Fight Network in Canada has signed a multi-year contract with the World Series of Fighting. The deal kicks off with a tape of the show from Edmonton headlined by Lance Palmer vs. Chris Horodecki for the WSOF featherweight title. All WSOF events air in the U.S. on NBC Sports Network, with the U.S. airing the show live tomorrow night at 9 p.m. Eastern. On The Fight Network in Canada, they will air the RFA show from Broomfield, CT live at 10 p.m., and follow it with a tape of the Edmonton WSOF show.
–WWE stock has had two really strong days, up 38 cents per share today to close at $14.80.
–Tomorrow is the final day for Tough Enough submissions at www.WWEToughEnough.com One man and one woman who are the overall winners will each get one year WWE deals at a $250,000 salary.
–Glory will be airing tomorrow at 4 p.m. Eastern live from France on Spike with Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock as announcers. Rico Verhoeven defends the heavyweight title against Benjamin Adegbuyi in the main event and there will also be a one-night four-man lightweight tournament.
–Hoosier Pro Wrestling on Saturday night in Columbus, IN at the 4-H Fairgrounds featuring Iraqi war hero Michael Hayes from OVW and a Rob Ramer vs. Flash Flanagan match.
–Superkick’d on 6/27 in Toronto at the Great Hall at 1087 Queen Street West.
–River City Wrestling on 6/12 in San Antonio at the Sidelines Grill featuring Hernandez from Lucha Underground.
–Legacy Kickboxing on 7/24 in Houston at the Bayou Music Center.
–James Storm will headline for the Columbia Wrestling Association on Saturday night in Mt. Pleasant, TN in a benefit for the family of Lucas Golden, a fan who passed away recently Storm was his favorite wrestler. The show will be at the Community Center.
–Bellator’s next show will be 6/19 in St. Louis at the Scottrade Center with Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock. There will be open workouts on 6/17 at the Scott Air Force Base at 2 p.m.
–An injury to Hector Urbina pulls him out of a welterweight fight with Albert Tumenov that was scheduled for the 6/13 UFC show in Mexico City. UFC is looking for a late replacement.
–Alpha One Wrestling on 6/14 in Hamilton, ONT at 222 Queenston Rd. with Ricky Shane Page vs. Tyler Thomas, Ethan Page vs Biff Busick, plus Brian Myers.
TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall)
12:00 AM ET
RAW FLASHBACK The 1-2-3 Kid’s new alliance pays dividends. Shawn Michaels gives his all in a match that proves there is more than one way to spell heart.
1:00 AM ET
STONE COLD PODCAST WWE Hall of Famer and Icon Stone Cold Steve Austin will have a no holds barred LIVE interview with Paul Heyman!
2:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!
3:00 AM ET
WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2015 The Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Titles will be decided inside the merciless Elimination Chamber, LIVE on WWE Network!
6:00 AM ET
WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!
7:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
8:00 AM ET
STONE COLD PODCAST WWE Hall of Famer and Icon Stone Cold Steve Austin will have a no holds barred LIVE interview with Paul Heyman!
9:00 AM ET
WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!
10:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
11:00 AM ET
STONE COLD PODCAST WWE Hall of Famer and Icon Stone Cold Steve Austin will have a no holds barred LIVE interview with Paul Heyman!
12:00 PM ET
WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!
1:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
2:00 PM ET
STONE COLD PODCAST WWE Hall of Famer and Icon Stone Cold Steve Austin will have a no holds barred LIVE interview with Paul Heyman!
3:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR A controversial group of superstars set out to better sports entertainment and would rely on one another to do so.
4:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Rey Mysterio: Life of a Masked Man features exclusive and candid comments from the Ultimate Underdog on his sports entertainment path!
5:30 PM ET
FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!
6:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.
7:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The last two contestants standing prepare for a final match at the WWE training facility. Stone Cold announces the winner live at RAW!
8:00 PM ET
WWE SUPERSTARS WWE Superstars features the best of the best, in matches you’ll have to see to believe. You never know what to expect, so expect everything.
9:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Rey Mysterio: Life of a Masked Man features exclusive and candid comments from the Ultimate Underdog on his sports entertainment path!
10:30 PM ET
FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!
11:00 PM ET
WWE SUPERSTARS WWE Superstars features the best of the best, in matches you’ll have to see to believe. You never know what to expect, so expect everything.
