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  • Daily Update: Big June Calendar, Cena hosts ESPY’s

    There are a number of major dates in pro wrestling for the month of June, one of the biggest for significant shows of the year:

    • 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 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       

    SMACKDOWN TONIGHT ON USA AT 8 P.M.

    • Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens
    • Paige vs. Dana Brooke
    • Dolph  Ziggler vs. Sheamus
    • New Day & Big Cass vs. Dudleys & Vaudevillains
    • Roman Reigns vs. Luke Gallows non-title

            This is the final TV before Sunday’s Extreme Rules show.

    NXT will be taped tonight at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL. 

    THE ROUND UP

    If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

    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

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

    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 Meltzer.

    You can also order print issues 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.

    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. 

    All the news from WrestleMania 15, the All Japan Tokyo Done show, and more will be in the latest back issue. Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: April 12, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Wrestlemania 15 business numbers, details on All Japan’s Tokyo Dome show, plus tons more. Both Davey Boy Smith and Japanese rookie woman wrestler Emiko Kado were both remaining in bad condition after an illness and in-ring injury respectively. 

    THURSDAY NEWS

    Today would have been the 70th birthday of Andre The Giant. That has led to a lot of Andre talk today. There is a story in the New York Daily News. There is a photo in that story of Andre with Chuck Wepner, who is 6-foot-5, which pretty much gives away he wasn’t 7-feet tall. When that match took place in 1976, it was reported that Andre was 6-foot-9 and 370 pounds.

    In a TV ratings note, on Saturday night during the King Mo vs. Phil Davis fight, over an eight minute period the audience grew from 887,000 to 1.3 million live.

    It is official that Chase Owens and David Finlay will be the replacements for Nick & Matt Jackson in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament which starts on Saturday morning live on New Japan World from Korakuen Hall. Finlay is in the A block with Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kyle O’Reilly, Matt Sydal, Rocky Romero, Gedo and Bushi. Owens is in the B block with Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Bobby Fish, Trent Baretta, Ricochet, Volador Jr. and Will Ospreay.

    Zack Sabre Jr., who was scheduled to defend the PWG title tomorrow night against Michael Elgin, but is out of action, suffered a lesion to his right forearm in a 5/13 match in Magdeburg, Germany in a match with Big Daddy Walter. The match was immediately stopped and he was rushed to the hospital. The rupture to the forearm was caused by a collision into the post that left a 4 centimeter cut that needed five stitches. He’ll be out of action for a few weeks, returning on 6/12 for a match with Revolution Pro Wrestling, where he faces Kurt Angle. 

    For those into history, and don’t know the name Jack Taylor, this story is why you should.

    WWE

    • Coverage of George Barrios at the Needham Emerging Markets Conference today is here. 
    • Shawn Michaels has been in the news in Pittsburgh because the line of Nick Bonino, Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin of the Penguins is called the HBK Line. Michaels found out about it and has become a Penguins fan. There is a campaign to bring Michaels to game five of the current series in Pittsburgh. There are two articles, the first can be read here, and the second can be read here.
    • Tenille Dashwood’s (Emma) spinal surgery went well yesterday.
    • CNN, Dwayne Johnson and former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz have put together a new TV show called “Soundtracks: Songs that Made History, “an eight-episode series combining the music of the times with major historical moments.
    • Lilian Garcia on Facebook wrote that the FDA had approved of the drug Atezolizumab to battle her father’s cancer. Originally he was going to try it as an experimental drug.  Her father has been battling cancer, but due to a bad reaction which led to two kidney surgeries, he had to stop his chemotherapy treatments.  
    • The company has announced these men and women at the current three-day tryout camp at the Performance Center:
      Bliaze Cabell – Three-time NCAA wrestling tournament qualifier as a heavyweight from Northern Iowa University
      Junior Aumavae – a 311 pound former nose tackle who had time with the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys
      Paul Cheng – Former CFL player who did some MMA fighting
      Nathan Redwing – A 290 pound indie wrestler who played football at Peru State College
      Arkady Unterleidner – A former bikini contest competitor who trained with Brian Kendrick
      Brian Waymire – A 6-foot-9 former swimmer
      Yaseen Mudassar – A two-time All-American wrestler who is 300 pounds and wrestled as Yaseen the Persian Machine on indies
      Ashley Urbanski – A finalist who didn’t make the cut for the last season of Tough Enough.
    • Dustin Runnels wrote that today he is eight years sober. Congrats to him for turning his life around.
    • Here is a Sporting News interview with Natalya.
    • WWE stock was down 21 cents per share to $16.96 today.

    UFC

    • A story on the Ali Act that is likely to be introduced shortly into legislation regarding MMA is here. 
    • The odds for Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping are considerably longer than what originally came out and were talked about on last night’s show. Nick Kalikas came out with odds that have Rockhold a -1050 favorite and Bisping at +600. Rockhold was a -500 favorite in their first fight, which he won via second round submission.
    • Ali Bagautinov vs. Geane Herrera has been added to the 6/18 UFC show in Ottawa as a flyweight fight. That’s the show headlined by Stephen Thompson vs. Rory MacDonald.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • Curtis “Mr.” Hughes is now taking bookings for matches, appearances and seminars through Bill Behrens at www.sbibookings.com. He is based in Atlanta. For promoters outside the U.S. and Ontario, Behrens is also a booking agent for Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and The Young Bucks. For Lethal, Daniels and Kazarian, promoters can book them to defend their ROH titles outside the U.S. ROH wrestlers Matt Sydal and Moose are available for indie bookings both in the U.S. and outside the U.S.  Also available is Drew Galloway and he can defend his TNA title on independent shows and wants to defend the title around the world. Other names available are Sean Waltman, Tommy Dreamer, Al Snow, Blue Meanie, Jimmy Rave, Stevie Richards, Scott Half, Rick Steiner, Little Guido, Tony Mamaluke and Shane Helms.
    • Venator Fighting Championships on Saturday in Milan, Italy features Matt Hamill, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and ultra controversial fighters Rousimar Palhares and Jason “Mayhem” Miller.  Palhares (18-6) faces Emil Weber Meek (7-2-1) for the welterweight title. Miller (23-9, 1 no contest) faces former UFC fighter Luke Barnatt (10-3) for the middleweight title. Hamill vs. Sokoudjou is also on the show, is are former UFC and Strikeforce fighters like Igor Araujo, Karl Amoussou, Che Mills and Cody McKenzie. The show will stream live at www.MMTTV.co.uk starting at 11 a.m. Eastern time. It also airs on Fox Sports Italy.
    • Evolve has announced a WWE Cruiserweight Classic flashpoint match on 6/11 in Orlando with Johnny Gargano vs Drew Gulak vs. Lince Dorado vs. TJP (and more may be added), all of which are in the WWE cruiserweight classic. Here are the current lineups.
    • 6/10 in Ybor City, FL:
      Timothy Thatcher vs. Chris Hero for Evolve title
      Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams vs. Bravado Brothers for Evolve tag title
      Johnny Gargano & TJP vs. Drew Galloway & Ethan Cater III
      Matt Riddle vs. Cedric Alexander
    • 6/11 in Orlando:    
      WWE Cruiserweight Classic flashpoint multiple person elimination match
      Drew Galloway vs. Ethan Page anything goes
      Ethan Carter III vs. ?
      Matt Riddle vs. Trevor Lee
    • TNA Victory Road PPV debuts on The Fite App as well as regular PPV tomorrow with a taped show:
      Ethan Carter III vs. Eli Drake
      James Storm vs. Bram
      Velvet Sky vs. Marti Bell
      DJ Zema Ion vs. Andrew Everett
      Eddie Edwards vs. Trevor Lee
      Bro Mans vs. Tom LaRuffa & Pierre Marceau (Sylvester Lefort & Marcus Louis in NXT)
      Chris Melendez vs. Beauregarde
      Bobby Roode vs. Pepper Parks
      All winners in a Royal rumble match where the winner gets a future TNA title match
    • A Sporting News interview with Adam Cole is here.
    • Here is a story on Marty Jones, a Billy Robinson protege who was one of the U.K. best wrestlers in his heyday
    • Fox Sports has a story that Netflix should buy WWE and UFC.
    • Les Thatcher is doing one day seminars as well as weekend training camps, as well as available to do announcing.  For more info you can contact him at lesthatcher@zoomtown.com
    • CZW’s Tournament of Death takes place on 6/11 at 179 Ebenezer Church Rd in Townsend, DE at 2 p.m.  Matt Tremont vs. Jeff Cannonball in a Home Run Derby match was announced, as well as Masada vs. Conor Claxton and Devon Moore vs. Dale Patricks in a scaffold death match.
    • As part of this weekend’s Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame induction ceremony (notes in the new Observer), there will be a show tomorrownight in Wichita Falls at the Downtown Falls Farmers Market with Greg Anthony vs. Matt Riviera plus Tim Storm, Americos, Moonshine Mantel and more at 7:30 p.m.
    • Alpha One Wrestling results from Sunday in Hamilton, ONT:  Alessandro del Bruno won over Kobe Durst and Alex Daniels to win the Zero Gravity title, Danny Orlando & Gregory Iron & Hellcat b Dick Justice & Young Myles & Holde Albright-DQ, Michael Elgin b Shane Sabre, Ricky Shane Page b Donovan Dijak, Jim Nye & Space Monkey b Justin Sane & Lionel Knight, Cheech won over Cloudy, John Greed and Brent Banks Ethan Page b Carlito Colon, Heidi Lovelace b Josh Alexander to win the Alpha Male trite (thanks to Steven Ashe)
    • Kevin Nash and Scott Hall appear 6/24 for NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling in Elizabethton, TN at the Evolution Sports Gym for a show headlined by Chase Owens & Buff Bagwell vs. Jordan Kage & Chris Richards.
    • Old Time Wrestling has the Sole Survivor tournament on Friday and Saturday night in Williamstown, NJ at the Monroe Business Center.
    • NWA presents Cajun Heat on 7/2 in Morgan City, LA at the Municipal Auditorium featuring an appearance by Kevin Nash.  Main event is Jax Dane defending the NWA title against Mustang Mike and Rob Conway vs. Rodney Mack.
    • PW Eclipse on 5/22 at the Oshawa Legion.
    • Hoosier Pro Wrestling on 6/4 in Columbus, IN at the 4-H Fairgrounds has Rob Conway vs. Shawn Cook as the main event.
    • Absolute Intense Wrestling on 6/17 in Mentor on the Lake, OH at Tequila Jaxx with Ethan Carter III, Facade, Veda Scott, B.J. Whitmer, Shayna Baszler, Sonjay Dutt, Brian Myers and Josh Prohibition.
    • New England Championship Wrestling on 5/21 in Abington, MA at the Abington High School with Slyck Wagner Brown vs. Brad Hollister in a lumberjack match.
    • Great North Wrestling on 6/4 in Smiths Falls, ONT at the Memorial Centre headlined by Al Snow vs. Hannibal and 6/25 in Pembroke, ONT at the Memorial Center headlined by Nikolai Volkoff vs. Paul Rosenberg.  
    • CWE tonight in Yorkton, Saskatchewan at the Yorkdale Center School with Frankie Kazarian vs. Travis Cole and Lio Rush vs. Silas Young.
    • World Series of Fighting on 6/17 in Mashantucket, CT on NBC Sports Network features former NFL player Lorenzo Hood vs. Tyler King. The main event has Blagoi Ivanov defending his WSOF title against Josh Copeland.
    • Here is a story on a Florida school teacher who moonlights running a wrestling school and doing wrestling.
    • A story on pro wrestling in Shanghai can be read here. 
    • A college wrestler at Old Dominion is suing his coaches for not reacting to a concussion which turned into long-term damage. 
    • If you are interested in attending 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.

