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  • Daily Update: More Daniel Bryan, WWE Fastlane, RAW fallout

    Continued Daniel Bryan retirement news

    DON’T FORGET: Daniel Bryan, aka Bryan Danielson, will be on ESPN’s SportsCenter with Jonathan Coachman tonight at 9 EST. It will be his first interview since his incredible retirement speech Monday night to close out RAW.

    Just a bit ago we posted Daniel Bryan’s appearance from 2007 on Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez.

    MLW has uploaded the Bryan Danielson vs. Teddy Hart match from one of their last shows to YouTube, while WWN Live put up Danielson vs. Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose) on the EVOLVE channel.

    Mick Foley talked about Bryan’s retirement on his Facebook page.

    On the heels of the retirement, a new study is all over the place today, claiming that concussions “may also be associated with an increase in the long term risk of suicide.” For anyone in combat/collision sports, this is a terrifying time, indeed.

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Portland, OR. Chris Jericho vs. A.J. Styles is on the show.

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

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 2/1/2016: Weekly Hogan/Gawker update
    A look at the past weeks developments in the Hulk Hogan and Gawker lawsuit.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: February 8, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Bret Hart diagnosed with cancer, Nakamura’s final NJPW match

    The new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter looks at Bret Hart’s battle with cancer, his discussions about it, and updates on the situation. The most detailed coverage of the last month of Lucha Underground’s second season, backstage news, season three, lots of business notes.  Full coverage of all the Ultima Lucha 2 matches and direction. Nakamura’s final day with NJPW, where Nakamura and New Japan go now, his background and building the IC title, the next two New Japan PPV shows to this weekend’s biggest event.

    Fast Lane and WrestleMania, what’s up with Undertaker, WWE injury updates, the next WWE Network special, Licensing issue with new WWE signees, notes on the next NXT Takeover show, a look at all the TV building the next Takeover show, who led to a huge increase in demand for WWE tickets, next WWE show in Madison Square Garden update, Nakamura updates, WWE performer wants to compete in the Olympics and what former pro wrestler went back to the Olympics to medal, Lesnar’s schedule, Tough Enough winner starts out, Other Tough Enough competitors start out, change in Rumble plans, New WWE Network series based on wrestling matches, new WWE movie, WWE’s tour of Germany this coming week, more on The Rock’s segment on Raw.

    A detailed look at the Awesome Kong-Reby Hardy situation in Manchester, England. Benson Henderson’s decision to leave UFC for Bellator and take a championship fight, why he made the decision, what both Dana White and Henderson said. We look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s last major event and where it’s storylines are going.

    A huge look at the life and career of Archie “The Stomper” Gouldie, one of the most memorable wrestling characters of his generation, stories about him, his gimmick, how big a star he was in his heyday, his incredibly long career title history, how he was two very different successful characters, and his most famous angles and biggest bouts. We also have a lot of comments from people who knew him, including how he changed the life and career of J.J. Dillon. The life and career of the original Espectrito, the best heel mini of his generation including when he main evented the Los Angeles Sports Arena, a rarity for a mini.

    We also look at Saturday’s UFC , what’s next for the winners, thoughts on Sage Northcutt, as well as business notes on the show and match-by-match coverage.

    PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    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:

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    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE – February 15, 1988 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: A Tale of Two Hebners: All the details on Hulk Hogan losing the WWF title to Andre the Giant in a historic angle, plus tons of news and notes.

    SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    WWE

    • WWE RAW Ratings got a bump from Daniel Bryan retirement speech
    • After Raw last night, WWE FastLane has Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose for a shot at the WWE Title at WrestleMania, Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio for the US Title, Charlotte vs. Brie Bella (interesting timing) for the Diva’s Title, and Becky & Sasha vs. Naomi & Tamina.  Looks like probably a Big Show & Kane & Ryback vs. Wyatts match as well.
    • For those who have been following Bryan and Vinny on Retro Raw and Retro Nitro, the plan tonight is Nitro and Thursday Raw Thursday, which is the show where Shawn Michaels lost his smile.  Bryan on Observer Live today noted how amazing it was to watch that right after watching Daniel Bryan’s retirement speech.  Thursday Raw Thursday is not available on the WWE Network but it can be found online.
    • In case you hadn’t heard, WWE talent will be flying with you on American Airlines for the month of February as the official in-flight periodical of the airline, American Way, will feature a cover photo of both Bellas, Mark Henry, and John Cena of course. Give it a look the next time you use the seat back to stuff empty peanut bags and napkins in.
    • Speaking of Cena, he voices the Hulk in Marvel’s Avengers Academy mobile game. Here’s a look. Also, his coffee table book is now available for pre-order at Amazon. It’s out on March 15th.
    • The WWE Best of Raw & Smackdown 2015 DVD set is out today.

