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  • UFC Fight Night 88 Las Vegas live results: Thomas Almeida vs. Cody Garbrandt

    Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 88: Almeida vs. Garbrandt from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC’s annual Memorial Day Weekend event in Las Vegas is headlined by a bout between undefeated bantamweight prospects as 21-0 Thomas Almeida takes on 8-0 Cody Garbrandt. The co-main event features former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao moving up to the featherweight division as he takes on Jeremy Stephens. Also on the card, in a pivotal bout on UFC Fight Pass, it will be undefeated Aljamain Sterling taking on Bryan Caraway in bantamweight action. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.

    UFC Fight Night 88 Observer Picks & Preview
    UFC Fight Night 88 DFS Playbook

    Coverage provided by Ryan Frederick

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6 PM ET/3 PM PT)

    HEAVYWEIGHTS- CHRIS DE LA ROCHA (4-1, 0-1 UFC) VS. ADAM MILSTEAD (7-1, 0-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Milstead is making his UFC debut. They start swinging wildly to start. Milstead with a big right hand and de la Rocha pulls guard. They scramble up and Milstead lands a knee. They trade right hands. Milsread with another big right hand. de la Rocha lands one and then gets a takedown but they scramble up against the cage. Milstead with an elbow against the fence. Not much happening in the clinch. They break. de la Rocha is cut. They trade big punches and both are starting to tire early. Milstead with a big right hand and then two more. Milstead with a combo and a big right hand. Milstead landing punches and de la Rocha initiates a clinch against the fence. They break and Milstead with a solid left hand. de la Rocha scores a sloppy takedown but they get to their feet. Milstead with a big elbow in the clinch. They break. Milstead with a big left hook and a right hand and misses a head kick. 10-9 Milstead.

    ROUND 2- They trade punches to start to second. Milstead with a big uppercut followed by a right hand. They trade punches in a scramble. de la Rocha with a right hand. They trade big punches. de la Rocha has a large cheering section in the arena. de la Rocha shoots for a takedown against the fence. He’s working for it but eats a big elbow from Milstead. They are broken up with not much going on in the clinch. de la Rocha goes for a kick but Milstead catches the leg and lands a big right hand. Milstead starting to tee off and has de la Rocha in trouble. de la Rocha is bleeding very badly. Milstead with two big right hands. Two more big right hands and another couple shots and the referee steps in and stops this fight. Milstead with a big TKO win in his UFC debut.

    Official Result: Adam Milstead def. Chris de la Rocha by TKO (punches) at 4:01 of Round 2

    BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#4) ALJAMAIN STERLING (13-0, 4-0 UFC) VS. (#8) BRYAN CARAWAY (20-7, 5-2 UFC)

    ROUND 1- This is a big fight in the bantamweight division. Sterling with a quick front kick and another. They trade punches. Sterling with a jumping kick that misses but lands a spin kick. Sterling grabs a single leg but Caraway defends. They trade punches in the clinch. Sterling grabs the back and drags Caraway to the ground and has the hooks in and is looking for the choke. Sterling with punches from the back. Sterling has an arm over the neck. Caraway escapes but Sterling with big punches from the back and he tries to set up the choke again. Sterling still has the back and landing big punches from the back. Sterling has a modified choke in looking for the finish. Caraway survives. Big round for Sterling. 10-8 Sterling.

    ROUND 2- Caraway looks to land a right hand quickly. Sterling shoots for a takedown but Caraway sprawls and has the neck of Sterling looking for a choke. Sterling escapes to his feet. Sterling with a body kick and then another. Sterling lands a big right hand and a big leg kick. Caraway lands a right hand. Sterling with a leg kick. They trade strikes and clinch against the fence. Not much happening but they break the clinch. Sterling just misses a spinning back fist. Caraway shoots for the takedown but Sterling defends against the cage. Caraway gets him down though. Caraway with punches from the top. Caraway looking for the back. Caraway transitions to the back and is landing punches. Caraway gets into half-guard. Caraway looking for a choke but the round ends. 10-9 Caraway, 19-18 Sterling.

    ROUND 3- This round will decide it and its interesting how the judges scored the first. Sterling with a leg kick. Caraway looks the fresher of the two. They trade and Caraway misses a takedown. Sterling with a front kick followed by a right hand. Caraway gets a takedown but Sterling has the neck. Not much happening on the ground. They scramble to the feet but Caraway looking for another takedown. He gets it after Sterling lands a big knee. Caraway in the half-guard. Sterling has an inverted triangle locked in but Caraway escapes. Caraway not doing much and Sterling looking for the ref to stand them up. Caraway gets to the back of Sterling and looking for a choke. Sterling stands up and Caraway is on his back. Caraway with punches from the back. They go back to the mat and the fight ends. Real interesting decision coming up. 10-9 Caraway, 28-28.

    Official Result: Bryan Caraway def. Aljamain Sterling by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT)

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- ERIK KOCH (14-4, 3-3 UFC) VS. SHANE CAMPBELL (12-4, 1-2 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Campbell with two leg kicks to start and he slips on a third. Koch with a left hand. They trade leg kicks. Koch lands a left hand and then another. Koch with a head kick followed by a left hand. They trade punches. Koch with a head kick that stuns Campbell and they trade against the fence before a clinch. Koch with some knees in the tie-up. They trade knees. Both still battling in the clunch and landing knees and they finally break. Koch with a high kick. They trade and Campbell goes for a takedown but it is defended against the fence. Koch gets a takedown after eating an elbow. Koch takes the back and transitions to another takedown. Koch gets the back again. 10-9 Koch.

    ROUND 2- Campbell lands a big punch and Koch immediately scores a takedown and is in the half-guard. Koch working to get into the mount but Campbell defending well on the bottom. Koch still working from the top and is setting up position but transitions to the back. Koch has the back and is looking to get the arm under the neck. Koch landing punches from the back and he locks a choke in and Campbell taps out! Big win for Koch in his first fight in over two years.

    Official Result: Erik Koch def. Shane Campbell by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:02 of Round 2

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- JAKE COLLIER (9-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. ALBERTO UDA (9-0, 0-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Uda makes his UFC debut. They clinch right away and Uda looks to land the knees. They break and Collier lands a left hook. They clinch again and trade knees and push the fight against the fence. Uda with a big knee as they break. Collier with a body kick. Uda with a big knee and a head kick and he has Collier in trouble. Uda grabs the back and lands punches and they go to the mat for a moment but scramble right back up. Uda has the body locked but misses a takedown and gives his back up to Collier.They clinch and land knees. They break and Collier with a spinning back fist. They clinch again. Each with a knee. They trade knees again. Collier scores a takedown. Collier in the full guard of Uda and lands a big left hand. Collier gets to his feet and it allows Uda to take his back and Uda looks for a choke. Uda ends on top landing punches as the round ends. 10-9 Uda.

    ROUND 2- They come out punching and clinch right up. Collier grabs the body looking for a takedown but Uda is defending. Collier with some solid punches as they break. They trade body kicks and Collier seemed to hurt Uda with his. Collier with some big punches and a spin kick and Uda goes down and Collier finishes him off with a couple more punches from the top. Big win for Collier as he hands Uda his first career loss.

    Official Result: Jake Collier def. Alberto Uda by TKO (strikes) at 1:06 of Round 2

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- ABEL TRUJILLO (14-6 1 NC, 5-2 1 NC UFC) VS. JORDAN RINALDI (12-4, 0-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Rinaldi is making his UFC debut on short notice against a tough opponent in Trujillo. Rinaldi with a leg kick. Trujillo lands a big right hand. Trujillo gets a takedown and is in the full guard of Rinaldi. Trujillo with a body punch from the top. Trujillo gets to his feet and Rinaldi stays on the mat until ordered up by Herb Dean. Trujillo with a big right hand and then stuffs a takedown attempt from Rinaldi. Rinaldi ducks under a left hand from Trujillo and they clinch against the fence. They trade punches and Trujillo lands big with a right hand. Left hook by Trujillo. Front kick by Trujillo. Trujillo lands a big right hand as they exchange punches. They trade left hands as the round ends. 10-9 Trujillo.

    ROUND 2- Trujillo gets a takedown to start the second round. Rinaldi grabs the arm looking for the armbar but Trujillo defends it well. Trujillo now in the full guard of Rinaldi. Trujillo stands up and Rinaldi gets to his feet. They trade punches and Rinaldi grabs the back of Trujillo and scores a takedown along the fence. Rinaldi has the back and the hooks in and is looking for the choke. Rinaldi with punches from the back. Rinaldi has an arm under the neck. Trujillo escapes the attack and they start to each land punches on the mat. Rinaldi still working for the choke. He has Trujillo flattened out but no choke in. Trujillo staying out of the choke but eating punches from Rinaldi. Trujillo scrambes out to the top but the round ends before he is able to do anything. 10-9 Rinaldi, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- Trujillo quickly goes for a takedown and lands a big right hand. They trade punches and each man connects. They scramble on the mat and to the feet and Rinaldi lands a knee. They trade and Trujillo defends a takedown and they clinch against the fence. They break. Rinaldi goes for a takedown but eats a knee from Trujillo. Trujillo with a big right hand. Rinaldi with a head kick. Trujillo with a right hand and he looks the fresher of the two with two minutes left. Trujillo throwing bombs at Rinaldi and some are landing. Trujillo with a left hook and another and he has Rinaldi rocked. Trujillo gets a takedown in what will probably guarantee him the win. Trujillo with punches from inside the guard. Neither man doing much on the mat. Rinaldi tries to scramble but eats a hammerfist from Trujillo, who gets to his feet. Herb Dean orders Rinaldi up. Trujillo with a left hook. 10-9 Trujillo, 29-28 Trujillo.