  • Daily Update: Bisping vs. Rockhold at UFC 199, NJPW, Cyborg to 135?

    In MMA, you never know when injury is going to lead to opportunity…even when that opportunity may be something better served up at a later date.

    In Michael Bisping’s case, that opportunity is a much-awaited shot at the UFC middleweight title, something he has worked for and pined for since coming off the TUF show so many years ago. Every time he got close, an ill-timed loss would put him back in line. But coming off three straight wins — including one over one of the best of all time — and with other top contenders hurt, Bisping took his opportunity.

    Cue imposing music. That opportunity comes in less than three weeks time at UFC 199 and against a man who is peaking at the right time and one that has soundly beaten him before in champion Luke Rockhold. When the lines open, Bisping will undoubtedly be an underdog. He hasn’t been training for a fight and three weeks is not the camp a title challenger would ever want.

    But stranger things have happened and as we know, anything can happen in a fight. Bisping will talk the the talk, and him even getting a title shot is, at least, an interesting storyline going into 199. Unfortunately, the chances of a happy story book ending aren’t great for the British standout, but that’s why outcomes are never won on paper.

    [Josh Nason]

    THE ROUND UP

    If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

    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 16, 2016 Wrestling Observer newsletter: Potential UFC sale, WWE releases, plus tons of news

    Our lead story updates the talks of a UFC sale, plus an updated look at how the WWE is doing as a business, a look at WWE cuts, the booking behind the ROH Global Wars PPV and how New Japan and ROH are working together even more closely than on the surface, Global Wars coverage, a look at the status of a lot of ROH talent, coverage of the UFC debut in Holland, the hidden story of just how much of the male audience has been lost by WWE, as well as what WWE can learn from the NBA, and historical bios on Billy Wicks and Kato Kung Lee.

    There is also a look at the ESPN story on the potential sale of the UFC, what we know is legit, numbers being thrown around, who actually owns UFC, Dana White’s reaction to the story, moves UFC has made, Dana White’s long-term future if there is a sale, timing of the sale and sustaining the brand popularity.  Plus there’s also a look at the various companies listed that are in talks of buying.

    An update on WWE financials is in this issue, plus a look at the WWE Network numbers, what last year’s patterns tell us about the numbers, the company’s profits and losses, how well every division does for WWE and what is the most important for the bottom line, how well the company is doing financially compared to last year, what is projected by WWE this year for the WrestleMania quarter, update on injured wrestlers and their returns, Vince McMahon talks WWE injuries, and how much cash on hand the company has right now.

    There is also a look at how WWE is going to be changing how it reports information and what information they are going to be keeping secret as compared to the past. Also, there is a look at the dichotomy between social media numbers and WWE network subscribers and what it says.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PREVIEW

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

    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 Meltzer.

    You can also order print issues 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.

    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. 

    All the news from WrestleMania 15, the All Japan Tokyo Done show, and more will be in the latest back issue. Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: April 12, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Wrestlemania 15 business numbers, details on All Japan’s Tokyo Dome show, plus tons more. Both Davey Boy Smith and Japanese rookie woman wrestler Emiko Kado were both remaining in bad condition after an illness and in-ring injury respectively. 

    WEDNESDAY NEWS

    NJPW announced early Wednesday they will put on three daily matches for the Bushiroad’s Charaexpo in Singapore’s Expo Hall 7 on July 9-10. Bushiroad owner Kidani and Tetsuya Naito were in attendance. Naito cut a post-announcement promo on Kidani, challenging him to show up at the NJPW Dominion show on 6/19. Reader Alvin Lim sent along the following:

    9 July:

    • Finlay v Bushi
    • Gedo and Okada v Evil and Naito
    • Yano, Yoshihashi and Goto v Tanahashi, Juice Robinson and Magabe

    10 July:

    • Finlay v Robinson
    • Tanahashi and Magabe v Yano and Yoshihashi
    • Naito, Evil and Bushi v Gedo, Okada and Goto

    “Kimbo Killer”, former MMA fighter and Tom Lawlor BFF Seth Petruzelli is busy teaching WWE’s NXT rookies how to throw a punch.

    Cris Cyborg’s nutritionist feels she could easily make 135 but it would likely negatively affect her performance in the Octagon.

    Adam Cole was on Busted Open Radio talking about his recent Bullet Club turn, sharing leadership duties with Kenny Omega, and more.

    WWE & Pro Wrestling

    UFC & MMA

    • Tachi Palace Fighting Championships 27 runs tomorrow from their homebase of Lemoore, CA, with a big show for them featuring former UFC fighter Cody Gibson challenging Rolando Velasco for the group’s bantamweight title. Jared Papazian, also formerly with UFC, takes on Alex Perez in an undercard fight. Paul Fontaine has a look at the complete show, which streams live on Sherdog at 9 pm eastern / 6 pacific on Thursday.
    • Bellator 155 airs Friday on Spike TV, headlined by a middleweight title fight between Champion Rafael Carvalho defending against Melvin Manhoelf. Pat Curran, who was the last sparring partner of the recently deceased Jordan Parsons, takes on Georgi Karakhanyan in the co-main.
    • Saturday night, Venator FC 3 takes place in Italy and at least at this point, there doesn’t appear to be any way to view the show either online or on North American television. This is the show featuring the return of Jason “Mayhem” Miller after all of his legal issues as he takes on Luke Barnett. Also fighting on the show are Matt Hamill, Rousimar Palhares, Sokoudjou and Karl Amoussou.
    • Bellator is starting to round out its July 16 London debut, adding a heavyweight tilt between Mark Godbeer (great name!) and James Mulheron to the main card.

    Miscellaneous & Events

  • Daily Update: Stephanie’s role, Raw ratings drop, Weidman hurt?

    Outside the next big NXT match being booked, some ratings news, and awaiting RAW ratings, news is kinda slow today which is why I wanted to drop a few lines about the continued portrayal of Stephanie McMahon on WWE TV as opposed to her role off TV amplified by the announcement of her biography to be released this fall yesterday.

    The wrestling equivalent of church and state (on-screen personality vs. admitting that you play a character off screen) is such where we are continually hammered over the head that wrestling is just an act and these are all great, likable people with families and lives just like your favorite TV and movie actors. Those of us who have watched wrestling since our formative years hate that aspect while it’s assumed younger fans will just adapt over time, pushing us irrelevant old fogies off to the side.

    But McMahon is a unique case because there’s the added rub that she’s a female in a male-dominated company who likely has to endure more lewd commentary than most would expect. (If you’ve seen the #MoreThanMean video, you’ll get an idea of what she likely receives via Twitter daily.) The domineering and talking down to talent, especially male wrestlers, feels too overt and too forced. As a result, we want to like her less even though, in real life, she’s probably pretty cool and someone we’d like over time as a character.

    But with her role outside the company about to grow even more, what’s the point in continuing to position her in a way on TV that still draws vitriol and frustration? Make her a strong lead in a way that feels natural, not scripted. (The same could be said for Shane as well). And in the case of both McMahons, get them out of the way. The show should always be about the in-ring talent and not a continual McMahon family drama, but weekly, that’s what we get.

    If the goal is to get Stephanie McMahon to a revered place like her father someday, it could happen…but not the way WWE is doing it now.