    UFC/MMA

    • Saturday’s UFC, headlined by Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson knocking out Johny Hendricks, did an average of 1,317,000 viewers for the 3 hour broadcast on FS 1. Even more impressive were the two hour prelims, which did 1,093,000 viewers for the 2 hours preceding the main card, also airing on FS 1. Both numbers are well above 2015 averages, which were also way up from the previous year.
    • With the dominant win, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson jumped up 5 spots from 8 to 3 in the welterweight rankings, while Hendricks fell to 4.
    • Mickey Gall, who submitted Mike Jackson in 45 seconds Saturday night to set up a fight this summer with CM Punk, opened as a -300 favorite for the fight against the former WWE Champion according to BestFightOdds.com
    • Dave has a postmortem on Saturday’s UFC card at MMAFighting.
    • Jason “Mayhem” Miller is back! Sort of…..The former UFC, EliteXC and Dream fighter will face former UFC Middleweight Luke Barnatt in May for a promotion in Italy. Bellator is running in Italy as well this year so hopefully he doesn’t show up on their radar.
    • UFC has Anderson Silva-Stephan Bonnar from UFC 153 up a free fight in preparation for Silva’s return to the Octagon on Feb 27. I prefer the commercial leading up to that show, which was far more entertaining than the fight.
    • New fight announced for UFC 197 is a couple of Middleweights with 3 and 4 fight winning streaks respectively. Robert Whitaker (15-4) takes on Rafael Natal (21-6-1) on the show headlined by Daniel Cormier’s Light Heavyweight title defence against the returning Jon Jones.

    MISC

    ON THIS DAY IN WORLD PRO WRESTLING HISTORY: Steiner Brothers win WCW World Tag Team Titles

  • Daniel Bryan retirement speech boosts WWE RAW ratings

    It was very clear that Raw was not going to do well last night until the interest generated when mainstream media picked up on the Daniel Bryan retirement story.

    The show’s audience increased greatly, but ironically, likely due to the show not ending until 11:26 p.m., the third hour with the Bryan farewell speech fell greatly.

    Raw did 3.68 million viewers, up nine percent from the nearly 18-year-low set the previous week.

    The three hours were:

    8 p.m. 3.91 million viewers
    9 p.m. 3.91 million viewers
    10 p.m. 3.37 million viewers

    The show was second for the night on cable, trailing the O’Reilly Factor by 2,000 viewers.

    Check out F4Wonline.com’s WWE RAW Recap.  

  • Classic Audio: Daniel Bryan on Figure Four Daily

    With recent test results not looking too positive, last night on Raw Daniel Bryan retired from in ring competition after a sixteen year career full of ups and downs. From training at Shawn Michaels wrestling school in Texas to wrestling on the independent scene to his WWE run in 2010, Daniel Bryan’s career has lasted many years, full of ups and downs. Anyone watching last night’s show knows that Daniel Bryan is not only a great talker, but also easy to connect with. This episode of Figure Four Daily is from May 18, 2007 where Daniel Bryan (or Bryan Danielson) talks about breaking into the business, training with Shawn Michaels, his life in general and much more. A fun filled 90 minute look into Danielson’s career before his WWE run so be sure to check it out!

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  • Daily Update: Daniel Bryan retirement on RAW tonight

    Daniel Bryan to announce retirement

    by Dave Meltzer

    I wish the best of luck to Bryan Danielson tonight in his retirement speech hope everyone wishes the best for him in his post-wrestling career.  To me, Bryan Danielson was both a model pro wrestler and far more than that, a very intelligent and very honest human being.

    He reached the highest rung in this profession in 2014 even when his look and size based on previously established standards of the business would have said it was impossible.  Unlike many, his rise to the top was entirely fan-driven, and I hope all those fans understand that whatever decision he has made is based on what he believes is the best for him in the long run.

    It will be a long time before people fully understand the contributions he made to this industry, which is a far better place because of his involvement.  There were things dating back to 2001 that he was involved with that changed the underground foundation of the industry, and over the past few years, significantly changed talent evaluation at the highest level of the industry.

    Change is slow, to be sure, but this is a different industry and he played a huge part in it.  When you really look back, from an influence standpoint, he triggered a number of changes and his contributions are actually enormous.

    On a side note: I was told that word spread today within WWE about Danielson.  As of a few hours ago, the description was the mood was very somber backstage.

    Also, Danielson will be on ESPN with Jonathan Coachman tomorrow night talking about his retirement.