    Official Result: Abel Trujillo def. Jordan Rinaldi by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#6) SARA MCMANN (8-3, 2-3 UFC) VS. (#7) JESSICA EYE (11-4 1 NC, 1-3 1 NC UFC)

    ROUND 1- Both women are in desperate need of a win here. Eye with a right hand. They trade and McMann goes for a takedown and they clinch against the fence. McMann with a couple of knees. McMann just holding on and not doing much. McMann with a knee. Another knee by McMann. They trade right hands. McMann misses a right hand. Eye lands a right hand. Both miss punche attempts. Eye with a missed body kick. Not much happened. 10-9 McMann.

    ROUND 2- They trade punches. Eye with a right hand. McMann slips after getting hit by Eye. They trade punches and Eye lands as she circles away. McMann goes for a takedown but it is defended by Eye who lands a punch. They trade punches and McMann goes for a takedown and gets it. McMann with some hammerfists from the top. Eye throws up the leg to defend. McMann moves to side control and scrambles to the back. McMann with punches from the back and a knee to the body. 10-9 McMann, 20-18 McMann.

    ROUND 3- McMann with a leg kick and Eye fires back with a combo and a leg kick. Eye with a leg kick and a right hand. McMann gets a takedown and is in side control. Eye looking to scramble out. McMann lands punches from the back. McMann has the back. Back elbow from Eye. McMann still has the back. McMann with punches from the back. Eye tries to scramble out but McMann still has the back and is landing punches. McMann looking for a north-south choke. She gets into the half-guard of Eye. McMann with some punches from the top and Eye starts to land from bottom but the fight ends. 10-9 McMann, 30-27 McMann.

    Official Result: Sara McMann def. Jessica Eye by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 9 PM ET/6 PM PT)

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- JOSH BURKMAN (28-12 1 NC, 6-7 1 NC UFC) VS. PAUL FELDER (11-2, 3-2 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Burkman going for side kicks. Each land leg kicks. Burkman with a head kick. Burkman with a leg kick. Felder with a head kick. Felder with a body kick. Burkman misses a right hand. They trade punches. Felder with a head kick. They trade punches and Burkman lands a right hand. Burkman with a leg kick. Each mand lands big and they are throwing bombs at each other. Burkman gets the takedown and is in side control. They get to the fence and Felder wall walks up. Burkman with a leg trip and they go down for a moment but get right back up. Burkman with a knee to the body. 10-9 Burkman.

    ROUND 2- Burkman with a body kick and Felder fires back a leg kick. Burkman with a right hand. Felder with a leg kick. They trade punches. Felder with a leg kick.They trade and Felder lands a right hand. Felder with a combo. Burkman with a body kick. Felder with a hard both kick. They trade and then clinch. Burkman with a knee to the body and switches position. They break the clinch with just over a minute left in the round. Felder with a right hand. Felder rocks Burkman with a left and they trade against the fence. Felder clinches and lands a knee. Felder with an elbow. Felder gets the back of Burkman and lands a knee. 10-9 Felder, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- They trade nice combinations to start the final round as this one likely decides it.Felder with a spin kick and slips for a moment. Felder with a big right hand. Felder lands a right hand. Burkman just misses a right hand. Felder with a leg kick and then another. Burkman with a knee kick and Felder counters with a leg kick. Felder just misses a head kick. Burkman with a left hand. They clinch and Felder lands a big knee as Burkman pushes the fight against the fence. Burkman has the body lock looking for a takedown and he gets it, Felder gets right back to his feet. They battle for position. They battle for underhooks. Burkman is bleeding pretty good right now. They are broken up from the clinch. Burkman with a late takedown as the fight ends. 10-9 Felder, 29-28 Felder.

    Official Result: Paul Felder def. Josh Burkman by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    WELTERWEIGHTS- JORGE MASVIDAL (29-10, 6-3 UFC) VS. LORENZ LARKIN (16-5 1 NC, 3-5 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Larkin with a left hand. They trade punches and Larkin lands a leg kick. Larkin with a big body kick. They trade punches and Larkin lands a leg kick and then a right hand. Masvidal lands a right hand following a leg kick. Larkin with the jab and then a leg kick. Masvidal with a leg kick. They each fire off punches at the other. They clinch against the fence. Each with some knees in the clinch. Larkin lands on the break and lands a leg kick. They trade punches and Larkin just misses an uppercut. Masvidal gets poked in the eye and is in a lot of pain. This could end the fight. Replay shows it was a bad eye poke and the doctor is checking on Masvidal. Masvidal is able to continue and lands a leg kick. 10-9 Larkin.

    ROUND 2- Larkin with a huge leg kick in the opening minute of the round. Masvidal with a leg kick of his own. They trade leg kicks. Larkin just misses an uppercut. They trade punches and Larkin clinches with Masvidal against the fence. They battle for underhooks but break. Masvidal with a soft head kick. Larkin with a body punch. Larkin with a leg kick. Masvidal lands a right hand. They clinch against the fence. Larkin lands a big punch. They are firing away at each other. Masvidal with a leg kick but Larkin counters with a solid combo. They trade punches and Larkin with a knee. Larkin gets a late takedown at the end of the round. 10-9 Larkin, 20-18 Larkin.

    ROUND 3- Larkin with a huge leg kick. Larkin with a big uppercut and they clinch. Both men throwing bombs at each other against the fence. Masvidal just misses a flying knee. Masvidal grabs the neck and pulls Larkin to the ground and they scramble back to their feet. Masvidal is deep on a takedown attempt against the fence. Masvidal gets a brief takedown as Larkin bounces right back to his feet. They thrown wild punches at each other and then clinch again. Larkin with some short punches as Masvidal is in on a takedown and then lets go. Masvidal going for another takedown but it is again defended. Larkin going for the takedown and lands a spinning elbow as the fight ends. 10-9 Larkin, 30-27 Larkin.

    Official Result: Lorenz Larkin def. Jorge Masvidal by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- CHRIS CAMOZZI (23-10, 8-7 UFC) VS. VITOR MIRANDA (12-4, 3-1 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Camozzi with a leg kick. Miranda with a body kick and Camozzi lands a leg kick. They trade kicks again. Miranda with a leg kick. Camozzi with a left hand. Miranda with a leg kick and then a body punch. Camozzi with a nice combo that backs Miranda against the fence. Camozzi with a leg kick. Miranda with a body kick. Camozzi goes for a head kick but Miranda grabs the leg and they scramble to the mat. They each land punches on the mat as they have their legs all tied up. Camozzi with some punches and Moranda isn’t doing much. 10-9 Camozzi.

    ROUND 2- Camozzi with a nice combo to start off the second round. Miranda with a body punch. Miranda with a high kick. Miranda with a body kick. Camozzi catches the leg and gets a takedown and is in the guard of Miranda. Camozzi with some body punches from the top. Miranda tries to scramble out and it allows Camozzi to take his back. Camozzi looking to flatten Miranda out but Miranda is working to get to his feet. Camozzi in the half-guard and landing punches from the position. Other than that, not much action. Camozzi with some big elbows as the round ends. 10-9 Camozzi, 20-18 Camozzi.

    ROUND 3- Miranda has a cut and it was checked on before the round. They trade punches and Camozzi scores the takedown and is looking to take the back. Camozzi is on top looking to improve position but not much action going on. Miranda scrambles to his feet. Miranda is bleeding pretty badly. Miranda lands a head kick but Camozzi comes back with a combo. They trade punches. They clinch and Camozzi lands a knee. Miranda with a high kick. Miranda lands a right hand. Miranda with a big high kick. Camozzi lands a left hand. Camozzi with a solid combo. Miranda misses a big left hand. Miranda with a leg kick. Camozzi with the short jab. Miranda lands a left uppercut. Camozzi should take this fight pretty easily. 10-9 Camozzi, 30-27 Camozzi.

    Official Result: Chris Camozzi def. Vitor Miranda by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    WELTERWEIGHTS- (#10) TAREC SAFFIEDINE (16-4, 2-1 UFC) VS. (#11) RICK STORY (18-8, 11-6 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Story with a leg kick to start. Story misses on some left hands. Saffiedine with a leg kick. They trade punches and clinch and Story pushes against the fence. They scramble on the mat for a moment but end up clinched back against the fence. Story with some body punches as Saffiedine has ahold of him. Neither man can separate from the other. Story with a right hand and they clinch against the fence again. Story with some big body punches at the close and Saffiedine lands a knee and a kick that was clearly after the bell. 10-9 Story.

    ROUND 2- Saffiedine with a high kick and then a leg kick. Saffiedine with a front kick. Story slips after a leg kick and Saffiedine gets on top but they get right back to their feet. They clinch but notjing happens. Story with a leg kick and Saffiedine fires back with his own leg kick. Saffiedine shoots for a takedown but it is defended. Story pushes Saffiedine against the fence. They try to break but Story again pushes Saffiedine against the fence in a clinch. Story lands some punches against the fence and back to the clinch. They break for a moment and Saffiedine lands a punch and Story goes back in the clinch and lands some short knees. 10-9 Story, 20-18 Story.

    ROUND 3- Saffiedine with a leg kick. Story with his own leg kick. Story with some big body punches as he gets in close range and they clinch. They break. Story with a leg kick but Saffiedine counters with a left hand. Story lands a left hand. They clinch again against the fence. Story with some body punches against the fence. They trade punches and Story again with the clinch against the fence. They each land punches as they break. This fight is on repeat with all the clinch, break and clinch again action. Story with a leg kick and Saffiedine fires back his own leg kick. They trade punches. They exchange again. Story with body punches. Story goes for a takedown but it is defended. 10-9 Story, 30-27 Story.