    [Josh Nason]

    THE ROUND UP

    If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

    Figure Four Weekly 5/9/2016: Hogan and Gawker fight over verdict – Hulk Hogan is suing Gawker a second time, this time for leaking the contents of sealed documents to the tabloids. Now we have the verdict. Find out all the details in this weeks issue of Figure Four Weekly.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    READ IT HERE: May 16, 2016 Wrestling Observer newsletter: Potential UFC sale, WWE releases, plus tons of news

    Our lead story updates the talks of a UFC sale, plus an updated look at how the WWE is doing as a business, a look at WWE cuts, the booking behind the ROH Global Wars PPV and how New Japan and ROH are working together even more closely than on the surface, Global Wars coverage, a look at the status of a lot of ROH talent, coverage of the UFC debut in Holland, the hidden story of just how much of the male audience has been lost by WWE, as well as what WWE can learn from the NBA, and historical bios on Billy Wicks and Kato Kung Lee.

    There is also a look at the ESPN story on the potential sale of the UFC, what we know is legit, numbers being thrown around, who actually owns UFC, Dana White’s reaction to the story, moves UFC has made, Dana White’s long-term future if there is a sale, timing of the sale and sustaining the brand popularity.  Plus there’s also a look at the various companies listed that are in talks of buying.

    An update on WWE financials is in this issue, plus a look at the WWE Network numbers, what last year’s patterns tell us about the numbers, the company’s profits and losses, how well every division does for WWE and what is the most important for the bottom line, how well the company is doing financially compared to last year, what is projected by WWE this year for the WrestleMania quarter, update on injured wrestlers and their returns, Vince McMahon talks WWE injuries, and how much cash on hand the company has right now.

    There is also a look at how WWE is going to be changing how it reports information and what information they are going to be keeping secret as compared to the past. Also, there is a look at the dichotomy between social media numbers and WWE network subscribers and what it says.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PREVIEW

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

    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 Meltzer.

    You can also order print issues 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.

    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. 

    All the news from WrestleMania 15, the All Japan Tokyo Done show, and more will be in the latest back issue. Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: April 12, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Wrestlemania 15 business numbers, details on All Japan’s Tokyo Dome show, plus tons more. Both Davey Boy Smith and Japanese rookie woman wrestler Emiko Kado were both remaining in bad condition after an illness and in-ring injury respectively. 

    TUESDAY NEWS

    As of this writing, there are rumors all over social media that middleweight contender Chris Weidman is injured. Additional information wasn’t available at this time, nor was it confirmed he is off UFC 199 where he is set to face middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in a rematch. We’ll have more as we find out detais.

    NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a steel cage match will be the headliner for the June 8 NXT TakeOver show at Full Sail. They used the post-match brawl in Portland, OR, at a house show this weekend as the impetus for the move.

    As discussed on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio, UFC strawweight Paige VanZant earned a spot in the Dancing with the Stars finale. She’ll be up against Ginger Zee and Nyle DiMarco, which kind of stretches the definition of “Stars” in the show’s title.

    The UFC 198 prelims Saturday night on FS 1 did 786,000 viewers, down about 5% from the UFC 197 prelims even with a stronger prelim main event of Matt Brown vs Demian Maia. The number was obviously hurt by going head to head with the Bellator show on Spike TV, headlined by King Mo vs. Phil Davis.

    Newly crowned UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will be a VIP guest of the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight as they open up the NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto Raptors. Miocic is from the area and it’s been touted that he’s finally brought a title to a city that has been without one for a long time.

    WWE & Pro Wrestling

    UFC & MMA

    • Dave Meltzer’s “Fortunes Changed for Five” article is up at MMA Fighting, looking at this past weekend’s UFC 198.
    • From the “You Can’t Make This Up” department, adult film star and California resident James Deen filed a Cal/OSHA complaint of “bloodborne pathogen violations” against Bellator MMA and Viacom Tuesday. Why? Because Deen was both cited and fined under the same code violation from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and is tired of his industry being persecuted.
    • “You can’t pick and choose how to enforce the law. Cal/OSHA knows that section 5193 is not designed to protect entertainment workers. If the government is choosing to say that 5193 applies to the adult entertainment industry, then they are also saying that it must apply to all sports and entertainment,” he said.
    • Bellator 154 on Spike did 709,000 viewers, up from their last two shows and much better than expected given the lack of star power outside the main event.
    • Tickets officially go on sale Friday for UFC on Fox Chicago, set for July 23rd. Holly Holm vs. Valentina Shevchenko, Anthony Johnson vs. Glover Teixeira, and Edson Barboza vs. Gilbert Melendez are your three headlining fights.
    • Also going on sale Friday is UFC Fight Night 91 the promotion’s first visit to South Dakota. Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa headlines with Tim Boestch vs. Josh Samman and more announced for the undercard.
    • UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has signed a long-term contract extension with UFC.
    • Bellator yesterday announced a multi-fight, multi-year extension with unbeaten bantamweight prospect Darrion Caldwell.
    • Cris Cyborg opened up as a betting favorite over UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, should that bout ever take place. She is still listed as an underdog for a theoretical fight with former champ Ronda Rousey, though.
    • In a recent interview, Stephen Thompson opened up to Submission radio about not getting a title shot, fighting Rory MacDonald, thoughts on Woodley fighting Lawler and why he’d like to fight McGregor.
    • World Series of Fighting is launching a program designed to find fighters who are also military veterans. President Ray Sefo and team are going to visit gyms in an attempt to put together the first fight in the program on their Saturday, November 12th NBCSN show Veterans Day weekend.

    Miscellaneous & Events

    • NWA Smoky Mountain in Elizabethton, TN, on 6/24 with Chase Owens & Buff Bagwell vs. Jordan Kage and Chris Richards. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall are doing a meet and greet earlier in the day.
    • NWA is running CAJUN HEAT on July 2nd in Morgan City, LA, with Rob Conway vs. Rodney Mack, NWA Champion Jax Dane, and an appearance from Kevin Nash.
    • Alpha 1 Wrestling runs on 7/3 at the Knights of Columbus in Hamilton, ON.
    • If you are interested in attending 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:

  • Daily Update: Emma injury, Raw competition, Brown attacked in Brazil

    Emma suffered a back injury at yesterday’s house show in Charlottesville, VA. She was being examined today. In other injury news, it is official that Matt Jackson’s fractured hand will keep him out of the ring for four to six weeks so he and Nick Jackson are both out of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, which starts tomorrow. New Japan hasn’t announced replacements.

    We’re looking for your thoughts on yesterday’s UFC 198 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” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

    Raw is tonight in Greensboro. It’s the go-home show for Extreme Rules and we should get one or two new matches announced for the show. We’re looking for reports on the dark matches, Superstars matches and anything else not evident from the live show.

    We’re looking for reports on these shows also to dave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

    Friday’s WWE house show in Greeneville, NC

    The Lucha Underground tapings this past weekend in Los Angeles. 

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped tomorrow night in Greenville, SC.  Not that this means anything, but they are advertising Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose & Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens & The Miz.

    THE ROUND UP

    If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

    Figure Four Weekly 5/9/2016: Hogan and Gawker fight over verdict – Hulk Hogan is suing Gawker a second time, this time for leaking the contents of sealed documents to the tabloids. Now we have the verdict. Find out all the details in this weeks issue of Figure Four Weekly.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    READ IT HERE: May 16, 2016 Wrestling Observer newsletter: Potential UFC sale, WWE releases, plus tons of news

    Our lead story updates the talks of a UFC sale, plus an updated look at how the WWE is doing as a business, a look at WWE cuts, the booking behind the ROH Global Wars PPV and how New Japan and ROH are working together even more closely than on the surface, Global Wars coverage, a look at the status of a lot of ROH talent, coverage of the UFC debut in Holland, the hidden story of just how much of the male audience has been lost by WWE, as well as what WWE can learn from the NBA, and historical bios on Billy Wicks and Kato Kung Lee.

    There is also a look at the ESPN story on the potential sale of the UFC, what we know is legit, numbers being thrown around, who actually owns UFC, Dana White’s reaction to the story, moves UFC has made, Dana White’s long-term future if there is a sale, timing of the sale and sustaining the brand popularity.  Plus there’s also a look at the various companies listed that are in talks of buying.

    An update on WWE financials is in this issue, plus a look at the WWE Network numbers, what last year’s patterns tell us about the numbers, the company’s profits and losses, how well every division does for WWE and what is the most important for the bottom line, how well the company is doing financially compared to last year, what is projected by WWE this year for the WrestleMania quarter, update on injured wrestlers and their returns, Vince McMahon talks WWE injuries, and how much cash on hand the company has right now.

    There is also a look at how WWE is going to be changing how it reports information and what information they are going to be keeping secret as compared to the past. Also, there is a look at the dichotomy between social media numbers and WWE network subscribers and what it says.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PREVIEW

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

    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 Meltzer.

    You can also order print issues 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.

    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. 

    All the news from WrestleMania 15, the All Japan Tokyo Done show, and more will be in the latest back issue. Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: April 12, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Wrestlemania 15 business numbers, details on All Japan’s Tokyo Dome show, plus tons more. Both Davey Boy Smith and Japanese rookie woman wrestler Emiko Kado were both remaining in bad condition after an illness and in-ring injury respectively. 

    MONDAY NEWS

    WWE had better hope that the string of improved shows will start clicking because with the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game starting at 9 p.m., going against the final two hours of Raw, not to mention the usual Dancing With the Stars, this is a tough night for competition. The NHL playoff game with Tampa Bay vs. Pittsburgh also goes against Raw.  Raw hasn’t advertised anything of note for tonight, past the new gimmick debut of the Colon cousins, who will go as Primo & Epico, The Shining Stars. One note is that it will be Ric Flair’s first appearance in a long time at the Greensboro Coliseum, the building he helped put on the map during the 70s as one of the hottest arenas in the country. 