    More of F4WOnline.com’s Coverage of the Daniel Bryan story:

    by Observer Staff

    After months of speculation Daniel Bryan’s future as a working wrestler with WWE will finally come to a conclusion tonight on WWE RAW.   Starting a few days ago rumors started making the rounds that Bryan was to appear on RAW in Seattle which just so happened to be near his hometown of Aberdeen.  His wife Brie Bella was also scheduled to be on RAW.  Then yesterday the Internet recieved photo confirmation of his trip from Pheonix to Seattle and a new trimmed look.  Of course, the speculation began as to the exact reason for his visit to the location of WWE RAW.  Daniel Bryan decided to let us know on Twitter.

    Bryan on Twitter posted “Due to medical reasons, effective immediately, I am announcing my retirement. Tonight on Raw, I’ll have a chance to elaborate.”  So, now we wait for his speech tonight on RAW.  To many this retirement is not coming as a surprise but to many others this will be a hard pill to swallow.  There are those who held out hope that a guy like Daniel Bryan who defied the odds of making it into the WWE, would once again return.  A guy who was small and didn’t have the prototypical WWE body, not only made it to the WWE but won the WWE title at WrestleMania 30.  In what many saw as one of the great celebrations and they got to share it with him.  This is pro wrestling and few truly retire from this business, so fans will still hold out hope he will eventually make his return however unlikely.

    Check out F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of tonight’s RAW.

    Also check out Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez talking the in depth details of Bryan’s retirement on their Breaking News Edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.

    They will be back later tonight with another Wrestling Observer Radio talking the fallout of RAW and the retirement speech.   They will also talk about the death of Axl Rotten and the latest news.  If you’ve got any questions Bryan Danielson related, particularly from the report we did or anything he may say on Raw tonight, you can send them to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com  We will try and answer all  Danielson questions tonight.  Questions on other subjects we’ll go into on Wednesday.

    Raw will be Monday in Seattle. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are scheduled on the show and of course the Daniel Bryan retirement announcement.

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Portland, OR. Chris Jericho vs. A.J. Styles is on the show.

    Thanks to everyone who did a great job of correspondent work at the shows this weekend including Adam Kirby, Alex Keeling, Jai, Thomas Green, Lee Thomas, Kody Ludwig, Tyler Kemmerer, Ross Hart, Craig Freeman, Todd Bergman, Lou Pickney, Josh Baker, Sean Moore, Dan Thompson and everyone else.

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

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 2/1/2016: Weekly Hogan/Gawker update
    A look at the past weeks developments in the Hulk Hogan and Gawker lawsuit.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: February 8, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Bret Hart diagnosed with cancer, Nakamura’s final NJPW match

    The new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter looks at Bret Hart’s battle with cancer, his discussions about it, and updates on the situation. The most detailed coverage of the last month of Lucha Underground’s second season, backstage news, season three, lots of business notes.  Full coverage of all the Ultima Lucha 2 matches and direction. Nakamura’s final day with NJPW, where Nakamura and New Japan go now, his background and building the IC title, the next two New Japan PPV shows to this weekend’s biggest event.

    Fast Lane and WrestleMania, what’s up with Undertaker, WWE injury updates, the next WWE Network special, Licensing issue with new WWE signees, notes on the next NXT Takeover show, a look at all the TV building the next Takeover show, who led to a huge increase in demand for WWE tickets, next WWE show in Madison Square Garden update, Nakamura updates, WWE performer wants to compete in the Olympics and what former pro wrestler went back to the Olympics to medal, Lesnar’s schedule, Tough Enough winner starts out, Other Tough Enough competitors start out, change in Rumble plans, New WWE Network series based on wrestling matches, new WWE movie, WWE’s tour of Germany this coming week, more on The Rock’s segment on Raw.

    A detailed look at the Awesome Kong-Reby Hardy situation in Manchester, England. Benson Henderson’s decision to leave UFC for Bellator and take a championship fight, why he made the decision, what both Dana White and Henderson said. We look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s last major event and where it’s storylines are going.

    A huge look at the life and career of Archie “The Stomper” Gouldie, one of the most memorable wrestling characters of his generation, stories about him, his gimmick, how big a star he was in his heyday, his incredibly long career title history, how he was two very different successful characters, and his most famous angles and biggest bouts. We also have a lot of comments from people who knew him, including how he changed the life and career of J.J. Dillon. The life and career of the original Espectrito, the best heel mini of his generation including when he main evented the Los Angeles Sports Arena, a rarity for a mini.

    We also look at Saturday’s UFC , what’s next for the winners, thoughts on Sage Northcutt, as well as business notes on the show and match-by-match coverage.

    PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    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 sent to you today. 

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE – February 15, 1988 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: A Tale of Two Hebners: All the details on Hulk Hogan losing the WWF title to Andre the Giant in a historic angle, plus tons of news and notes.

    SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    Jon Jones was cited on 1/31 for driving without a license, without registration and without insurance by a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy.  That could have been trouble given Jones currently being on probation, but Bernalillo County District Attorney spokesperson Kayla Anderson said they will not be filing a probation violation against Jones for the incident according to Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting.  Jones is serving 18 months of probation from his felony hit-and-run charge from last year. 

    B.J. Penn on his web site announced today that his return would be on 4/23 in Las Vegas at UFC 197.  Originally he was expected to fight on 3/5 against Dennis Siver, although UFC never officially announced the fight.  Ariel Helwani had reported the 3/5 date as what they were looking for and we’d also gotten internal confirmation that was the plan as of last week.

    The Super Bowl, for those asking did a 49.0 rating based on the metered markets last night.  It looks like the show did 111.9 million viewers, making it the third most watched television show in U.S. history.  The numbers are based on the fast nationals.  The peak was 115.5 million between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.  The show also averaged 1.4 million streaming viewers.  The two most watched shows were the 2014 and 2015 Super Bowls, with last year setting the record of 114.4 million viewers.  Advertisers were paying as much as $5 million for a 30 second spot.

    WWE

    • Tonight’s Raw in Seattle was expected to come close to selling out even before the Danielson announcement.
    • HHH sent a WWE title belt to the Denver Broncos for winning the Super Bowl.
    • Sheamus was shown in a Super Bowl commercial as he’s in the trailer of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie.  It aired during the second quarter.
    • Sisters was No. 10 at the box office in Australia this past weekend and Daddy’s Home was No. 13.  Both were out of the top ten in the U.S., with Daddy’s Home No. 15 and Sisters No. 25. (thanks to James Stanois)
    • Cricket Wireless and WWE and launching a sweepstakes to send one fan and a guest to WrestleMania.  Between today and 3/20, fans can enter the sweepstakes visiting their local Cricket Wireless store or go to www.Cricketsweepsakes.com/wwe32 for a chance to win.  The winner gets round trip airfare and lodging in Dallas for two, $500 in spending money a new ZTE Grand X 3 with one year of Crocket Wireless service, as well as tickets to the pre-party and Fan Axxess.
    • Stock closed down eight cents today at $16.49.
    • Two new trailers been put online for the Nine Legends film profiling Bret Hart and Dynamite Kid  The film also profiles Bill Goldberg, Lita, Mike Tyson, Chris Jericho, RVD, Randy Couture and Ted DiBiase. The film was covered this past week upon release by mainstream publications such as Fox Sports, Yahoo News, Nerdist, Deadline and Digital Trends. 

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • The first of six episodes of Impact from the U.K., this being the first show taped in Manchester with Kurt Angle vs. Drew Galloway as the main event, will air tomorrow night on Pop TV.
    • Jerry Lynn was backstage working as an agent at the ROH tapings in Nashville on Saturday night.
    • Future Stars of Wrestling on 2/28 in Las Vegas at the Silverton Casino with Kevin Kross vs. Eli Drake vs. Kenny King vs. Willie Mack in a four-way that involves a star of TNA, ROH and Lucha Underground.  Also on the show are Rocky Romero, TJ Perkins, Silas Young and Colby Corino.
    • Revolution Pro Wrestling from yesterday in London at the Cockpit Theater before a sellout of 180 fans:  Bob Lyons b Matt Nathan, Pete Dunne b Sonjay Dutt to keep the British cruiserweight title, Josh Bodom b Donovan Dijak, Marty Scurll b Timothy Thatcher, Flash Morgan Webster b James Castle, Big Damo b Mark Haskins, Colt Cabana b Lord Gideon Gray, Zack Sabre Jr. b Will Ospreay.  The show was taped for the Revolution Pro YouTube channel.  Told Bodom vs. Dijak was a great short match, Dunne vs. Dutt and Thatcher vs. Scurll were very good and the main event was exactly what you’d expect from those two. (thanks to Jan Buxton)
    • Acclaim Pro Wrestling on 3/5 in Ottawa and the Dom Polski Combatants Centre.
    • Real Pro Wrestling of Port St. Lucie, FL has announced a name change to Ignite Wrestling.  The first show with the new name will be 2/27.
    • Here is a story on Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews and the Super Bowl being in the city yesterday.  In the background of the main picture is a WrestleMania poster from WWE’s visit to the city for WrestleMania last year.  Matthews created a near incident when he publicly stated about how they are going to meet with WWE officials over WrestleMania, and WWE rules are you are supposed to keep it quiet.  Despite his breaking of the rules, WWE still went with Levi’s Stadium for the show, for a number of reasons including that the Super Bowl was coming to the building and WWE could announce a larger number than the Super Bowl.  In actuality, the Super Bowl had more people in the stadium yesterday than WrestleMania did.