    Official Result: Rick Story def. Tarec Saffiedine by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

    FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#2 BW) RENAN BARAO (33-3 1 NC, 8-2 UFC) VS. (#9) JEREMY STEPHENS (24-12, 11-11 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Barao making his debut at 145 pounds. Barao with a quick leg kick. Barao with a body kick. Stephens with a leg kick. Barao lands a right hand. Stephens with a leg kick but Barao catches it and fires off a combo. Barao with a leg kick. Barao lands a right hand. Stephens with a body kick. Barao with a leg kick. Barao with a leg kick. Barao shoots for a takedown but it is defended against the fence. Barao with a couple of knees. They break the clinch. They trade punches. Barao with a body kick. They clinch and knee lands from Barao. Barao tries a trip and it breaks the clinch. They trade punches and Barao with a spinning back kick. Barao shoots for a takedown but it is defended. Barao has the back but the round ends. 10-9 Barao.

    ROUND 2- Stephens lands a big right hand to start. Barao shoots for a takedown but it is stuffed. Stephens with a leg kick. They trade punches and Barao with a quick knee. Stephens with a left hand and then rocks Barao with an uppercut. Barao circling away and Stephens lands two more big uppercuts. Big right hand from Stephens and Barao lands a knee. Big punches from Stephens. Barao is slowing down and he goes for a takedown but it is stuffed. Stephens with a knee to the body and then some foot stomps. They each land short punches in the clinch. They break. Barao with a spinning kick. Stephens with a body kick. Stephens lands a left hand. They trade punches. Barao with a late takedown but Stephens lands a big elbow and is able to get to his feet and reverse position. 10-9 Stephens, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- Barao with a leg kick. Barao lands a left hand. Stephens lands a nice combo. Stephens with a left hand. Barao with a leg kick. Barao with a solid combo to the body. Stephens just misses a big left hook. Barao lands a left hand and goes for a takedown against the fence. Stephens with some knees to the legs of Barao. They trade punches. Both men landing big shots. Stephens lands a solid left hand after missing an uppercut. Barao goes for a takedown and gets it. Barao moves to the back of Stephens. They break. Barao just misses the spin kick to the face. Stephens lands a left hand. Stephens lands a big right hand. They trade body kicks. Stephens grabs the body but they break. Stephens lands a big left hand as the fight ends. Close deciding round. 10-9 Stephens, 29-28 Stephens.

    Official Result: Jeremy Stephens def. Renan Barao by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#7) THOMAS ALMEIDA (21-0, 4-0 UFC) VS. CODY GARBRANDT (8-0, 3-0 UFC)

    ROUND 1- Someone is going to suffer their first career loss. Garbrandt tries a cartwheel kick to start. They trade leg kicks. Garbrandt with a combo and just misses a flying knee. They trade punches. Garbrandt with a right hand. Garbrandt lands some punches and a big right hand. Almeida just misses a right hand. Garbrandt with a leg kick and a combo. Garbrandt with a huge punch and Almeida is in trouble. Almeida fires back though. They trade punches as Almeida looks to have recovered. Both men land big punches. Garbrandt with a big right hand and Almeida is down and out! Garbrandt scores the big knockout win!

    Official Result: Cody Garbrandt def. Thomas Almeida by knockout (punches) at 2:53 of Round 1

  • Daily Update: UFC Fight Night 88, plus the returns of John Cena, Sasha Banks, & Eric Bischoff

    Unless John Cena’s drawing power makes a huge difference in ratings for his return, Raw on Monday will be doing an all-time seasonal low number given the competition of game seven of the Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game and the San Jose Sharks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins game one of the Stanley Cup finals. The Warriors game won’t start until 9 p.m. but traditionally over Memorial Day weekend, because of the holiday, the audience comes late and a lot miss the first hour of Raw. Also, because of the holiday, the ratings will likely be delayed. They should set up the final man in Money in the Bank and start working on the undercard, plus they’ll probably hype to death Smackdown going live and the brand split.

    We’re looking for reports on WWE shows in Madison, WI (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and LaCrosse, WI (Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Rusev, Kalisto, Alberto Del Rio, Paige, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks).  newstips@wrestlingobserver.com

    UFC FROM THE MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER IN LAS VEGAS ON SUNDAY –  CLICK HERE FOR LIVE COVERAGE

    Fight Pass bouts at 6 p.m. Eastern

    • Adam Milstead vs. Chris De La Rosa
    • Bryan Caraway vs. Aljamain Sterling

    FS 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern

    • Shane Campbell vs. Erik Koch
    • Jake Collier vs. Alberto Pereira Uda
    • Abel Trujillo vs. Jordan Rinaldi
    • Sara McMann vs. Jessica Eye
    • Josh Burkman vs. Paul Felder
    • Jorge Masvidal vs. Lorenz Larkin
    • Chris Camozzi vs Vitor Miranda
    • Tarec Saffiedine vs. Rick Story
    • Jeremy Stephens vs. Renan Barao
    • Cody Garbrandt vs. Thomas Almeida

    NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM TOTTORI ON MONDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

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

    Raw is Monday from Green Bay featuring the return of John Cena plus a Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin match.

    NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM HIROSHIMA ON TUESDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

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

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Rockford, IL.

      THE ROUND-UP

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

      Wrestling Observer Newsletter

      READ IT HERE: May 30, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Return of Seth Rollins and the WWE brand split, plus tons of news

      With two of the biggest news stories of the year, the WWE brand split and the UFC sale both in play, we’ve got a new issue of the Observer packed with news.

      Our lead story looks at the brand split, with what we do know, what has and hasn’t been decided and the background of how it went down. There’s also more info on the UFC sale talks.  Plus there is coverage of the return of Seth Rollins, the build to Money in the Bank and have coverage of Extreme Rules, the negotiations for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight and look more at the Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor rumors. Take an in-depth look at the departure of Cody Runnels (Rhodes) from WWE and his future prospects, plus look at his complaints regarding people in the company. All this plus a look at the New Japan Super Juniors tournament, the funding of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, the World Cup trios tournament coming up and a feature on the last PWG show.

      The lead story looks at every aspect of the brand split.  It looks at the original goals and reasons for it and what did and didn’t work, plus how it’ll be different this time, how the touring will work, and an examination of what talent knows and tentative plans in place.  Vince McMahon’ reaction is a big part of this, and this issue explains how the deal went down, the story behind the story and other aspects to be considered. There’s also a look at Smackdown going live, the affect on the fan base, the affect on TNA and why it was important to get Smackdown away from Thursday.

      Another big story in this issues is Extreme Rules, the decision to make Seth Rollins a heel and current plans for Money in the Bank, and also match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

      Details about what’s going on with Conor McGregor, including Colin Cowherd’s claim that Mayweather vs. McGregor is happening, as well as a look at the Nate Diaz negotiations last week and what McGregor has said publicly.

      Finally, this issue looks at Cody Runnels leaving WWE, what he said was the reason why, and a look into those reasons, and a look at the realities of WWE business decisions and his background.

      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. 

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

      SUNDAY NEWS

      Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer radio covering the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, today’s UFC, the brand split and taking your questions that you can send to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com

      Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque will all be deposed in the Evan Singleton and Vito LaGrasso concussion lawsuit. Vince was deposed on Friday actually and Levesque on Tuesday. Dr. Joseph Maroon was deposed as well, and the plaintiffs want him deposed again.

      There have been teases of a “Hatch” on Raw tomorrow night. I don’t know if that has to do with the impending return to television of the Wyatt family (aside from Luke Harper, who still has several months before he’ll be able to wrestle).

      Sasha Banks returned to action last night in Winnipeg after her head injury suffered two weeks ago. They had a unique deal last night as Chris Jericho worked as the face and Dean Ambrose as the heel in the main event since Jericho grew up in Winnipeg.    

      Eric Bischoff is now looking for indie books for appearances, seminars, conventions and Q&A’s through Bill Behrens at showbis@aol.com. WWE will be releasing an Eric Bischoff DVD a week from Tuesday and the WWE Network will air a special on that at 5 p.m. on Thursday so his name will be back in the news. Other names available for bookings include Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Drew Galloway, Matt Sydal, Al Snow, Tommy Dreamer, Mike Posey, Jimmy Rave, Diamond Dallas Page, Moose, Nunzio, Tony Mamaluke, Kenn Doane, Blue Meanie, Stevie Richards, Shane Helms and more. He is also booking a number of ROH’s top stars including champions Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian for dates only outside the U.S. and Ontario.

      WWE & Pro Wrestling

      • Thanks to Alex Yohkna, Josh Anderson, Allan Albert, Rohan Unrao, Geoff Melnechuk, and Josh Hammerstein for the reports from the WWE shows last night.
      • After Raw tomorrow, they are airing a special called “Seth Rollins: Redesign, Rebuild, Reclaim” about his training to return. Yes, they produced a sympathetic show for a guy who turned back heel last week. I’d have expected that from WCW in 1998 or 1999.   
      • Corey Graves has been teasing a move to Smackdown, which would be a good decision. If that’s the case, he’d take the slot held by Byron Saxton, who would be exclusive to Raw.
      • Rolling Stone did an article on A.J. Styles.
      • An interview with Bayley regarding the UK tour is here.
      • Here is Mike Mooneyham on the WWE brand split.
      • Tons of discussion going around about Friday’s Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet match. We’ll talk more about it tonight. There is a story from Australia on the match. 
      • Today’s New Japan show in Osaka was one of the better shows of the year. No matches of the year, but so much good wrestling up and down the show. 
      • The Lucha Libre World Cup on Friday and Sunday will officially be on iPPV for $19 combined. There is no separate show ordering.  
      • Dixie Carter talks TNA.
      • A note on the Mike Johnson interview with Pop TV’s Brad Schwartz earlier in the week. The interview was set up with Johnson and Pop TV and not through TNA. According to Johnson, TNA was not even aware of the interview being done until after it was completed.