    Jimmy Snuka’s competency to stand trail hearing will continue this week in Allentown, PA.

    John Cena and the Bella Twins are in New York today for the NBC Universal upfronts. Cena was pushing the company’s charity work and used the term fans instead of WWE Universe. Well, in a situation like that, he probably should.

    Bruno Sammartino, who has cut way back on autograph shows, announced what may be his last signing at The Big Event in Queens on 11/19, with an appearance along with Ivan Koloff and Larry Zbyszko.  

    WWE

    • The company applied for a trademark for the term “Lady Balls” last week according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. The theory is that’s the title for Stephanie McMahon’s autobiography that was announced earlier today. 
    • NXT will be taping on Thursday night at Full Sail University.
    • There is a new episode of Camp WWE today with Sgt. Slaughter as a key figure leading Survival weekend.    

    UFC

    • In a crazy story, Matt Brown, who had a few fans try to get at him as he went to the cage on Saturday night, was attacked at his hotel in Curitiba by his former Jiu Jitsu coach Rodrigo Botti yesterday morning. As the story goes, Botti punched Brown from behind and ran away. Friends of Brown chased him and grabbed him outside the hotel and held him for police. Brown was not injured in the attack and returned home to the U.S. Botti had charged Brown with assault last year in the U.S. 
    • David Berlin, who was the director of the New York State Athletic Commission, was replaced by Eric Bently. The commission will start regulating MMA in a few months with both UFC and Bellator expecting to go into the state with major shows.   

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, George St-Pierre and Jean Claude Van Damme star in the movie “Kickboxer: Vengeance” that will be released at the theaters on 8/19. Bautista plays Tong Po, a Muay Thai champion. Other familiar names in the cast include Cain Velasquez, pro wrestler Luke Hawx, Tyron Woodley, Fabricio Werdum and Joe Schilling.
    • Scheduled for Impact tomorrow night on POP TV:

    Velvet Sky vs. Sienna (Sky’s farewell to the promotion)

    Ethan Carter III vs Tyrus last man standing

    Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title

    • WrestleMarica from Saturday night in Barnesville, GA before 300 fans: Dylan Cook b Scotty Beach, Trevor Acon & Damian Silva b Chris Henry & Shawn Sims, Scotty Bullwinkel b Iceberg in a street fight, Corey Hollis & Jaxson James b Zane Stevens & David Tita, Amber Gallows b Andrea the Amazon to retain the NWA women’s title, Fry Daddy b Stevie Richards. Teddy Long appeared on the show as General Manager. Amber Gallows did a heel turn as NWA women’s champion saying Luke Gallows put the WWE ahead of their promotion and said she was the only woman to ever wrestle in New Japan that actually mattered.  I guess that was meant for Maria Kanellis.  Next show is 6/11 with Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Corey Hollis & John Skyler. (thanks to Kris Zellner)
    • Premier Wrestling on 7/17 in Gilroy, CA at the IFDES Lodge Portuguese Hall at 5 p.m. with Joe Graves (5-1-1) defending his Premier title against Gabriel Gallo (5-0-1), plus women’s champion Raze (3-2) facing Shayna Baszler (1-0, JR Kratos (9-3-1) vs. Jeff Cobb (6-6-1) plus Nicole Savoy (3-3) and Alexander Hammerstone (2-0).
    • There was a New Era Wrestling show on Saturday night in Golden, CO which was supposed to feature Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine, who were both at the Cheyenne, WY Comic Con the night before. The promoters made a last minute deal to bring them in. On the morning of the show, Valentine evidently made the decision not to attend. Honky cut a promo and said how Valentine begs him for bookings but here after making one decided he just didn’t want to show up. He claimed he’s never work with Valentine again. (thanks to Anthony Sullivan)
    • UPW from Saturday night in  Rochester, NY:  Eh Team won over Tygerslayers 08, Wet Bandits and Interstate Education System, Chris Cayden won scramble match over Jordan Falcon, Rob Sweet, Jason Savior, Victor Lord and Bobby Dipinto, Yamaraj b Jeremy Jensen, Space Monkey b Marc Hauss, Rik Matrix b Plunkett the Ogre, Dick Justice b Jock Samson, Ethan Page won four-way over Lionel Knight, Shane Sabre and Coconut Jones, Nick Ando b Cloudy in a street  fight, Mattick d Helllcat, Ricky Reyes (Cortez Castro in Lucha Underground) won three-way over Carter Mason and Cheech, Dick Justice won Rochester Rumble, Carlito b Maximo Suave  (thanks to Todd Brantley)
    • Maryland Championship Wrestling and Global Force Wrestling had a joint show on Friday night in Joppa, MD:  Kevin Matthews b Brandon Scott, Sexy Steve & Jimmy Starr won over Paul Jordane & Bill Collier, Joe Keys & Rob Locke, and Rayo & Bruiser, Christina Von Eerie & Kimber Lee b Renee Michelle & Brittany Blake, Colt Cabana b Chuck Lennox, Drolix b Pat Buck, Sonjay Dutt retained GFW NEX Gen title over DJ Zema Ion and Lio Rush, Nick Aldis (Magnus) retained GFW title over Brian Myers, Jeff Jarrett & Shaun Cannon & Drake Carter b Ken Dixon & Eric Chapel & Dirty Money.  They announced Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Damien Sandow on the 6/10 show in Joppa, MD for a 6 p.m. meet and greet.  Ron Simmons, Billy Gunn and Sean Waltman appear on 6/18 in Waldorf, MD at Regency Furniture Stadium for a meet and greet and live show. (thanks to Phil Stamper)
    • Terry Funk, Sting, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Bret Hart and Dutch Mantel are scheduled for a 6/10 Legends of the Ring convention in Monroe, NJ.
    • A sentencing hearing for Tammy Sytch has been moved to 7/3 on a DUI charge from last year.
    • Freedom Pro Wrestling on 5/21 in Nashville at the Fairgrounds with Kevin Nash, Eric Young, MVP, Rockstar Spud, Crimson, and Samuel Shaw.
    • Progress Wrestling on 5/29 and 5/30 at the Electric Ballroom in London has a six man Strong Style tournament with Big Daddy Walter, Chris Hero, Damon Moser, Dave Mastiff, Kenny Williams, Mark Andrews, Mark Haskins, Matt Cross, Mikey Whiplash, Pete Dunne, Rampage Brown, Sami Callihan, TK Cooper, Tommy End, Zack Gibson and Zack Sabre Jr.  
    • If you are interested in attending 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: Midnight Express wins NWA US Tag Team Titles; Inoki wins NJPW World League Tournament

  • Daily Update: Johnny Walker, Young Bucks injured, UFC 198 fallout

    From Robert Walker, the son of Johnny Walker, regarding his surgery earlier today: “Thank you everyone so much for your thoughts and prayers. The doctor came out of surgery and explained that everything went extremely well and couldn’t have gone any better. Dad is in the ICU recovery for the next few days and should have him up and moving soon. As you may or may not know, an aneurysm on the aorta is a ticking time bomb and could rupture at any  minute. He now has dodged a second bullet with this one, as this is the second one for him. Mom is really watching over him and we are truly blessed. Thanks again to all.” (thanks to Crimson Mask)

    We’re looking for your thoughts on yesterday’s UFC 198 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

    We’re looking for reports on these shows also to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com

    Today’s WWE house show in Columbia, SC (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Miz, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Usos, Cass, Charlotte, Natalya)

    Today’s WWE house show in Charlottesville, VA (Dean Ambrose, Rusev, Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, New Day, Paige, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Kalisto.  Friday’s WWE house show in Greeneville, NC

    Raw will be Monday in Greensboro. The only thing announced for Raw is that The Shining Stars will debut as a tag team.

    Smackdown will be Tuesday night in Greenville, SC.

    THE ROUND UP

    If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

    Figure Four Weekly 5/9/2016: Hogan and Gawker fight over verdict – Hulk Hogan is suing Gawker a second time, this time for leaking the contents of sealed documents to the tabloids. Now we have the verdict. Find out all the details in this weeks issue of Figure Four Weekly.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    READ IT HERE: May 16, 2016 Wrestling Observer newsletter: Potential UFC sale, WWE releases, plus tons of news

    Our lead story updates the talks of a UFC sale, plus an updated look at how the WWE is doing as a business, a look at WWE cuts, the booking behind the ROH Global Wars PPV and how New Japan and ROH are working together even more closely than on the surface, Global Wars coverage, a look at the status of a lot of ROH talent, coverage of the UFC debut in Holland, the hidden story of just how much of the male audience has been lost by WWE, as well as what WWE can learn from the NBA, and historical bios on Billy Wicks and Kato Kung Lee.

    There is also a look at the ESPN story on the potential sale of the UFC, what we know is legit, numbers being thrown around, who actually owns UFC, Dana White’s reaction to the story, moves UFC has made, Dana White’s long-term future if there is a sale, timing of the sale and sustaining the brand popularity.  Plus there’s also a look at the various companies listed that are in talks of buying.

    An update on WWE financials is in this issue, plus a look at the WWE Network numbers, what last year’s patterns tell us about the numbers, the company’s profits and losses, how well every division does for WWE and what is the most important for the bottom line, how well the company is doing financially compared to last year, what is projected by WWE this year for the WrestleMania quarter, update on injured wrestlers and their returns, Vince McMahon talks WWE injuries, and how much cash on hand the company has right now.