    ON THIS DAY IN WORLD PRO WRESTLING HISTORY: Randy Savage wins the WWF IC Title

  • WWE RAW live results: Daniel Bryan Retirement, Brock, Roman, Dean & the drive to Fastlane

    The Big Takeaway: Daniel Bryan announced his retirement in one of the most emotional segments in the 23-year history of Raw. Bryan made a memorable speech where he came off as the most normal person ever to achieve stardom. The theme of the speech was all the things he had been grateful for over his 15-year career. It’s amazing to think that someone perfectly content with being the world’s biggest cult wrestler could become the biggest star in the biggest company in the world, but that’s what happened. In terms of storyline, the biggest news was the Dudley Boyz turned heel on the Usos, which was overdue.

    Show Recap: 

    Right away, a Daniel Bryan package aired, starting with his early days as American Dragon competing in the Texas Wrestling Alliance. It continued until the culmination at WrestleMania. They showed his tweet from earlier today announcing his retirement. 

    Stephanie McMahon opened the show in the ring for a contract signing. Crowd chanted for Bryan. She appeared to have a tear in her eye while trying to maintain a straight face. She was out there for a contract signing for the Fast Lane main event with Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. Ambrose got the jump on her,  and demanded to move things along. Stephanie started to say there would be no physical altercations between the three of them when Reigns walked down. Someone had a sign that said “Can we trade Roman for Cesaro?” Lesnar and Paul Heyman were introduced by Stephanie, who interrupted Heyman during his ring entrance. Everyone signed the deal and Stephanie left, leaving the three men alone in the ring. 

    Heyman referred to Ambrose as “little brother” as said he should ask his “Big brother Samoan” what the difference is between a beatdown by the authority and an authoritative beatdown by Brock Lesnar. Ambrose was set off by that and got in Lesnar’s face. Lesnar threw Ambrose across the table and into Reigns like a rag doll,threw the table onto Reigns,  then gave Ambrose an F-5. Lesnar left the ring. HHH walked out for a staredown with Lesnar. Reigns looked upset at Ambrose, for some reason. Ambrose is being booked like a cruiserweight in this program and it’s done nothing but get him under. 

    There was a theme for the night entitled #thankyoudanielbryan, highlighting moments from his WWE career. It started with his first match at NXT, where he wrestled Chris Jericho in 2010. It’s so funny to think Bryan is getting a hero’s sendoff tonight when the company did everything they could to get him under during his first six months in NXT. 

    Ambrose told Reigns backstage he would get even with Lesnar tonight. 

    Dolph Ziggler defeated Kevin Owens (11:02)

    Dolph Ziggler won when Kevin Owens missed a Cannonball, and Ziggler rolled him up in a cradle while his feet were on the ropes. How the ref missed that one was unreal. He looked right at Owens shoulders and Ziggler’s feet were in plain view unless he has no sight in his left eye. Michael Cole then acted like he didn’t notice anything unusual. Apparently, Cole is going for Mike Carey’s job on CBS next football season. A good match where they teased a double countout after Ziggler hit a Famouser on Owens from the apron onto the floor. 

    The next #thankyoudanielbryan moment was from 2011, when Bryan defeated the Miz to win the U.S. Championship. 

    The Usos talked with the Dudley Boyz tonight. The Usos wrestle the New Day tonight in a tables match. Devon Dudley said if anyone should get a tables match tonight, it should be them. Bubba Ray Dudley said the entire WWE Universe didn’t like the New Day. The crowd responded by booing. Bubba Ray told the Usos they should team tonight for a 4-on-4 match against the New Day, where they New Day would have to get themselves a partner. Usos agreed. 

    Charlotte defeated Alicia Fox via submission (5:14) 

    Charlotte won with the Figure Eight. Crowd elected to entertain themselves by chanting for Lana (which Charlotte didn’t look happy about) and the Seattle Seahawks. Alicia Fox’s only offense were one-legged drop kicks like Velvet McIntyre. 