      UFC

      • UFC Fight Pass this past week debuted a “Where Are They Now?” series looking at memorable cast members of the early seasons of The Ultimate Fighter including Bobby Southworth, Luke Cummo, Noah Inhofer, Tait Fletcher, Shonie Carter and Din Thomas. I hope to god that Noah at least is still with that girl he walked off the show for because he missed her so much.
      • UFC Bad Blood airs on Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern on FS 1 as a build up for this coming Saturday’s Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber bantamweight title match.
      • Make sure to read this great story on Kevin Randleman.

      MISCELLANEOUS

      • There is a ton of pressure on J Robinson to resign as the University of Minnesota wrestling coach.
      • Jim Ross is doing a Fund Raiser for Headlock for Hunger with a new “Good Gawd Almighty” T-shirt to raise funds.
      • My friend Dave Doyle is raising money for Hire Heroes.
      • So on Friday my daughter asked me how come she sees her friends at school every day but all my friends live so far away. And I asked her what does she mean, and she goes, your friends in the Pink video. That’s when I discovered this.
      • Resurrection Fighting Alliance runs 6/3 at The Hangar at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Ca with Thiago Moise vs. Jamall Emmers for the lightweight title as the main event. The show will air at 10 p.m. on Friday night after the two hours of New Japan on AXS.
      • It should be noted that this past week’s New Japan show was only one hour because the kickboxing show started at 9 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. There will be both one hour shows and two hour shows depending on the week through 7/10.
      • The death of Tacoma, WA sports personality Stan Naccataro, who passed away at 88 on Wednesday, is notable because he lost his broadcasting job eight years ago for comments made on MMA. While primarily a baseball guy in town, he was also a well-known boxing announcer. “They put on two ounce gloves and exchange punches for a few seconds, then fall onto the mat while one guy tries to put a strangle-hold on the other guy. There’s no art to it, no strategy. Somebody’s gonna get killed one of these days. It ought to be banned. The kids love it through. There’s nothing like a good fight. I love the sport (boxing). It just breaks my heart that the next generation of boxing fans would rather watch this martial arts garbage.”
      • The Venator Fighting championships show from Milan, Italy, that features Mayhem Miller and Rousimar Palhares last week did 105,000 streaming viewers on MMA.TV according to the promotion. It was also on Fox Sports Italy and did 110,000 viewers, which is less than ICW does in the same market.
      • Insane Championship Wrestling has added a Canadian television deal on The Fight Network. It will air on late Thursday nights at 1 a.m.after the CMLL & AAA shows on Thursday nights.
      • NWA Cajun Heat on 7/2 in Morgan City, LA with two cage matches plus an appearance by Kevin Nash. 
      • Netflix will be airing “The Resurrection of Jake Roberts” starting on Wednesday. (thanks to Michael Bargas)
      • ROH tickets went on sale on Friday for a 10/22 show in Lakeland, FL.
      • Evolve on 6/10 in Ybor City, FL on iPPV that night:
      • Timothy Thatcher vs. Chris Hero for the Evolve title
      • Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams vs. Bravado Brothers for the tag titles
      • Johnny Gargano & TJP vs. Drew Galloway & Ethan Carter III
      • Matt Riddle vs. Cedric Alexander
      • Anthony Nese vs Fred Yehi
      • Ethan Page vs. Darby Allin   
      • Dynamo Pro Wrestling from last night in St. Louis: Makaze b Ozzie Gallagher-DQ, Keon Option & Justin D’Air won three-way over Rocket Mapache & Jackal and Danny Adams and Paco Gonzalez, Brandon Aarons won three-way over Kevin Lee Davidson and Evan Morris, Brandon Espinosa b CJ Shine, Outtkast b Ricky Cruz, Jake Dirden b Brandon Aarons (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
      • Wildkat Sports, which is Luke Hawx’s promotion in Louisiana, starts on the New Orleans affiliate Ch. 54 in September. Teddy Long will be working with the group as the TV General Manager.
      • Victory Commonwealth Wrestling on 6/30 in Toronto at the Super Wonder Gallery
      • Jim Cornette and Danny Davis talk about OVW as a developmental territory for WWE and how it fell apart.

      Today in Professional Wrestling History: Crusher vs. Harley Race; Charlotte wins NXT Women’s Title

    • Cody Runnels returns!

      Cody Runnels has sent a tease that he will be available to work in just under three months. On Twitter, with him using the name Cody Rhodes, a point of contention since he started using that name in WWE, but it had been the family wrestling name for almost 50 years, he sent out a tweet earlier today listing the 8/19 date with the words “After 8/19.” 

      Runnels also listed almost a bucket list of opponents he was interested in working with. The names on the list were Adam Cole, Dalton Castle, Kurt Angle, Chris Hero, The Miracle (Mike Bennett), Moose, Pat Buck, Young Bucks, Trevor Lee, Katsuyori Shibata and Roderick Strong.

      Also listed on his list of things to check off were BOLA (the PWG Battle of Los Angeles tournament in late August), “the streamers thing” which likely means ROH (or some minor Japanese groups)  and “Personal ring announcer,” which could be construed as travelling with his wife, who is a ring announcer.

    • Cowboy Frankie Lane passes away

      Frank Luhovy, who wrestled under the name Cowboy Frankie Laine, passed away this past Tuesday at the age of 73.

      Laine was a journeyman wrestler who worked from 1966 and continued into the late 80s, often working as enhancement talent on WWE television toward the end of his career.  After leaving wrestling, he was very vocal about the treatment wrestlers received from promoters, in particular in 1999 after the death of Owen Hart.

      Laine was one of the early wrestlers with a valet, Miss Linda Lee, as she was known, and later as Linda Lee Laine.

      He had good fire as a babyface and was a wrestler who received good pushes in smaller territories, but was more a prelim wrestler in larger promotions.

      He got his early break as a tag team partner of Lonnie Mayne in Portland, and also had success in Hawaii, Tennessee and California.

      His biggest drawing run came during one of the hottest runs in the history of pro wrestling in the Caribbean, when he and Dutch Mantel were a heel Cowboy tag team that feuded with Carlos Colon, The Invader and various partners in 1979 over the North American tag team titles.  That was one of the best weekly drawing periods in the history of pro wrestling in Puerto Rico and one that would be considered noteworthy anywhere at any time.  It was the run that made Mantell such a big star there.

      In California, he captured the Americas title from Black Gordman when Southern California wrestling was on national television and it the territory was at a hot point.  His run as babyface champion was more to set up Killer Kowalski coming in and destroying him for the title to set Kowalski up for a big run.  Laine returned in 1973 as a heel with a valet.

      He had been running his family’s 700-acre farm in Alvinston, Ontario since getting off the road.

      He had been suffering from multiple scleroris.

    • Daily Update: Cena shirt cancelled, UFC FN 88, Omega vs. Elgin

      UFC Fight Night 88 is set up to be a fun show with Thomas Almeida taking on Cody Garbrandt in the main event. It’s a big stage for both of these men who will headling the Fox Sports 1 show which starts at 6 pm eastern tomorrow evening on UFC Fight Pass. The semi-main event features the return of longtime former bantamweight (135lb) champion Renan Barao moving up to featherweight (145lb) to face Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens. Barao looks to get back on track after being twice derailed by now ex-bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw.

      In the only women’s fight on the card, it’s do or die for Sara McMann who needs a win desperately to stay in the hunt, but she’s facing a really tough opponent, Jessica “Evil” Eye. Both women need a win here if they ever want to get a shot at the 135lb women’s bantamweight champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate. It should be a really fun show. Check out the Observer’s live coverage starting tomorrow at 6 Eastern, 3 Pacific.

      Saturday we’re looking for reports on the WWE shows in Peoria, IL (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and Winnipeg (Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Rusev, Kalisto, Alberto De Rio, Paige, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks).

      NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT FROM OSAKA AT 3 A.M. EASTERN SUNDAY MORNING/SATURDAY NIGHT ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

      • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Michael Elgin & Volador Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Trent Baretta & Will Ospreay
      • Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Bobby Fish & Jay White & Juice Robinson & Katsuyori Shibata
      • David Finlay vs. Gedo
      • Rocky Romero vs. Bushi
      • Satoshi Kojima & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan & Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
      • Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Seiya Sanada
      • Matt Sydal vs. Kyle O’Reilly
      • Kushida vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

      Sunday we’re looking for reports on WWE shows in Madison, WI (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and LaCrosse, WI (Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Rusev, Kalisto, Alberto Del Rio, Paige, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks).

      UFC FROM THE MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER IN LAS VEGAS ON SUNDAY

      Fight Pass bouts at 6 p.m. Eastern

      • Adam Milstead vs. Chris De La Rosa
      • Bryan Caraway vs. Aljamain Sterling

      FS 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern

      • Shane Campbell vs. Erik Koch
      • Jake Collier vs. Alberto Pereira Uda
      • Abel Trujillo vs. Jordan Rinaldi
      • Sara McMann vs. Jessica Eye
      • Josh Burkman vs. Paul Felder
      • Jorge Masvidal vs. Lorenz Larkin
      • Chris Camozzi vs Vitor Miranda
      • Tarec Saffiedine vs. Rick Story
      • Jeremy Stephens vs. Renan Barao
      • Cody Garbrandt vs. Thomas Almeida

      NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM TOTTORI ON MONDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

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

      Raw is Monday from Green Bay featuring the return of John Cena plus a Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin match.

      NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM HIROSHIMA ON TUESDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

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

      Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Rockford, IL.

        THE ROUND-UP

        If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our 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 5/23/2016: More strange developments in WWE’s concussion lawsuit deposition – Last week we talked a bit about both Evan Singleton’s deposition in the WWE concussion lawsuit as well as a video of a concussion presentation held in developmental during Singleton’s time under contact. Among other topics, there’s been a bit more movement on that front.