    There is also a look at how WWE is going to be changing how it reports information and what information they are going to be keeping secret as compared to the past. Also, there is a look at the dichotomy between social media numbers and WWE network subscribers and what it says.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PREVIEW

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

    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 Meltzer.

    You can also order print issues 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.

    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. 

    All the news from the ESPN coverage of the drug deaths in professional wrestling, and more will be in the latest back issue. Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: March 29, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: ESPN program on drug deaths in the pro wrestling industry, ECW Living Dangerously review, more. There is also a full break down of ECW’s Living Dangerously PPV, plus tons of news and notes.

    SUNDAY NEWS

    We had a ton of news to cover in last night’s weekend show, between UFC sale talk, TNA, WWE business, UFC title change and biggest show ever in Brazil last night, Bellator’s moves and more. 

    It doesn’t look good for either of the Young Bucks as far as being in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament which starts on Saturday at Korakuen Hell. Both were supposed to see doctors today regarding Nick’s rib injury and Matt’s hand injury. Nick likely needs to rest for several weeks.

    New Japan will be broadcasting seven of the 14 shows from the tournament live and all tournament matches will be available this year on New Japan World. It’s a tough schedule so the guys are going to have to pace themselves, but there is a Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay Korakuen Hall main event on the 5/27 show at Korakuen Hall. 

    NXT is running an angle based on the pull-apart brawl last night at the house show in Portland, OR involving Samoa Joe and Finn Balor. William Regal will be doing a live interview on Tuesday morning on Facebook regarding the match at the next Takeover show on 6/8. I don’t know this, but it sounds like they are going to announce the stipulations for the match.

    For those into this kind of history, yesterday was 42 years to the day of what many consider the biggest angle in the history of Florida wrestling, when Dusty Rhodes turned babyface against Pak Song and Gary Hart at the Tampa Sportatorium. The match was Eddie & Mike Graham vs. Rhodes & Song.

    WWE

    • The most read story this past week on Rolling Stone’s web site was an interview with Damien Sandow.

    UFC

    • UFC last night announced Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as the Pioneer entrant (which means they started their career before 2001) in the 2016 Hall of Fame. At least this is a pick that nobody can criticize.
    • UFC was the most searched term on the Internet yesterday with more than 500,000 searches. Generally that will correlate to in excess of 300,000 buys. It’s not a sure thing, but it is an indicator. No. 6 was Cris Cyborg at 50,000, so she was searched for more than Stipe Miocic.  
    • In picks last night, myself, Front Row Brian and Ryan Frederick all went 4-1, Mike Sempervive, Jason Nason, Steve Juon, John Pollock, David Bixenspan and Mike Sawyer went 3-2 and Paul Fontaine went 2-3.   
    • Matt Brown can be seen getting the old school heat of fans wanting to get at him during his ring entrance last night.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • Pro Wrestling Phoenix results from Thursday night in Omaha for its 11th anniversary show: Paul Daniels & Joey Daniels b Mad Dog McDowell & Jon West, Cuco Santiago won four-way over Robert Storm, Purple and Dalton Lee Roth, Zac James b Preston Maxwell in a falls count anywhere match, Devin Carter b Con Artiest, Colt Cabana b Pat Powers, Branden Juarez b Mark Sterling.  Next show is 6/1 in Omaha at the Waiting Room Lounge.
    • AAA had a show tonight at Arena Jose Suliman in Monterrey that was canceled. 
    • Smash Wrestling on 6/24 in Renfrew, ONT at the R C a F Association featuring the Super Smash Brothers vs. Well Oiled Machines.  
    • IWA Mid  South on Thursday night in Clarksville, IN with Spring Heat 2016 with Reed Bentley vs Lee Byford for the IWA title, Tracy Smothers & JC Rotten vs. Bomb Shelter and more. 
    • IWA Mid South results from this past Thursday saw Matt Cage beat Jonathan Gresham, Michael Elgin beat Chris Hero to become the No. 1 contender for Bentley’s title and Bentley beat John Wayne Murdoch to retain the title.
    • Damien Sandow will be in Puerto Rico on 5/28 for the Summer Madness show in Bayamon.
    • Mega Pro Wrestling from Friday night in Racine, WV:  Kevin Tyler b Dan Richards, Misty James b Red Velvet, The Sound b LB 4LB, Kevin Tyler & Bobo Brown b Beau James & Rusty Shank, Jason Kincaid b JB Cool, Eric Darkstrom b Cedric Alexander (thanks to John Cooper)
    • Mega Pro runs 6/10 in East Bank WV at the Middle School and 6/19 in Chesapeake, WV at the Dr. Lisa Curry Memorial Annex for a 3:30 p.m. show.  
    • World League Wrestling from last night in Troy, MO:  Roy Lewis b Cody Jones, Mark Sterling b Justin D’Air, Stacy O’Brien & Lucy Mendez b Heather Patera & Paloma Starr, Kyle Roberts b Karim Birgante, Jon Webb b Jayden Fenix-DQ, Leland Race b Superstar Steve Fender with Ricky Steamboat as referee (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
    • GOUGE results from last night in Smithfield NC:  Madd Max Morrison & Roc Richards b Ryan Miller & Encore, Old School b Ryker Ramon, Juan Jeremi b Jimmy Jack Funk Jr.-DQ, Jimmy Jack Funk Jr. & Mickey Gambino b Juan Jeremi & Waylon Maze, Timmy Lou Retton b Victor Andrews.  Next show is 7/4 as part of a fireworks celebration in Raleigh with matches all day on Hargett Street starting at 2:30 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m.
    • Combat Zone Wrestling from last night in Voorhees, NJ:  Tim Donst b John Silver, Dave Crist b David Starr, Alex Colon b Preacher, Joe Gacy b Greg Excellent, Joey Janela b Chris Dickinson, Jonathan Gresham b Devon Moore-COR, Nate Carter & Mia Yim (Jade) b Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz, Matt Tremont NC Danny Havoc.  After the show DJ Hyde announced that CZW would be shooting a TV pilot in August.  John Zandig also showed up for the first time in four years between the former owner (Zandig) and current owner (Hyde).  Hyde talked about having to rebuild all the bridges Zandig burned.  Zandig said CZW has gone soft.  Dan Maff & Monsta Mack b Pepper Parks & Bkl Jeez to win the tag team titles.  Next show is the annual Tournament of Death on 6/11 at 179 Ebenezer Church Rd., in Townsend, DE with a 2 p.m. start time.  Matches announced are Danny Havoc vs. Alex Colon in a light tubes death match, Tim Donst vs. Rickey Shane Page in a stipulation of Donst’s choice and more.
    • This week’s 6:05 Superpodcast with Brian Last and David Bixenspan includes part two of their chat with John Arezzi discussing his reporting of the WWF sex and steroid scandals on the early 1990’s, being on the panel of the notorious wrestling episode of Donahue, bringing Vince Russo into the wrestling business and forming a short lived partnership with him, promoting international tours under the IWAS banner and more. Plus: Brian and Bix review the documentary “Lovestruck,” have an extended discussion about wrestling families, and much more!
    • Leva “Blue Pants” Bates, still out with an ankle break, has her pro wrestling shirts for sale here, if you’d like to help support her.
    • If you are interested in attending 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: Rock & Roll Express wins SMW Tag Team Titles; AJ Styles wins NWA/TNA Title

  • Daily Update: UFC 198 weigh ins, ROH card changes, and more

    UFC 198 Weigh-In Results

    Everyone made weight and Cris Cyborg did so with two pounds to spare at 139. She obviously looked smaller at that weight. Vitor Belfort looked like a different person, like an early 40s tennis player while Jacare Souza looked the same as he always does. The weigh-ins took place at the soccer stadium. It wasn’t full. They were talking about 20,000 people beforehand but on television were saying 15,000. Given the set up the 15,000 number looked legit, as there were a lot of people in the upper deck and the bottom section looked full. The only real note was Matt Brown decided to play American heel and Stone Cold, flipping the audience off on at least two occasions, leading chants of “You’re gonna die” that were directed at him from the Brazilians, and turning his back on the crowd while weighing in.

    UFC 198 FROM THE ARENA DA BAIXADA IN CURITIBA, BRAZIL – WEIGH-IN RESULTS

    FIGHT PASS AT 6:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME

    • Renato Moicano (9-0-1, 146) vs. Zubaira Tukhugov (18-3, 146)
    • Luan Chagas (14-1, 169) vs. Sergio Moraes (8-2, 171)
    • Patrick Cummins (8-3, 206) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (21-7, 205)

    FS 1 AT 8 P.M. EASTERN

    • Rob Font (13-1, 135) vs. John Lineker (26-7, 135)
    • Yancy Medeiros (12-3, 156) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (19-4, 156)
    • Nate Marquardt (34-15-2, 186) vs. Thiago Santos (12-3, 185)
    • Matt Brown (20-13, 171) vs. Demian Maia (22-6, 171)

    PPV AT 10 P.M. EASTERN

    • Warlley Alves (10-0, 170) vs. Bryan Barbarena (11-3, 170)
    • Corey Anderson (8-1, 204) vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua (23-10, 205)
    • Cris Cyborg Justino (15-1, 139) vs. Leslie Smith (8-6-1, 139)
    • Vitor Belfort (25-11) vs. Renato Jacare Souza (22-4, 186)
    • Fabricio Werdum (20-5-1, 240) vs. Stipe Miocic (14-2, 241)    

    This is a big weekend of events with a full WWE lineup of shows including four events tomorrow night, one of UFC’s deepest PPV shows in a long time going head-to-head with Bellator and ROH in New York.