    MizTV with Chris Jericho started with Miz replaying him getting pounded by A.J. Styles last week. Miz said he could have made Styles an A-lister. Jericho interrupted him and said the fans would rather see a Highlight Reel instead of MizTv. So they overhauled the set instantly with roadies bringing in the JeriTron 5000, a new rug and new lighting. Even a potted plant. So it became the Highlight Reel. Jericho started interviewing Miz and brought up Styles’ victory over Miz on SmackDown. Crowd chanted “You look stupid” at Miz, who claimed he had a meeting with Stephen Spielberg last week, putting himself over as an A-lister. Somehow, Jericho said that reminded him of the Chipmuncks song “All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth.” Some fans sang along. 

    Miz ran a clip of his own, which was Styles beating Jericho. Miz said losing to Styles was eating him alive. Jericho said he was right, it has been eating him alive. Crowd chanted for Styles. Jericho knew Styles was good, but he asked if he was great. Jericho said we would find out on SmackDown, but he highly doubted it because he was the best in the world at what he did. Styles came out, but Miz jumped Jericho from behind . Styles ran down to take care of Miz. Jericho gave Miz a clothesline out of the ring, then had a brief staredown with Styles. Miz ran back in, only to get discarded again, leading to another staredown that got physical and turned into fisticuffs. Miz dragged Jericho out of the ring, only to have Jericho throw him across the announcer’s table. And it ended with Styles and Jericho traded words going to the back. Styles vs. Jericho is such an effective program by itself, potentially feud of the year-caliber if handled right. Putting the Miz in the midst of it is like having Al Pacino and Robert Di Niro star in a Goodfellas sequel, but instead of Joe Peschi or Ray Liotta as the third-billed star, it’s Rob Schneider.  

    The next Bryan highlight was the 2011 Money in the Bank, where Bryan kicked Wade Barrett off the ladder to take the briefcase. 5 months later, he cashed in the briefcase to beat the Big Show and win the World Heavyweight Championship. 

    Bray Wyatt defeated Ryback (6:55) 

    Bray Wyatt won when Ryback attempted a spear. Wyatt stopped him dead in his tracks with Sister Abigail and the three count. You can always tell when Ryback is jobbing based on the inflection he uses when he says “Wake up, it’s feeding time” during his ring entrance. Lately, he’s had a downward inflection. To punctuate that, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman laid waste to him postmatch, ending with Wyatt giving him Sister Abigail on the floor. Wyatt cut a promo to no one in particular afterwards, saying people can ask for mercy, mercy they will not receive. 

    Daniel Bryan flashback to his days with Kane in Team Hell No. 

    Tweets to Bryan from various WWE personalities included Vince McMahon, Kalisto, Paige and the Ultimate Warrior’s widow were shown. 

    Big E. was polishing up tables in the back when Renee Young walked in wondering who their mystery partner for the tables match was going to be. Xavier Woods wouldn’t say, and Kofi Kingston said New Day were like the Denver Broncos, world champions that everybody loved. 

    Ambrose told Reigns he wanted to have a one-on-one confrontation with Lesnar tonight. 

    Adam Rose defeated Titus O’Neal (3:17) 

    Prematch, Adam Rose did micwork where he proclaimed himself “The Radical Mongoose.” Curtis Axel couldn’t believe how horrible that sounded. Bo Dallas said he had great friends that would turn into great trends. Rose won when Hath Slater distracted Titus O’Neal, leading to Rose getting the schoolboy cradle pin. O’Neal immediately clotheslined Rose over the top rope. So Rose didn’t go over, O’Neal lost and no one got over. So what was the point of this? 

    Next Bryan flashback was him winning the WWE Heavyweight Championship from John Cena at SummerSlam 2013. 

    Ambrose came out and said Lesnar must have hit him with a F-2 or an F-3 earlier, because he thought an F-5 was supposed to hurt. He called out Lesnar, who came out chuckling at the thought of Ambrose calling him out. Lesnar quickly laid Ambrose out beating him up around the ring, then laying him out with an F-5. At this point, Ambrose had the booking cred of Adam Rose on the show. That only slightly changed when Ambrose called Lesnar back to the ring with a wild look in his eye. Lesnar stepped back in the ring, but then Reigns stepped out on the ramp. As Lesnar was distracted by Reigns, Ambrose snuck up from behind and gave Lesnar a low blow. And then Ambrose left. Reigns smiled like Ambrose had won the battle over Lesnar. Crowd stayed totally silent, as if Ambrose was the heel in that scenario. At the very best, Ambrose looks like Reigns’ tag-along in this setup, which isn’t how you make a new star. 

    Alberto Del Rio and Rusev defeated Lucha Dragons (5:37)

    Alberto Del Rio pinned Kalisto with the world’s most elaborate finisher where ADR jumps off the top rope onto the chest of Kalisto. Sin Cara returned and gave Rusev a tope to take him out. Lana was missing again after reemerging from oblivion last week. 