        Wrestling Observer Newsletter

        READ IT HERE: May 30, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Return of Seth Rollins and the WWE brand split, plus tons of news

        With two of the biggest news stories of the year, the WWE brand split and the UFC sale both in play, we’ve got a new issue of the Observer packed with news.

        Our lead story looks at the brand split, with what we do know, what has and hasn’t been decided and the background of how it went down. There’s also more info on the UFC sale talks.  Plus there is coverage of the return of Seth Rollins, the build to Money in the Bank and have coverage of Extreme Rules, the negotiations for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight and look more at the Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor rumors. Take an in-depth look at the departure of Cody Runnels (Rhodes) from WWE and his future prospects, plus look at his complaints regarding people in the company. All this plus a look at the New Japan Super Juniors tournament, the funding of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, the World Cup trios tournament coming up and a feature on the last PWG show.

        The lead story looks at every aspect of the brand split.  It looks at the original goals and reasons for it and what did and didn’t work, plus how it’ll be different this time, how the touring will work, and an examination of what talent knows and tentative plans in place.  Vince McMahon’ reaction is a big part of this, and this issue explains how the deal went down, the story behind the story and other aspects to be considered. There’s also a look at Smackdown going live, the affect on the fan base, the affect on TNA and why it was important to get Smackdown away from Thursday.

        Another big story in this issues is Extreme Rules, the decision to make Seth Rollins a heel and current plans for Money in the Bank, and also match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

        Details about what’s going on with Conor McGregor, including Colin Cowherd’s claim that Mayweather vs. McGregor is happening, as well as a look at the Nate Diaz negotiations last week and what McGregor has said publicly.

        Finally, this issue looks at Cody Runnels leaving WWE, what he said was the reason why, and a look into those reasons, and a look at the realities of WWE business decisions and his background.

        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. 

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

        SATURDAY NEWS

        Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting WWE canceled plans for John Cena merchandise that looked to be inspired by the classic Pabst Blue Ribbon beer logo. Yesterday, the official twitter account for PBR tweeted a picture of a new Cena shirt that went on sale Friday alongside a photo of him wearing a shirt with the PBR logo. The tweet also reads: “A message to @JohnCena & the @WWE: We have a chokehold called the Cease & Desist. Pretty sure we see you.” Notably, the color scheme of red, white and blue could also be interpreted as a patriotic theme especially considering Cena returns to Raw on a national holiday this Memorial Day. Nevertheless, the shirt in question is no longer for sale on WWE Shop. Other new Cena merchandise is similarly patriotic with one shirt dubbed as “American Pride”. 

        Univision and Penske Media are two groups possibly interested in buying Gawker. Penske media already owns Variety and Deadline.com among other publications. With Nick Denton looking at possibly owing the Hulkster 140 million dollars once everything settles, it may be a wise time to start liquidating assets. For more on the story, check out this article. 

        Cody “Stardust” Rhodes / Runnels sent out an interesting tweet today. Runnels has sent a tease that he will be available to work in just under three months. It is unclear what name he will choose as Rhodes is a family name, but not a legal name. At this point, nobody can say for sure who or where he will be working but he added a list of opponents he’d like to work with: Adam Cole, Dalton Castle, Kurt Angle, Chris Hero, The Miracle (Mike Bennett), Moose, Pat Buck, Young Bucks, Trevor Lee, Katsuyori Shibata and Roderick Strong. His tweet was a photo of the list of names and the only words “After 8/19.”

        WWE & Professional Wrestling

        • This week on 6:05 Superpodcast, Brian Last and David Bixenspan talk to Kenny “Starmaker” Bolin (as close to “out of character” as he’ll ever get) about his childhood friendship with Jim Cornette, working for Nick Gulas, and much more. Plus: More discussion of the best wrestling families and tons of other old-school topics.
        • John Cena has much more to say on his return to Raw this coming Monday, as well as his thoughts on Camp WWE.  
        • Bayley is doing some press for the upcoming NXT tour.
        • No, it’s not a Silicon Valley plotline: the founder of eBay is powering Gawker’s appeal of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit victory where he’s being powered by another Silicon Valley billionaire.
        • Friend of the site Pat LaPrade did a Slam Wrestling column on the first-ever all Canadian main event on a New Japan show: Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega.
        • While the headline ‘Tony Schiavone working at Starbucks?’ is designed for that sympathy click, he actually wants to do it in order to stay busy with his other sports gigs. Here’s the local news story.
        • Johnny Kidd’s final wrestling match is today against Chikara’s Mike Quackenbush. Here’s a feature on it.

        UFC & MMA

        • Fight Network announced Friday that UK’s Insane Championship Wrestling (a group our Alan Boon talks about frequently in his weekly British wrestling column) is coming to their airwaves with a weekly TV show airing Fridays at 1 AM, part of a wrestling block that starts Thursday nights with AAA and CMLL.
        • The NWA announced Friday that they are expanding into NYC with NWA Big Apple Wrestling, increasing their total number of licensed promotions to 30.
        • FITE.tv has a mix of free and paid combat sports content up this weekend.

        EVENTS

        • May 28 – Mayhem in the Magnolia State, Louisville Coliseum. This show is a benefit for Kamala.
        • 28 – Absolute Intense Wrestling “2016 JT Lightning Invitational Tournament,” Our Lady Of Mount Carmel, 1355 West 70th Street, Cleveland, Ohio
        • May 30 – Jake Roberts will be appearing in Burbank next monday at 8pm at Flappers Comedy.
        • June 4 – UFC 199 from the Forum in Los Angeles with Michael Bisping getting his first title opportunity of his career battling Luke Rockhold for the middleweight belt
        • June 4 – In celebration of Metro Pro’s Sixth Anniversary, Demolition (Ax & Smash) will be in action on Saturday, Turner Recreation Center in Kansas City, Kansas. The event address is: 831 S. 55th St., Kansas City, KS 66106 – Tickets can be bought in advance.
        • June 5 – AAA’s Victoria World Cup men and women’s trio tournament finals at Los Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City which will be a live iPPV show
        • June 7 – New Japan Best of the Super Juniors finals from Sendai live on New Japan World
        • June 8 – NXT Takeover from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL featuring Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a cage match plus a loaded lineup that includes American Alpha vs. The Revival and probably Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries, which could be WWE’s match of the month.
        • June 11 – NECW presents the 2016 IRON 8 Championship, Saturday Night, June 11 in Wakefield, MA
        • June 12 – TNA Slammiversary headlined by Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title from Orlando
        • June 12 – Revolution Pro Wrestling in London, England headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
        • June 17 – AAW “Killers Among Us” features Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Johnny Gargano, Drago vs. Chris Hero, and more at 115 Bourbon Street (3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL) All Ages Event – Tickets available.
        • June 18 – UFC in Ottawa: Rory McDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
        • June 18 – New England Fights (NEF) returns to the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine with “NEF 24: PROMISED LAND.” Tickets for “NEF 24” are on sale now.
        • June 19 – New Japan Dominion, one of the company’s biggest events of the year, featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada in an IWGP title match and Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in a ladder match for the IC title
        • June 19 – WWE Money in the Bank from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas 
        • June 24 – ROH Best in the World from Concord, NC with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title 
        • June 25 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
        • June 26 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple   
        • July 7-11 The 10th annual Wrestling Observer/F4W convention in Las Vegas, EdinSanAntonio has all the information up on Facebook, or email him at F4Wfan@hotmail.com.

        Today in Professional Wrestling History: Crusher & The Bruiser win AWA World Tag Team Titles; Bruno vs. Superstar Graham

      • Daily Update: NJPW lineup, WWE 24 Seth Rollins, UFC 199 call

        With a huge weekend of ringed combat ahead of us this Memorial Day, let’s look at some of the potential awesomeness… AJ Styles vs. Shibata from NJPW on Friday night sounds great. I know this match happened a while ago, but if watching Styles last Sunday didn’t make you want to see more of him, then you’re not a real wrestling fan. Go sit in the corner… From CMLL, if you’ve never seen Blue Panther, Blue Panter Jr. and THE Panther together, you’re missing out. Only in Mexico would a team like this exist… From the best of the Super Juniors, you’ve definintely got to check out Matt Sydal vs. Kyle O’Reilly. These two are possibly the best two workers from ROH getting to have a super juniors match in Japan. I know these two will be motivated to have an awesome performance… And don’t sleep on Trent Baretta in this tournament. He’s set up to face Chase Owens. Baretta and Romero have become a really fun act in ROH and Japan and Baretta on his own is vastly underrated… From the MMA world, a match I’m really looking forward to on UFC Fight Night 88 is Jeremy Stephens vs. Renan Barao. Stephens takes a beatin’ like no other, and Barao, can toss a beatin’ on anyone, even the best. I expect to see Barao back in old form landing big kicks as the “Lil Heathen” demands him to keep bringining it… So sit back and relax. The Wrestling Observer has you covered. 

        [Dan Velten]

        NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING ON FRIDAY NIGHT ON AXS TV AT 8 P.M.