    We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Greenville, NC (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Miz, Zayn, Owens, Cesaro, Dudleys, Ziggler, Usos, Cass, Charlotte, Natalya) as well as tonight’s NXT shows in Spokane and Largo, FL to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Our only weekend poll will be for UFC 198.

    One of the best one-hour wrestling television shows you’ll ever see, the English language version of the Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly Best of the Super Juniors final from 2015, will be replayed tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on AXS.

    LEGACY FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS TONIGHT ON AXS TV FROM HOUSTON AT 10 P.M. EASTERN

    • Humberto DeLeon (132.5) vs. David Acosta (135.1)
    • Jeremiah Jones (171.3) vs. Jason Langellier (172.1)
    • David Waters (124.4) vs. Roberto Sanchez (125.5)
    • Edgar Juarez (150.9) vs. Alex Black (149.8)
    • Bilal Williams (184) vs. Artenas Young (185)
    • Brandon Farran (186.7) vs. Ike Villanueva (186.6)
    • Brice Ritani-Coe vs. Justin Ledet (231.6)

    CMLL LIVE FROM ARENA MEXICO TONIGHT AT 7:30 P.M. 

    • Ultimo Dragoncito & Electrico vs. Mercurio & Nitrito
    • Estrellita & Lluvia & Princesa Sugei vs. Amapola & Tiffany & Zeuxis
    • Blue Panther & Guerrero Maya Jr. & Titan vs. Dragon Rojo & Polvora & Bobby Z
    • Stuka Jr. vs. Cavernario
    • Mistico & Valiente & Volador Jr. vs. Euforia & Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero
    • La Mascara & Pierroth & Rush vs. El Terrible & Rey Bucanero & Shocker

    Saturday we’re looking for reports from WWE in Raleigh (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Miz, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Ziggler, Usos, Cass, Charlotte, Natalya), WWE in Roanoke (Dean Ambrose, Rusev, Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, New Day, Paige, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Kalisto), NXT in Portland and Jacksonville, the Lucha Libre show in San Jose at the Civic Auditorium headlined by Mil Mascaras and ROH in New York.

    BELLATOR LIVE ON SPIKE TV AT 8 P.M. (ONE HOUR EARLIER THAN USUAL) FROM THE SAP CENTER IN SAN JOSE

    • Saad Awad vs Evangelista Cyborg Santos
    • Andre Fialho vs. Rick Reger
    • Adam Piccolotti vs. Ray Wood
    • Phil Davis vs. King Mo Lawal

    Sunday has WWE house shows in Columbia, SC (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Miz, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Usos, Cass, Charlotte, Natalya) and Charlottesville, VA (Dean Ambrose, Rusev, Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, New Day, Paige, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Kalisto.  We’re looking for reports on those shows as well.  

    Raw will be Monday in Greensboro. The only thing announced for Raw is that The Shining Stars will debut as a tag team.

    Smackdown will be Tuesday night in Greenville, SC.

    THE ROUND UP

    If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

    Figure Four Weekly 5/9/2016: Hogan and Gawker fight over verdict – Hulk Hogan is suing Gawker a second time, this time for leaking the contents of sealed documents to the tabloids. Now we have the verdict. Find out all the details in this weeks issue of Figure Four Weekly.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    READ IT HERE: May 16, 2016 Wrestling Observer newsletter: Potential UFC sale, WWE releases, plus tons of news

    Our lead story updates the talks of a UFC sale, plus an updated look at how the WWE is doing as a business, a look at WWE cuts, the booking behind the ROH Global Wars PPV and how New Japan and ROH are working together even more closely than on the surface, Global Wars coverage, a look at the status of a lot of ROH talent, coverage of the UFC debut in Holland, the hidden story of just how much of the male audience has been lost by WWE, as well as what WWE can learn from the NBA, and historical bios on Billy Wicks and Kato Kung Lee.

    There is also a look at the ESPN story on the potential sale of the UFC, what we know is legit, numbers being thrown around, who actually owns UFC, Dana White’s reaction to the story, moves UFC has made, Dana White’s long-term future if there is a sale, timing of the sale and sustaining the brand popularity.  Plus there’s also a look at the various companies listed that are in talks of buying.

    An update on WWE financials is in this issue, plus a look at the WWE Network numbers, what last year’s patterns tell us about the numbers, the company’s profits and losses, how well every division does for WWE and what is the most important for the bottom line, how well the company is doing financially compared to last year, what is projected by WWE this year for the WrestleMania quarter, update on injured wrestlers and their returns, Vince McMahon talks WWE injuries, and how much cash on hand the company has right now.

    There is also a look at how WWE is going to be changing how it reports information and what information they are going to be keeping secret as compared to the past. Also, there is a look at the dichotomy between social media numbers and WWE network subscribers and what it says.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PREVIEW

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

    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 Meltzer.

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    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. 

    All the news from the ESPN coverage of the drug deaths in professional wrestling, and more will be in the latest back issue. Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: March 29, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: ESPN program on drug deaths in the pro wrestling industry, ECW Living Dangerously review, more. There is also a full break down of ECW’s Living Dangerously PPV, plus tons of news and notes.

    FRIDAY UPDATE

    Happy birthday today to Danny Hodge, who was one of the greatest amateur wrestlers in U.S. history and the best junior heavyweight in U.S. history who turned 84 today.

    Lots of people banged up on the ROH tour. The card in New York at Terminal Five has changed somewhat. As noted yesterday, Nick Jackson is injured and won’t be wrestling tomorrow. He has what is believed to be a rib injury and will be getting it checked on Sunday. Matt Jackson is wrestling tomorrow but he injured his hand taking a super power falcon arrow from Michael Elgin on Wednesday, just seconds after Nick was injured. The hand is swollen and bruised.  here are others banged up as well but as of right now, only Nick Jackson is off the show. This is the new lineup:

    • Adam Cole & Matt Jackson vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay Lethal & Roderick Strong
    • Tetsuya Naito vs. ACH in a non-title match (this may be questionable)
    • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Matt Sydal
    • Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Ray Rowe & Hanson for the ROH tag titles
    • Cedric Alexander vs Donovan Dijak
    • Jushin Liger & Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa & Adam Page
    • Trent Baretta & Gedo vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley
    • Kushida vs. Silas Young non-title
    • Michael Elgin vs. Moose vs Dalton Castle vs.. Lio Rush
    • Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Rhett Titus & Kenny King

    New Japan made an announcement today regarding the Super J Cup, which is not the same as the Super Juniors tournament. The Super Juniors starts 5/21 and is a round-robin tournament.  The Super J Cup will be a 16-man multi-promotional single elimination tournament.  The first round matches will be 7/18 at Korakuen Hall, which will be eight bouts.  The final eight move into a one-night tournament, similar to the old K-1 Grand Prix, on 8/21 at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.  They announced there would be four wrestlers from New Japan, (three regulars and one from Chaos, likely Will Ospreay), five from NOAH (three from NOAH and two from the Suzuki-gun side), plus one wrestler each from All Japan, Okinawa Pro, CMLL, ROH, K-Dojo, Dragon Gate and one more participant.

    In a major mainstream news story in Japan, the Japanese Sports Agency has requested the national Olympic Committee and Tokyo government to investigate allegations of payoffs that may have been used to get Tokyo the 2020 Summer Olympics. Hiroshi Hase, a pro wrestling Hall of Famer who is the Sports Minister in the government held a press conference today saying that they would cooperate and want a thorough examination. Hase said their intent was to submit a bid that would have no wrongdoing associated with it, but he has doubts that happened. The prosecutors have found a check of $2 million from a Japanese bank to a Singapore bank related to Papa Massata Diack, the son of IAAF President Lamine Diack in July and October listed as “Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games bid.” A good rule of thumb for all prospective bribers going forward is not to write what you are bribing on the check itself. 

    A clarification from this week’s Observer regarding Court Bauer and his leaving AAA/Lucha Underground. While it was true that Lucha Underground attempted to get him to sign an addendum to where he’d have no affiliation with Konnan, he said that he was able to negotiate around it and that was not a major part of the reason he left working for the promotions.  He said he just felt it was time to move on and he’s spending more and more time working for Combate Americas.

    WWE & Pro Wrestling

    • Lana will be wrestling on tonight’s NXT show in Largo, FL.
    • Chris Harrington talks WWE financials and changes in reporting.
    • Rolling Stone talks to Damien Sandow about his release, saying he wasn’t surprised,. had nothing bad to say about WWE and talked about studying Shakespearean acting now
    • WWE’s Gerrit Meier talks company business. 
    • Zack Sabre Jr. talks joining the WWE cruiserweight tournament.
    • WWE stock was up 14 cents per share today to $17.93. 
    • Jimmy Snuka was to be in court today for a hearing to see if he is mentally competent enough to stand trial in the case involving the death of Nancy Argentino in 1983. 
    • Pop TV has, effective immediately, dropped the Saturday replay of Impact, so Impact now only airs at 9 p.m. on Thursday night. This is the same pattern that Destination America did with the cutting of shows. 