    In footage from earlier, R-Truth was on his way to the Jimi Hendrix Museum when he stumbled onto Goldust dressed as Hendrix, playing a guitar while singing an offshoot of “Purple Haze.” Goldust smashed the guitar on a sidewalk. Security led Goldust away. An attempt at comedy the same way recent Adam Sandler movies have been an attempt. 

    Next Bryan moment was from March 2014, the Occupy Yes movement which led to Bryan’s victory over HHH at WrestleMania. I loved the bitter, old wrestlers criticism of that angle, one of whom claimed it was “contrived.” As if all the angles from the 1970s were shoots. The irony was Bryan’s push to the top in 2014 was a series of spontaneous events spawned by the fans, which led to contrived angles that got over.   

    Tamina defeated Becky Lynch (3:38) 

    Sasha Banks was on commentary. Tamina started mouthing off to Banks in the ring. That led to Naomi hitting Banks with a forearm, and it looked like she stuffed Banks good. Lynch saw this, left the ring and gave Naomi an Exploder suplex. Lynch got back in the ring and ate a superkick by Tamina, who got the pin. Earlier, Naomi got some heat with outside interference. That was kind of different seeing a heel actually break the rules. 

    The New Day talked to its mystery partner and gave him a unicorn horn to place on his head. It was Mark Henry, who started playing Woods’ trombone. Henry and Big E. began dancing, with Henry bringing up his days as Sexual Chocolate in 1998. 

    Nikki Bella, Owens, Cena and Natalya tweeted salutes to Bryan. 

    The Dudley Boyz and the Usos defeated the New Day and Mark Henry in a tables match (7:31)

    The match was rushed. Henry walked out when the New Day ordered him to splash Jimmy Uso. It ended with the Dudleys giving Big E a 3-D through the table. It appeared that Jey Uso had a hard time putting weight down on his left leg. 

    The Dudleys then turned heel, jumping the Usos. First, they put Jimmy Uso through a table, then Jey took a super bomb through a table. Crowd chanted “ECW.” Bubba reeled off some of his catchphrases from his Bully Ray days, asking Jimmy if he knew who they were. Overdue move turning the Dudleys because the company needs a strong heel tag team act, as opposed to the New Day as a comedy heel act. 

    The company profiled all of the major mainstream publications that broke the Bryan retirement news. It was even on ESPN’s bottom line all day, which is incredible if you watched how that network treated wrestling during the boom period. 

    Bryan came out with his trimmed beard and a haircut. He looked like he really didn’t want to give this speech. He stood in the ring with his eyes closed and head down as everyone chanted “Yes” around him, looking like he was going to break down. The expression only got more cheers and chants, which made him crack a smile. Bryan said he was able to close his eyes and feel the reaction the way he had never got to feel it before, and he’ll never forget it. 

    He said that he had to address the elephant in the room…he really wanted to shave his beard. He said he shaved his head called “Wigs for Kids,” which makes wigs for kids that have cancer. Bryan said he had been wrestling since he was 18 and within 5 months, he had 3 concussions. After that, he would get a concussion here and there, which adds up after 16 years. It gets to a point where doctors say you can’t wrestle anymore. He fought that for a long time, after receiving EKGs and various evaluations. He wanted to come back and wrestle in the WWE because he’s loved wrestling more than anything. 

    A week and a half ago, a test indicated perhaps his brain wasn’t as OK as he thought it was. He has a family to think about, he and Brie Bella want to start having kids soon (which got Yes chants). Bryan joked that’s what Brie says all the time. That got Holy Shit chants. Bryan announced his retirement with the heaviest of hearts and the utmost sadness. 

    For the last year, Bryan said he’s been sad, frustrated, and angry. But when he woke up today he felt gratitude. He got to do what he loved for 16 years. He loved the Seahawks, which got a huge pop. He loved hearing the fans react just as his music hits. He loved diving through the ropes, which makes him feel like Superman. He loved wrestling in the parking lot of gas stations and wrestling in front of 70,000 fans in New Orleans. He loved getting to know people like Kane, who looks like a monster but is among the smartest people he knows. 

    He got to know Steven Regal, who has been his mentor. He got to know children like Connor. He said he was very grateful because wrestling doesn’t owe him anything, nor does the WWE or the fans. The wrestlers do this because they love to do it. He neer dreamed the fans would get behind him the way he did, since he was 5’8, 180 pounds. He came close to breaking down here. He was grateful for two years ago when the fans in Seattle hijacked Raw. And the WWE was trying to arrange a program between Cena and Randy Orton, and the fans still chanted for Bryan. 