        The show returns with the first of several two hour specials from the 2015 G-1 Climax tournament

        • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi
        • A.J Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata
        • Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale

        CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO IN MEXICO CITY ON FRIDAY NIGHT

        • Oro Jr. & Soberano vs. Cancerbero & Raziel
        • Marcela & Princesa Sugei & Silueta vs. Amapola & Dallys & Zeuxis
        • Blue Panther & Blue Panther Jr. & The Panther vs. Ephesto & Luciferno & Mephisto
        • Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Felino
        • Diamante Azul & Marco Corleone & Titan vs. Kraneo & Rey Bucanero & Ripper
        • Maximo Sexy & Mistico & Stuka Jr. vs. El Terrible & Shocker & La Mascara

        NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT FROM OSAKA AT 3 A.M. EASTERN SUNDAY MORNING/SATURDAYNIGHT ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

        • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Michael Elgin & Volador Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Trent Baretta & Will Ospreay
        • Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Bobby Fish & Jay White & Juice Robinson & Katsuyori Shibata
        • David Finlay vs. Gedo
        • Rocky Romero vs. Bushi
        • Satoshi Kojima & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan & Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
        • Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Seiya Sanada
        • Matt Sydal vs. Kyle O’Reilly
        • Kushida vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

        UFC FROM THE MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER IN LAS VEGAS ON SUNDAY

        Fight Pass bouts at 6 p.m. Eastern

        • Adam Milstead vs. Chris De La Rosa
        • Bryan Caraway vs. Aljamain Sterling

        FS 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern

        • Shane Campbell vs. Erik Koch
        • Jake Collier vs. Alberto Pereira Uda
        • Abel Trujillo vs. Jordan Rinaldi
        • Sara McMann vs. Jessica Eye
        • Josh Burkman vs. Paul Felder
        • Jorge Masvidal vs. Lorenz Larkin
        • Chris Camozzi vs Vitor Miranda
        • Tarec Saffiedine vs. Rick Story
        • Jeremy Stephens vs. Renan Barao
        • Cody Garbrandt vs. Thomas Almeida

        NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM TOTTORI ON MONDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

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

        Raw is Monday from Green Bay featuring the return of John Cena plus a Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin match.

        NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM HIROSHIMA ON TUESDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

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

        Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Rockford, IL.

          THE ROUND-UP

          If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our 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 5/23/2016: More strange developments in WWE’s concussion lawsuit deposition – Last week we talked a bit about both Evan Singleton’s deposition in the WWE concussion lawsuit as well as a video of a concussion presentation held in developmental during Singleton’s time under contact. Among other topics, there’s been a bit more movement on that front.

          Wrestling Observer Newsletter

          READ IT HERE: May 30, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Return of Seth Rollins and the WWE brand split, plus tons of news

          With two of the biggest news stories of the year, the WWE brand split and the UFC sale both in play, we’ve got a new issue of the Observer packed with news.

          Our lead story looks at the brand split, with what we do know, what has and hasn’t been decided and the background of how it went down. There’s also more info on the UFC sale talks.  Plus there is coverage of the return of Seth Rollins, the build to Money in the Bank and have coverage of Extreme Rules, the negotiations for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight and look more at the Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor rumors. Take an in-depth look at the departure of Cody Runnels (Rhodes) from WWE and his future prospects, plus look at his complaints regarding people in the company. All this plus a look at the New Japan Super Juniors tournament, the funding of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, the World Cup trios tournament coming up and a feature on the last PWG show.

          The lead story looks at every aspect of the brand split.  It looks at the original goals and reasons for it and what did and didn’t work, plus how it’ll be different this time, how the touring will work, and an examination of what talent knows and tentative plans in place.  Vince McMahon’ reaction is a big part of this, and this issue explains how the deal went down, the story behind the story and other aspects to be considered. There’s also a look at Smackdown going live, the affect on the fan base, the affect on TNA and why it was important to get Smackdown away from Thursday.

          Another big story in this issues is Extreme Rules, the decision to make Seth Rollins a heel and current plans for Money in the Bank, and also match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

          Details about what’s going on with Conor McGregor, including Colin Cowherd’s claim that Mayweather vs. McGregor is happening, as well as a look at the Nate Diaz negotiations last week and what McGregor has said publicly.

          Finally, this issue looks at Cody Runnels leaving WWE, what he said was the reason why, and a look into those reasons, and a look at the realities of WWE business decisions and his background.

          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. 

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

          FRIDAY NEWS

          There will be a new WWE 24 show debuting after Monday Night RAW on Monday on the WWE Network. “Seth Rollins: Redesign. Rebuild. Reclaim” will look at the former WWE Champion’s recovery from a career-threatening injury over the last 6 months. It should be interesting to see if he recovers at the normal human rate, or the super-human pro wrestler rate.

          The chair of Kentucky’s boxing and wrestling commission wants to end a state rule that ends a wrestling match when one of the wrestlers starts bleeding. WWE won’t bring TV back there until the law is changed, and supplied a statement in the story. MMA and boxing aren’t bound to the same rule for some reason.

          We have the full audio from Thursday’s UFC 199 conference call featuring middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, and Urijah Faber. This is sure to be an exciting PPV card and I can’t imagine the conference call being any less entertaining.

          WRESTLING

          MMA

          • ONE Championships ran earlier today in Bangkok. Yoshitaka Naito won the strawweight title in the main event. Murat Gafurov retained the middleweight title in the co-main and Christian Lee, who doesn’t turn 18 until next month, scored his 5th straight first round finish on the undercard. Full report is up here.
          • Former bantamweight title contender Joe Soto steps in to replace Kid Yamamoto at UFC Ottawa next month against Chris Beal.
          • Miesha Tate was poking the bear during an interview on SiriusXM yesterday.

          EVENTS

          • May 28 – Mayhem in the Magnolia State, Louisville Coliseum. This show is a benefit for Kamala.
          • May 27 & 28 – Absolute Intense Wrestling “2016 JT Lightning Invitational Tournament,” Our Lady Of Mount Carmel, 1355 West 70th Street, Cleveland, Ohio
          • May 30 – Jake Roberts will be appearing in Burbank next monday at 8pm at Flappers Comedy.
          • June 4 – UFC 199 from the Forum in Los Angeles with Michael Bisping getting his first title opportunity of his career battling Luke Rockhold for the middleweight belt
          • June 4 – In celebration of Metro Pro’s Sixth Anniversary, Demolition (Ax & Smash) will be in action on Saturday, Turner Recreation Center in Kansas City, Kansas. The event address is: 831 S. 55th St., Kansas City, KS 66106 – Tickets can be bought in advance.
          • June 5 – AAA’s Victoria World Cup men and women’s trio tournament finals at Los Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City which will be a live iPPV show
          • June 7 – New Japan Best of the Super Juniors finals from Sendai live on New Japan World
          • June 8 – NXT Takeover from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL featuring Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a cage match plus a loaded lineup that includes American Alpha vs. The Revival and probably Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries, which could be WWE’s match of the month.
          • June 11 – NECW presents the 2016 IRON 8 Championship, Saturday Night, June 11 in Wakefield, MA
          • June 12 – TNA Slammiversary headlined by Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title from Orlando
          • June 12 – Revolution Pro Wrestling in London, England headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
          • June 17 – AAW “Killers Among Us” features Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Johnny Gargano, Drago vs. Chris Hero, and more at 115 Bourbon Street (3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL) All Ages Event – Tickets available.
          • June 18 – UFC in Ottawa: Rory McDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
          • June 18 – New England Fights (NEF) returns to the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine with “NEF 24: PROMISED LAND.” Tickets for “NEF 24” are on sale now.
          • June 19 – New Japan Dominion, one of the company’s biggest events of the year, featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada in an IWGP title match and Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in a ladder match for the IC title
          • June 19 – WWE Money in the Bank from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas 
          • June 24 – ROH Best in the World from Concord, NC with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title 
          • June 25 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
          • June 26 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple   
          • July 7-11 The 10th annual Wrestling Observer/F4W convention in Las Vegas, EdinSanAntonio has all the information up on Facebook, or email him at F4Wfan@hotmail.com.

          Today in Professional Wrestling History: Thor Hogan wins Central States Title; Owen Hart wins IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title

        • Daily Update: Hogan’s secret backer, NXT TakeOver, Sasha and Enzo return

          Peter Thiel admitted in a New York Times article that he was, as reported earlier in the week by Forbes, secretly funding Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit, noting that most people can’t defend themselves and even a famous millionaire like Terry Bollea didn’t have the resources to do this one alone. He said he had planned this against Gawker several years ago. “I refuse to believe that journalism means massive privacy violations. I think much more highly of journalists than that. Its precisely because I respect journalists that I do not believe they are endangered by fighting back against Gawker.” 

          Thiel said the published estimates of him spending $10 million were “roughly in the ballpark.” He said this is not a business venture and he’s not expecting any money out of funding Hogan’s case. He said he considered this “one of my greater philanthropic things that I’ve done. I think of it in those terms.” He also said this is not the only case that he’s funded. Here is another article on this aspect of the on-going Hulk Hogan saga.

          We’re looking for reports on tonight’s NXT house show in Lakeland, FL to newstips@WrestlingObserver.com.

          SMACKDOWN TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ON USA NETWORK

          • Zack Ryder vs. Alberto Del Rio in a Money in the Bank qualifier
          • Rusev vs. Kalisto for the U.S. title
          • Natalya vs. Dana Brooke
          • R-Truth & Goldust vs. Fandango & Tyler Breeze
          • The Miz vs. Cesaro for IC title

          NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT LIVE FROM TOKYO KORAKUEN HALL AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERNFRIDAY MORNING ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

          • Matt Sydal & Michael Elgin vs. Rocky Romero & Yoshi-Hashi
          • Yuji Nagata & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi & David Finlay & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Kushida & Ryusuke Taguchi & Juice Robinson & Jay White
          • Tiger Mask vs. Chase Owens
          • Trent Baretta vs. Bobby Fish
          • Satoshi Kojima & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi
          • Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
          • Jushin Liger vs. Volador Jr.
          • Ricochet vs. Will  Ospreay 

          On  Friday, we’re looking for reports on the WWE house show in Springfield, IL (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and the NXT show in Cocoa Beach, FL to newstips@WrestlingObserver.com

          NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING ON FRIDAY NIGHT ON AXS TV AT 8 P.M.