    UFC & MMA

    • UFC announced today that USADA had contacted them regarding a potential Anti-Doping policy violation by Carlos Diego Ferriera from an out of competition test. Because of this, Ferreira is provisionally suspended and is off his scheduled fight with Abel Trujillo on 5/29 in Las Vegas. UFC is looking for a new opponent for Trujillo.
    • Paul Fontaine predicts 325,000 to 360,000 buys for tomorrow’s show.
    • EA Sports announced the launch of live event competitions, a brand new competitive experience in the EA Sports UFC 2 live event mode in the game. Starting tomorrow, fans can play the qualifiers in the live event competition to compete for a chance to earn Ultimate Team rewards and a trip to the live finals coinciding with the UFC Fan Expo in July. The winner of the grand slam final match on 7/8 at Fan Expo will win $10,000 and a belt signifying them as the EA Sports UFC 2 world champion.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • Our British wrestling columnist Alan Boon was a guest on the Indy Darlings podcast.
    • Some of you may be able to watch Lucha Underground here.
    • Here is a story on the closing of the Los Angeles Sports Arena, which housed a ton of wrestling events over the years, including WrestleMania, AAA’s When Worlds Collide and tons of big shows in the 60s. 
    • Monster Energy drink has signed a renewal of its sponsorship death with Bellator. Tomorrow night’s show will be the first of the new deal.
    • Chris Hero vs. Big Damo headlines for Discovery Wrestling on 7/16 in Edinburgh, Scotland at the Portobello Town Hall.
    • Jimmy Hart will be signing tomorrow night at the Rochester Red Swings game at Frontier Field from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and at the Webster Columbus Center on Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
    • The next Evolve seminar an training session will be 6/10 in Ybor City, FL, with WWE coach Norman Smiley giving a lecture on what WWE is looking for and helping evaluate talent. For more info go to go DGUSA.tv and look for the WWN Seminar/Tryout section.
    • Fight Club OC on 6/9 at the Hanger in Orange County features both boxing and MMA fights. Former UFC and Strikeforce fighter Mike Kyle will be boxing on the show. They are 180 tickets shy of capacity and are working on their ninth straight sellout.
    • Tetsuya Naito will be in Singapore at a press conference for Bushiroad’s Chara Expo on 7/9 and 7/10 at the Sony PlayStation Stage.
    • River City Wrestling on 6/3 at Retama Park in San Antonio features Warlord, Barbarian, Hernandez and Lance Hoyt (Archer).
    • There was a Lucha Libre show on Sunday in Raleigh as part of a Mothers Day Festival which drew 1,500 to the North Carolina State Fairgrounds: Canek Jr won Battle Royal, Seiya b Beau James, Cristal b Misty James, Tzuki b Papa Smurf, Canek Jr. b Huracan Ramirez Jr. (thanks to Todd Goss). This was only part of the festival, which included big name singers and bands from Mexican television, rodeo, and games for kids. There will be another event like this in June in Winston-Salem.
    • National Fighting Championships on 6/11 at Center Stage in Atlanta for a show headlined by Jared Gooden vs. Amir Dadovic. They are also running 7/22 in Kennesaw, GA at Electric Cowboy with Chazz Walton vs. Warren Smith for the Georgia lightweight title. 
    • Johnny Devine will headline for CWE in Calgary on 5/21 teaming with Danny Duggan against Frankie Kazarian and Silas Young. Kazarian will be in Canada for CWE touring from 5/19 to 5/28.
    • Maryland Championship Wrestling and GFW have a doing show tomorrow night in Joppa, MD with Sonjay Dutt vs. Lio Rush vs. DJ Zema Ion for the Gen X title plus Jeff Jarrett & Punk Rock All-Stars vs. Eric Chapel & Dirty Money & Ken Dixon, Kevin Matthews vs. Brandon Scott, Pat Sick vs Drolix plus GFW champion Nick Aldis defends against Brian Meyers.

    Today in professional wrestling history: Race wins Missouri Title; Martel wins AWA World Title; Angle wins TNA World Title

  • More WWE departures; Wade Barrett, Torito, Damien Sandow, Santino and Cameron

    In a day of housecleaning not seen in years, there are a few more WWE departures to report after the three that were made public earlier this morning. The most notable would be Stu Bennett (Wade Barrett), who posted this on Twitter at 12:40 pm eastern:

    After almost 9 years, today was my final day with WWE. I made a decision back in August last year not to re-sign once my current contract expired in June 2016, and I’ve now reached an agreement with management to dissolve the contract a few weeks early. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years, especially the guys I’ve shared a ring & locker room with. I will miss them tremendously.

    As planned, I am now taking a well-earned break from the wrestling industry in order to expand my horizons, but I’ll be back in the ring when the time is right.

    Thanks for the support everyone, I’l see you all down the road.

    Barrett was the first-ever winner of the NXT reality to earn a main roster spot. He and the other cast members of that show debuted in a memorable angle in a 2010 edition of Monday Night RAW where they laid out John Cena and destroyed the ring. Barrett had several stop and start pushes over the year and injuries derailed him on several occasions when it appeared he was ready to break through. He had expressed interest in the past in an acting career and had a role in the 2013 film “Dead Man Down”

    El Torito (aka Mascarita Dorada) has been with WWE since 2013, debuting as the costumed bull mascot of Los Matadores, after a long career in Mexico with CMLL and AAA. After feuding with Hornswoggle (who was also released today) for a couple of years, he broke off with Los Matadores in September of last year after being put through a table by the Dudleyz. Aside from a few comedy backstage segments he had not been seen on TV since then.

    Arianne Andrew (Cameron) was a cast member in the 2011 version of Tough Enough, hosted by Steve Austin. She was the first elimination on the show but was the only cast member to make it to the main roster. She started as a “Funkadactyl” with partner Naomi as they accomponied Brodus Clay and later Tensai (Matt Bloom) to the ring. She was also an original cast member of E’s “Total Divas“. She and Naomi competed as a tag team off and on after Clay was released and Tensai transitioned into a commentary roll on NXT. She did a mini-feud with then champion Paige, losing three consecutive title matches in early 2015. Later that year she surfaced on NXT, facing Asuka in one of the current NXT women’s champion’s first bouts with the company. She has made a couple of appearances since then but was not featured prominently and her release was announced today.  It was figured she was on the chopping block after Ryback posted a message on Tumblr essentially demanding equal pay for everyone on the roster and Cameron tweeted out that she was in support of Ryback before quickly pulling it.  She later posted a long tirade about cyberbullying.

    UPDATES:

    Also just announced was the release of Aaron Haddad (Damien Sandow). Sandow was a popular undercard wrestler who always got bigger crowd reactions than his push. He competed on RAW just this past Monday and his elimination was one of the louder reactions in the match. He is a former Money in the Bank winner with the distinction of being one of only two wrestlers to not cash in his briefcace successfully (the other being, of all people, John Cena). He’d started with the company in 2002, starting as Aaron “The Idol” Stevens in OVW and was later called up to Smackdown as Idol Stevens, teaming with KC James as Michelle McCool’s “Teacher’s Pets”. That run was short-lived and he was released in 2007 after a return to OVW. He was re-signed in 2010 and assigned to FCW, the WWE’s developmental territory at the time, and made his return to the main roster in 2012 as Sandow. He teamed with Cody Rhodes as the “Rhodes Scholars” as they feuded with Team Hell No over the WWE Tag Team titles. He later did a gimmick where he impersonated characters from both inside and outside wrestling, such as Bruce Springsteen, Abraham Lincoln, Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon. That morphed into a memorable sting where he played Macho Sandow, along with Curtis Axel’s character of “Axel Mania”, a Hulk Hogan parody. The two feuded and then teams for several months before Hulk Hogan’s falling out with the company led to the dissolution of the team. Sandow had been used sparingly since then, usually in an enhancement role or in battle royals.

    WWE just announced the release of Santino.  He had underwent neck surgery and the belief was he probably wasn’t ever wrestling again.  He had made occasional appearances here and there on WWE TV.  Of late, he has been running his own mixed martial arts school, the BattleArts Academy, in Ontario.  He started out in Ohio Valley Wrestling in the mid-2000s as Johnny Geo Basco and Boris Alexiev, basically your standard Rusev foreign heel character.  An incident occured at a TV taping where the Boogeyman came down to the ring and the idea what that he was supposed to be a terrifying character, but Santino (real name Anthony Carelli) was sitting in the crowd and started laughing.  Jim Cornette was furious and slapped him around, which snowballed into the deparature of Cornette from WWE developmental.  He debuted on the main roster in April of 2007 on a show in Milan, Italy.  His new gimmick was that he was an Italian babyface, so he was signed to face Umaga for the Intercontinental Title and he won it his first night in.  He lost the belt back to Umaga a few months later and soon began to morph into a full-fledged comedy figure.  The irony is that he was so great at the character that they ran with it full-bore, probably to the detriment of his career since they never really pushed him as a serious character afterwards.  

  • WWE releases Alex Riley, Hornswoggle and Zeb Colter

    WWE today confirmed the releases of Kevin Kiley Jr (Alex Riley), Dylan Postl (Hornswoggle) and Wayne Keown (Zeb Colter).

    Riley has had the most prominent role of the three recently, as he had an interview on NXT TV this week to promote an upcoming (already taped) match with Nakamura. He had recently returned from a long-term injury layoff and had been doing a bitter veteran gimmick where he would lash out against recent NXT signings that he didn’t feel were the calibre of athlete he is. He had gained a lot of muscle mass in his time off. He had been with the company since 2007 and was most prominently the sidekick of The Miz when he had his World title run and headlined WrestleMania 27 against John Cena. He won season 2 of the NXT reality show after being mentored by Miz on that show. After floundering on the main roster following his breakup with Miz, he resurfaced as a color commentator on NXT in 2013 before leaving the booth for a short-term feud with Kevin Owens in early 2015. He was injured shortly after and just recently returned to NXT TV.

    Hornswoggle has been virtually non-existent on TV since a 30 day wellness violation on September 28th of last year. He’s been with the company almost exactly 10 years, having debuted in May of 2006. After starting out as Fit Finley’s sidekick (later revealed to be his “son”), he had featured roles as Mr McMahon’s illegitimate son and later as a sidekick to the DX team of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. He was also revealed to be the person behind the “anonymous GM” when WWE wanted a quick way out of that storyline. His last featured role was a feud with Torito, the costumed bull mascot of The Matadores (Primo and Epico Colon) tag team. The two had a WeeLC match at Payback in 2014 that was an entertaining spectacle but after that feud fizzled out, it was clear there were no plans for him.

    Colter, also known for many years as Dutch Mantel, had been with WWE since 2013, which was second stint with the company. In the mid-90’s he managed the Blu Brothers (Ron and Don Harris) and Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw (JBL) as Uncle Zedekiah. He returned in 2013 to manage Jack Swagger. He received a lot of press as an outspoken pro-American xenophobic mouthpiece, even getting mentions from mainstream sources such as Glenn Beck and FOX News. WWE toned down the character after a couple of months while of course led to the Swagger character cooling off as well. He later added Cesaro to his stable as “The Ream Americans”. That pairing was short-lived as Cesaro broke off from the team to align with Paul Heyman. Shortly after that, Colter and Swagger turned face to feud with Rusev and Lana in Rusev’s first main roster feud. Colter was written out of WWE storylines after Rusev broke his leg in a backstage segment. He resurfaced last year in a short-lived run as Alberto Del Rio’s manager and feuding with his former protégé Swagger. After just a few weeks, Del Rio “fired” Colter on RAW and he had not been seen since.

  • Total Divastation: recapping the WWE Total Divas season 5 finale

    Submitted by Kevin LaRose

    The Season Finale

    Paris, France – a small country located in, what is commonly and locally known as the European Union, or more simply, the EU. A black van pulls up to the curb, and out walks four women in black dresses. The Bellas, Eva Marie, and Natalya are finally at the restaurant from Something’s Gotta Give. The girls propose a toast, to the four originals. A beautiful French man hits on them and quickly walks away. And just as fast as they entered the restaurant, they are out of the restaurant. I have to admit I am pretty bummed that we didn’t even get to finish watching them drink at least one glass of that French wine. 

    The girls walk over to the Eiffel Tower. They seem to be under the spell of some sort of pagan superstition and believe that if one makes a wish upon the Eiffel Tower at night then the wish will come true. The girls are amazed at the site of the Eiffel Tower again, and Nikki makes her wish. “I wish John Cena will marry me.” The American dream. 

    Nattie then makes her wish. She wishes TJ to be there with her. Eva Marie wishes something about love and Jonathan. Brie wishes for Bryan to be cleared because she believes in his dreams. Nikki tells everyone that John Cena wants to marry her, but he still doesn’t want to have kids. 

    It’s the daytime now, and Paige, Fox, and Mandy are talking about last night. Mandy has a hat that says, “Paris.” I’d buy that hat, too. She’s still so pissed that Eva Marie went to dinner with the Bellas. Mandy is the ultimate third wheel.

    Rosa and her fiancé decide to celebrate their impending nuptials by sight-seeing around Paris. Rosa wants to go to some kind of arch. Her fiancé, his name is Bobby, thinks she is talking about Noah’s Ark. If only there were some sort of famous triumphant Arch in Paris that would be easy for Rosa to look up on her phone. Rosa asks when the wedding will be. Bobby redirects the question. Rosa says six months. Bobby says six months from when the baby is born. Rosa says get married by a minister. Bobby says he wants Brad to perform the ceremony. They start to argue and then decide to not talk about it anymore. 

    A beautiful French man takes a picture with Paige and tells her she is crazy. Fox decides to plan an impromptu party at the hottest party venue in the world, Moulin Rouge. She has a fantasy that the other Divas will dress up in French fashion, and she will be the photographer. Fox overhears Nattie telling Mandy that the fashion photo shoot is stupid. Fox is so pissed. She goes into Rosa’s room to complain about Nattie. Fox cancels the photo shoot. All the Divas argue in the living room. They work out their issues. The photo shoot is back on. Thank god. They decide to drink that French wine. 

    Eva Marie apologizes to Mandy in her room. Mandy speaks her mind. She is mega-butthurt. Eva Marie acts pretty classy. But Mandy doesn’t really think Eva Marie is being real, so she responds by lying and telling her they are friends again. Whelp, sorry Mandy, we won’t get to see how this plays out because you won’t be returning next season.

    Rosa is so happy to go out with all the girls. They are at a really nice, really fancy French restaurant. Fox gives a speech. Fox loves giving speeches, it’s obvious. All the girls go over to the Moulin Rouge, and they are all super impressed and mega excited. They are so amazed, and they keep saying the word amazed. Nattie tells us how much she loves all the girls, and how important this trip has been. 

    Back in the states, and keeping with the French theme, the WWE is in New Orleans. Rosa shows Big Show her ring, and Big Show shows Rosa warmth and compassion. She can’t wait to give birth to Baby Jordan. Rosa interviews Dolph Ziggler. Dolph brings this season full circle, as he wasn’t man enough in his attempt to steal Nikki away from Cena. They all eat cake.

    TWO MONTHS LATER

    Tampa, FL

    In Nikki and John’s house, Nikki chases around her cute dog, Winston. Winston is adorable. Nikki’s mom is in town to babysit the dog if Nikki has to have surgery. Nikki tells her mom that she feels like shit every day. She gets an MRI.

    Pittsburgh, PA

    Rosa is having cramping, she’s in a ton of pain. She and Bobby go to the hospital. Rosa decides to leave her Rolex at Bobby’s parents’ house. After the commercial, Rosa has had her baby. The baby is cute. Rosa feels so emotional. Rosa wishes her mom was there. Rosa and her mom are at odds due to Bobby’s atheism. 

    Back in Tampa, Nikki tells her mom that her back is getting worse. Everything is worse than they originally thought. She has to have surgery. She doesn’t want to retire from wrestling. She is in so much pain all the time. She is so frustrated. 

    In Pittsburgh, Rosa feeds her baby. Bobby is so excited and completely anxious. Rosa hasn’t heard from her mom in two months. Rosa says she could move to Pittsburgh. Bobby tells her that while she can’t go down the street and get a kale juice, but she can go down the street and milk a cow. Rosa said she’d rather just feed the baby. They get in a car and Rosa sees a frozen lake. She is amazed. Rosa’s mom told her to tell her baby that she is going to burn in hell. Bobby is so pissed at Rosa’s mom. 

    Columbus, OH

    Nikki has a meeting with Carrano. John calls her from Tampa. Cena is hanging out with Nikki’s mom, and he tells her not to worry about Carrano. He apologizes for not being there, but he just had surgery himself. 

    Back in Pittsburgh, Bobby and Rosa look at baby Jordan. Rosa wants to move to Pittsburgh. She is happy there. I’m not worried about them, they are going to be OK as a family.

    Back in Columbus, it’s time for the meeting with Carrano. They make jokes about business casual dress codes. Then things get serious. They don’t know what the future looks like. Is Nikki done? Could this be it for her? Nikki asks, “What is Nikki Bella without wrestling?” She answers, “There is no Nikki Bella.” It’s a race for survival, if she can’t wrestle again, then not only will she be forced to retire, but it seems as though Nikki Bella will cease to exist all together.

    As if…

  • Aroluxe Marketing revealed as company negotiating with TNA

    Dave Meltzer revealed today in a breaking news audio update that the company that Impact Wrestling/TNA has been negotiating with is Aroluxe, a company that former wrestlers Ron and Don Harris are involved with. The Harris brothers were mid-level stars in both the WWF and WCW in the late 90s and were brought in to TNA by former owner Jeff Jarrett when the company started.

    Negotiations are still ongoing. TNA president Dixie Carter was hopeful of securing a deal whereby an investor would purchase 49% interest in the company, allowing her to maintain a majority interest. Whether she finds a company willing to do that or not, the company is in a crunch position as they are essentially out of money and will require a cash influx to get them through their next set of TV tapings scheduled for later this week.

    If Carter is not able to find an investor willing to let her maintain control of the company there will obviously be a shakeup in the company and details of that are likely to come out in the next week or so.

    Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling started in late 2002 as a weekly pay per view product owned and operated by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett. Father Jerry pulled out of the partnership early and Jeff went to Panda Energy for financing to keep the company afloat. They remained as a weekly PPV property until late 2004, when they secured a broadcast contract with Fox Sports Network and used that platform to move to the more traditional monthly PPV model.

    They were at times in their history profitable but ever since spending big money to acquire free agents Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam and others in 2010 the promotion has been a money loser. They started on SPIKE TV in 2005 and at times garnered audiences upwards of 1.5 million. By late 2014, they were down under a million and on top of the declining ratings, the promotion was secretly employing Vince Russo as a consultant despite the fact that SPIKE executives had made it clear they did not want the company to have any dealings with Russo.

    They moved to Destination America in 2015 and it quickly became clear that it would not be a good fit. Destination America announced midway through the first year that they would not be renewing them for a second season, despite announcing a “multi-year” contract  at the start of the relationship. In late 2015 the company announced that they would start the following year on POP TV, the former TV Guide channel. While no terms were announced at the time, it was believed to be an ad revenue sharing deal.

    POP TV president Brad Schwartz announced that they hoped that the promotion would return to the 1.3 million audience level with the move to POP. This despite the fact that the show averaged less than half of that number during it’s year on Destination America. With the move to POP, ratings declined even further, settling in around 300,000 despite being available in 80 million homes in the United States.

    Also discussed in the breaking news update was the cancelation of the New Japan PPV scheduled for later this month in Kumamoto, Japan. The earthquake was devastating as there are already 41 deaths and 968 injuries attributed to it and over 91,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.