          The show returns with the first of several two hour specials from the 2015 G-1 Climax tournament

          • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi
          • A.J Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata
          • Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale

          CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO IN MEXICO CITY ON FRIDAY NIGHT

          • Oro Jr. & Soberano vs. Cancerbero & Raziel
          • Marcela & Princesa Sugei & Silueta vs. Amapola & Dallys & Zeuxis
          • Blue Panther & Blue Panther Jr. & The Panther vs. Ephesto & Luciferno & Mephisto
          • Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Felino
          • Diamante Azul & Marco Corleone & Titan vs. Kraneo & Rey Bucanero & Ripper
          • Maximo Sexy & Mistico & Stuka Jr. vs. El Terrible & Shocker & La Mascara

          Saturday we’re looking for reports on the WWE shows in Peoria, IL (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and Winnipeg (Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Rusev, Kalisto, Alberto De Rio, Paige, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks).

          NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT FROM OSAKA AT 3 A.M. EASTERN SUNDAY MORNING/SATURDAYNIGHT ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

          • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Michael Elgin & Volador Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Trent Baretta & Will Ospreay
          • Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Bobby Fish & Jay White & Juice Robinson & Katsuyori Shibata
          • David Finlay vs. Gedo
          • Rocky Romero vs. Bushi
          • Satoshi Kojima & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan & Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
          • Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Seiya Sanada
          • Matt Sydal vs.. Kyle O’Reilly
          • Kushida vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

          Sunday we’re looking for reports on WWE shows in Madison, WI (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and LaCrosse, WI (Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Rusev, Kalisto, Alberto Del Rio, Paige, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks).

          UFC FROM THE MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER IN LAS VEGAS ON SUNDAY

          Fight Pass bouts at 6 p.m. Eastern

          • Adam Milstead vs. Chris De La Rosa
          • Bryan Caraway vs. Aljamain Sterling

          FS 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern

          • Shane Campbell vs. Erik Koch
          • Jake Collier vs. Alberto Pereira Uda
          • Abel Trujillo vs. Jordan Rinaldi
          • Sara McMann vs. Jessica Eye
          • Josh Burkman vs. Paul Felder
          • Jorge Masvidal vs. Lorenz Larkin
          • Chris Camozzi vs Vitor Miranda
          • Tarec Saffiedine vs. Rick Story
          • Jeremy Stephens vs. Renan Barao
          • Cody Garbrandt vs. Thomas Almeida

          NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM TOTTORI ON MONDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

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

          Raw is Monday from Green Bay featuring the return of John Cena plus a Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin match.

          NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM HIROSHIMA ON TUESDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

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

          Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Rockford, IL.

            THE ROUND-UP

            If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our 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 5/23/2016: More strange developments in WWE’s concussion lawsuit deposition – Last week we talked a bit about both Evan Singleton’s deposition in the WWE concussion lawsuit as well as a video of a concussion presentation held in developmental during Singleton’s time under contact. Among other topics, there’s been a bit more movement on that front.

            Wrestling Observer Newsletter

            READ IT HERE: May 30, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Return of Seth Rollins and the WWE brand split, plus tons of news

            With two of the biggest news stories of the year, the WWE brand split and the UFC sale both in play, we’ve got a new issue of the Observer packed with news.

            Our lead story looks at the brand split, with what we do know, what has and hasn’t been decided and the background of how it went down. There’s also more info on the UFC sale talks.  Plus there is coverage of the return of Seth Rollins, the build to Money in the Bank and have coverage of Extreme Rules, the negotiations for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight and look more at the Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor rumors. Take an in-depth look at the departure of Cody Runnels (Rhodes) from WWE and his future prospects, plus look at his complaints regarding people in the company. All this plus a look at the New Japan Super Juniors tournament, the funding of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, the World Cup trios tournament coming up and a feature on the last PWG show.

            The lead story looks at every aspect of the brand split.  It looks at the original goals and reasons for it and what did and didn’t work, plus how it’ll be different this time, how the touring will work, and an examination of what talent knows and tentative plans in place.  Vince McMahon’ reaction is a big part of this, and this issue explains how the deal went down, the story behind the story and other aspects to be considered. There’s also a look at Smackdown going live, the affect on the fan base, the affect on TNA and why it was important to get Smackdown away from Thursday.

            Another big story in this issues is Extreme Rules, the decision to make Seth Rollins a heel and current plans for Money in the Bank, and also match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

            Details about what’s going on with Conor McGregor, including Colin Cowherd’s claim that Mayweather vs. McGregor is happening, as well as a look at the Nate Diaz negotiations last week and what McGregor has said publicly.

            Finally, this issue looks at Cody Runnels leaving WWE, what he said was the reason why, and a look into those reasons, and a look at the realities of WWE business decisions and his background.

            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. 

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

            THURSDAY NEWS

            HHH on Twitter yesterday noted that the name of the 6/8 NXT Takeover show would be “Takeover: The End.” Some people seem to think that means it’s the end of NXT. It isn’t. It’s just likely the end of the Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor program with their third meeting in a cage.

            We’re sorry to hear about the death today of Beverly Crookshanks, better known as Beverly Dundee. Dundee was the wife of Bill Dundee who was part of a huge angle in Memphis where after Bill lost his hair in a match with Jerry Lawler, he put up his wife’s hair to get another shot at Lawler’s hair. Lawler won again and mocked Dundee for years about shaving his wife’s head and him having to go home to a bald woman. She had a stroke several months ago and her health had declined since then. Here is a youtube video where you can see Lawler and Dundee.

            UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has been named the honorary chairman of the World Cup of Wrestling which takes place on 6/11 and 6/12 at the Forum in Los Angeles.  All six members of the freestyle Olympic team are scheduled to represent the U.S.

            Sasha Banks has been cleared to work after what is believed to have been a concussion. She will be working in Winnipeg and LaCrosse, WI at the house shows this weekend. Not sure about TV. On the original plans for Money in the Bank, she was to have a match and to return to TV to build it.

            Enzo Amore is also scheduled for house shows this weekend in Springfield, IL, Peoria and Madison, WI.

            WWE

            • Brandi Runnels talks her departure from WWE.
            • Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat will be appearing together on 7/23 at The Sands Resort in Bethlehem, PA for a Q&A show. Former ROH owner Cary Silkin said that he would be going to that event to try and collect $41,000 the he said Flair owes him for not living up to his contract and quitting on ROH in 2010.
            • John Cena talks about building the WWE brand. 
            • Randy Orton and his new wife are expecting a daughter in November.
            • There will be a new episode of Camp WWE put on the network tonight at 10 p.m.
            • On NXT last night, they started promoting the debut of Andrade Cien Almas, who is the former La Sombra.
            • WWE stock, which fell last week due to Vince & Linda McMahon selling stock, is back to normal range as it was up 13 cents per share today to $17.43.

            UFC

            • Alex Caceres replaces B.J. Penn as the opponent for Cole Miller on the 6/4 UFC show in Los Angeles.  
            • Matt Brown vs. Jake Ellenberger was announced for UFC 201 on 7/30 in Atlanta.
            • Kid Yamamoto pulled out of his 6/18 fight with Chris Beal. He’s being replaced on the show by Joe Soto.
            • Jim Alers vs. Jason Knight was added to the 7/23 show in Chicago.

            MISCELLANEOUS

            • Mike Tyson has joined the cast of “Kickboxer: Retaliation,” which is the movie starring Dave Bautista, Jean Claude Van Damme, Paige VanZant, Gina Carano and Georges St-Pierre.
            • Dixie Carter did media in India and said TNA was looking for a female pro wrestler from India.
            • The first series of Ring of Honor action figures are now up for preorder at www.figurestoycompany.com and www.wrestlingsuperstore.com. This series features Jay Lethal, Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, and Kevin Steen. Figures are available individually or as a complete set with some special deals available when you order. Estimated delivery is in July.
            • An interview with Ricochet is here. 
            • Chris Honeycutt vs. Mikkel Parlo at middleweight has been added to the 6/17 Bellator show in Fresno at the SaveMart Center.
            • New England Championship Wrestling’s Iron Man 8 championship takes place on 6/11 in Wakefield, MA. There will be four singles matches and the four winners come back in a four-way 45 minute match where whoever wins the most falls in 45 minutes is the winner. Announced in are Slyck Wagner Brown, Brad Hollister, Chris Escobar, Tod Loco, Kevin Tibbs and the rest are to be announced.
            • Former WCW and TNA employee Jason Hervey, best known as Eric Bischoff’s warner in BHE, was arrested in January according to TMZ reports that came out today, noting he had spent 48 hours behind bars for a DUI and carrying a weapon while under the influence charge as there was allegedly a loaded handgun in his car when pulled over. Hervey is best known for his days as a child actor on “The Wonder Years” TV show.  
            • AAW on 6/17 in Merionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street with Sami Callihan & Dave Crist vs. Eddie Kingston & Homicide, Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett vs. Devin & Mason Cutter, Chris Hero vs Drago, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa vs. ?, plus AR Fox, Aerostar, Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett, Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak, Silas Young, Moose, Candice LaRae, Heidi Lovelace, Jessicka Havok, Kimber Lee and Kongo Kong.
            • Metro Pro Wrestling’s sixth anniversary show features Demolition on 6/4 in Kansas City at the turner Rec Center.
            • Woman’s Fatale 19 is in Ste-Therese, Quebec at the Cultural Centre Communautiare.
            • WCWF has its third anniversary show on 6/4 at 7 p.m. at the Yuba Sutter Fairgrounds in Yuba City headlined by Nathan Brick vs. Lord Luxury.
            • Legends of the Ring on 6/11 in Monroe, NJ at the Crowne Plaza Hotel has an autograph show with Matt & Jeff Hardy, Bret Hart, Gene Okerlund, Sting, Booker T, Stevie Ray, Demolition, Warlord, Barbarian, Candice Michelle, Dutch Mantell, Terry Funk, Scott Steiner and Butch Reed. 
            • CWE tonight in Brandon, Manitoba at the Assiniboine Community College with Frankie Kazarian & Silas Young vs. Orin Veidi & Jacob Savage and Lio Rush vs. Jason Kincaid vs. AJ Sanchez.
            • Evolve on 6/11 in Orlando at the Downtown Rec Center
              Elimination match:  Johnny Gargano vs. Drew Gulak vs. TJP vs. Lince Dorado vs. ?
              Drew Galloway vs. Ethan Page
              Ethan Carter III vs. ?
              Timothy Thatcher vs. Tracy Williams
              Matt Riddle vs. Trevor Lee
              Fred Yehi vs. Cedric Alexander
              Bravado Brother vs. Jason Cade &Darby Allin
            • Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame show from Friday night in Wichita Falls, TX before 450 fans:  Americos b Jastin Taylor, Greg Anthony b Matt Riviera, Moonshine Mantell b Double D, Charlie Haas b Houston Carson, Tim Storm b Andrew Anderson.  Eric Embry, David Manning and Gary Young attended the show.
            • The J.T. Lightning 24-man Invitational tournament takes place on 5/27 and 5/28 in Cleveland at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.  Dylan Postl (Swoggle as he’s now gong) appears plus opening round matches of Colt Cabana vs. Homicide, Dan Severn vs. Colin Delaney, Brian Myers vs. Billy Gunn, Josh Alexander vs. Johnny Gargano, Ray Rowe vs. Big Damo, Little Guido vs. Tim Donst, Tyson Dux vs. Tracy Williams, Cedric Alexander vs. Veda Scott, DJ Zema Ion vs. Laredo Kid, Alex Daniels vs. Britt Baker, Louis Lyndon vs. Cheech and BJ Whitmer vs. Candice LaRae.
            • Lex Luger appears on 6/11 in Gray, TN at Daniel Boone High School for a combination wrestling show at Fountain of Life Bible Church’s Car and Bike show.  The event has free admission.
            • John LaRocca and Alan Counihan talk the Champion Carnival tournament.
            • Here is a story comparing Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather to the Ali vs. Inoki match 40 years ago.
            • Here is a story on an indie event in Louisville.
            • A review of the autobiography of Jeannie Clarke-Williams, a former wrestling valet in WCCW and WCW who was married to Chris Adams and Steve Austin can be read here.

            Today in Professional Wrestling History: Smoking Gunns win WWF Tag Team Titles; Eric Young wins TNA TV Title

          • WON Preview: May 30, 2016 Return of Seth Rollins and the WWE brand split, plus tons of news

            READ IT HERE: May 30, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Return of Seth Rollins and the WWE brand split, plus tons of news

            With two of the biggest news stories of the year, the WWE brand split and the UFC sale both in play, we’ve got a new issue of the Observer packed with news.

            Our lead story looks at the brand split, with what we do know, what has and hasn’t been decided and the background of how it went down. There’s also more info on the UFC sale talks.  Plus there is coverage of the return of Seth Rollins, the build to Money in the Bank and have coverage of Extreme Rules, the negotiations for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight and look more at the Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor rumors. Take an in-depth look at the departure of Cody Runnels (Rhodes) from WWE and his future prospects, plus look at his complaints regarding people in the company. All this plus a look at the New Japan Super Juniors tournament, the funding of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, the World Cup trios tournament coming up and a feature on the last PWG show.

            The lead story looks at every aspect of the brand split.  It looks at the original goals and reasons for it and what did and didn’t work, plus how it’ll be different this time, how the touring will work, and an examination of what talent knows and tentative plans in place.  Vince McMahon’ reaction is a big part of this, and this issue explains how the deal went down, the story behind the story and other aspects to be considered. There’s also a look at Smackdown going live, the affect on the fan base, the affect on TNA and why it was important to get Smackdown away from Thursday.

            Another big story in this issues is Extreme Rules, the decision to make Seth Rollins a heel and current plans for Money in the Bank, and also match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

            Details about what’s going on with Conor McGregor, including Colin Cowherd’s claim that Mayweather vs. McGregor is happening, as well as a look at the Nate Diaz negotiations last week and what McGregor has said publicly.

            Finally, this issue looks at Cody Runnels leaving WWE, what he said was the reason why, and a look into those reasons, and a look at the realities of WWE business decisions and his background.

            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. 

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            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 sent to you today. 

            Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

            Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: April 12, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WrestleMania 15 business, All Japan’s Tokyo Dome show – Early Wrestlemania 15 numbers, All Japan Tokyo Dome show notes, more. Plus all the usual news and notes you can only get right here.

            The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

            Also in this issue:

            • A new television series being filmed on the life of one of the biggest wrestling stars of the 50s, 60s and 70s
            • Elite crowns a new heavyweight and middleweight champion
            • Update on Dragon Lee and injuries
            • First match of the post-Ingobernables split in Mexico
            • Sexy Star on Konnan’s podcast and her reactions to AAA including an AAA wrestler calling B.S. on them
            • Update on the 2016 King of Gate tournament
            • A look at All Japan’s big show this past week and where their next series of title matches are going
            • NOAH’s major show of the week
            • Will Ospreay and injuries
            • New Japan Dominion ticket sales
            • Some awesome TV shows coming to AXS on Friday nights
            • Kota Ibushi’s return
            • Notes on the career of George Steele
            • More on the Jimmy Snuka competency hearing
            • A new television series being filmed on the life of one of the biggest wrestling stars of the 50s, 60s and 70s
            • Elite crowns a new heavyweight and middleweight champion
            • Update on Dragon Lee and injuries
            • First match of the post-Ingobernables split in Mexico
            • Sexy Star on Konnan’s podcast and her reactions to AAA including an AAA wrestler calling B.S. on them
            • Update on the 2016 King of Gate tournament
            • A look at All Japan’s big show this past week and where their next series of title matches are going
            • NOAH’s major show of the week
            • Will Ospreay and injuries
            • New Japan Dominion ticket sales
            • Some awesome TV shows coming to AXS on Friday nights
            • Kota Ibushi’s return
            • Notes on the career of George Steele
            • More on the Jimmy Snuka competency hearing
            • Indie promotion from Scotland doing increasing TV numbers
            • New submission promotion update and what match with pro wrestling legends did they try to put together
            • Zack Sabre Jr. update
            • Upcoming lineups for ROH shows
            • Pop TV gives TNA a public vote of confidence
            • More on the UFC sale talks
            • One of UFC’s fixtures talks about his possibly leaving and the sale
            • Tito Ortiz talks about if the new owners should keep Dana White
            • Paige VanZant update and how Dancing with the Stars opened her to acting
            • More on B.J. Penn being pulled from UFC 1999
            • Notes on the letter UF
            • Indie promotion from Scotland doing increasing TV numbers
            • New submission promotion update and what match with pro wrestling legends did they try to put together
            • Zack Sabre Jr. update
            • Upcoming lineups for ROH shows
            • Pop TV gives TNA a public vote of confidence
            • More on the UFC sale talks
            • One of UFC’s fixtures talks about his possibly leaving and the sale
            • Tito Ortiz talks about if the new owners should keep Dana White
            • Paige VanZant update and how Dancing with the Stars opened her to acting
            • More on B.J. Penn being pulled from UFC 1999
            • Notes on the letter UF

            If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. 

            If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

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

            Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

            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.

          • NJPW BOSJ day 5 results: Taguchi vs. Romero; Gedo vs. Matt Sydal

            Day 5 results are in (though you probably already know that reading this evening’s edition of the Observer), which featured A Block action in Iwate:

            Gedo vs Matt Sydal

            The heel Gedo jumped Sydal immediately with a superkick to the gut. He was in control for most of the match. Sydal escaped from Gedo and took him down, remained in control and got the win rather quickly with a shooting star press. Okay for what it was.

            Kyle O’Reilly vs. BUSHI

            This was just there. Crowd was kind of into it, but not really. It was solid but the crowd hurt it a bit. There was a ref bump but O’Reilly avoided the mist and hit the brainbuster for a nearfall. The referee recovered way too quickly over that ref bump; doing it in every Bushi match is going to get really tiresome, plus they come up with the most contrived ways to execute them. O’Reilly immediately sank in the armbar and got the submission.

            Kushida vs. David Finlay

            Another solid match here. Kushida worked on Finlay’s arm early. Finlay came back with a German suplex and did the uppercut in the corner. Finlay broke out the stretch muffler but Kushida made it to the ropes. Some hot nearfalls toward the end. After some back and forth reversals Kushida got in the hoverboard lock and after some fighting, Finlay submitted.

            Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Rocky Romero

            Taguchi decided to wear a pirate costume to the ring. And when I mean costume, I mean a plastic hook and an eyepatch. Not imaginative, but gets the job done I guess. Another okay match. Everything looked fine, nothing wrong with it. Romero kicked out of a running hip strike. Taguchi went for another but Romero grabbed him. Taguchi countered by reversing into an ankle lock submission, which got him the win.

            Current tallies:

            Block A:

            • Ryusuke Taguchi – 6
            • Kyle O’Reilly – 6
            • Rocky Romero – 4
            • Matt Sydal – 4
            • Gedo – 2
            • Kushida – 2
            • Bushi – 0
            • David Finlay – 0

            Block B:

            • Baretta – 4
            • Jushin Thunder Liger – 4
            • Ricochet – 4
            • Chase Owens – 2
            • Volador Jr. – 2
            • Tiger Mask – 0
            • Bobby Fish – 0
            • Will Ospreay – 0

          • May 30, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Return of Seth Rollins and the WWE brand split, plus tons of news

            In an attempt to revitalize the ratings on Smackdown in particular, the WWE has announced both a brand split and moving Smackdown live on the USA Network on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

            Current subscribers click here to continue reading.