    Bryan said that wasn’t why he was grateful. He was grateful because his father was sitting in the crowd and got to see that. Bryan started crying as he remembered his father, who passed away shortly after WrestleMania. It was the last time his father got to see him wrestle. 

    Because of wrestling, he got to meet the most wonderful woman in the world. She’s beautiful, smart and completes him in a way that he didn’t think was possible. He was grateful to announce his retirement in front of his mother, his sister, his family and friends. He. Was. Grateful. 

    Tomorrow morning, he starts a new life, where he is no longer a wrestler. But that’s tomorrow, not tonight. He asked for one more Yes chant and he would really appreciate it. Brie came out as the fans chanted yes and his music played. They kissed in midring as Michael Cole said the company was thankful for having his talent under their employ. 

    SUMMARY: #thankyoudanielbryan

  • Junior Dos Santos to fight Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night Croatia

    A heavyweight match-up between Junior Dos Santos and Ben Rothwell headlines UFC’s first event in Croatia on April 10 at the Zagreb Arena.

    The company announced the fight on Twitter early Monday morning. Dos Santos (17-4), is a former heavyweight champion and No. 6 ranked contender. Rothwell (36-9), is now ranked No. 5, and after a submission win over Josh Barnett on Jan. 30, his fourth straight finish, had a viable argument for a title shot.

    One of those wins by Rothwell was over Alistair Overeem via first round knockout on September 5, 2014, in Manshantucket, Conn. Overeem knocked Dos Santos out of title contention on Dec. 19 in Orlando on FOX. Prior to that loss, Dos Santos had lost only to Cain Velasquez over the prior eight years. In late 2014, Dos Santos scored a close decision win over Stipe Miocic, who is expected to get the next heavyweight title shot.

    Dos Santos’ title reign started with a 64 second knockout of Velasquez on November 12, 2011, which was, by a great margin, the single-most watched televised MMA fight ever in the U.S., viewed by 9.5 million viewers between live airings on Fox and Fox Deportes.

    He lost the title to Velasquez won December 29, 2012, and lost a third fight in 2013. He took terrible beatings in both losses, particularly the latter, and didn’t look like the same fighter against Miocic, but had enough to win. With Overeem, his performance raised questions about how much he had left.

    Rothwell is a veteran who was the heavyweight star of the International Fight League in 2006 and 2007, and debuted in UFC in 2009 with a loss to Velasquez. He lost three of his first five UFC fights, but rebounded with wins over Brandon Vera, Overeem, Matt Mitrione and Barnett.

  • Rumors swirling Daniel Bryan will appear on RAW

    Based largely on a photograph showing Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson, 34) boarding a flight from Phoenix to Seattle, the belief is that he will likely be making an appearance on Raw on Monday night.

    Raw takes place at the Key Arena in Seattle, WA, considered Bryan’s hometown even though he was actually born and raised in Aberdeen.

    Bryan has not appeared on WWE TV in months.  While he has been given a clean bill of health by several doctors, WWE’s main doctor, Joseph Maroon, has refused to clear him due to concussion-related issues.

    While it may be much ado about nothing, Bryan has cut off all of his hair and trimmed up his beard, which could be an indication he believes he won’t be returning to wrestling in WWE anytime soon.

  • Daily Update: Kevin Greene to NFL HOF, Mooneyham retires

    We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE house show in Abbotsford, BC, headlined by Roman Reigns vs. Rusev.

    Raw will be Monday in Seattle. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are scheduled on the show.

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Portland, OR. Chris Jericho vs. A.J. Styles is on the show.

    Thanks to everyone who did a great job of correspondent work at the shows this weekend including Adam Kirby, Alex Keeling, Jai, Thomas Green, Lee Thomas, Kody Ludwig, Tyler Kemmerer, Ross Hart, Craig Freeman, Todd Bergman, Lou Pickney, Josh Baker, Sean Moore, Dan Thompson and everyone else.

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

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 2/1/2016: Weekly Hogan/Gawker update
    A look at the past weeks developments in the Hulk Hogan and Gawker lawsuit.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: February 8, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Bret Hart diagnosed with cancer, Nakamura’s final NJPW match

    The new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter looks at Bret Hart’s battle with cancer, his discussions about it, and updates on the situation. The most detailed coverage of the last month of Lucha Underground’s second season, backstage news, season three, lots of business notes.  Full coverage of all the Ultima Lucha 2 matches and direction. Nakamura’s final day with NJPW, where Nakamura and New Japan go now, his background and building the IC title, the next two New Japan PPV shows to this weekend’s biggest event.

    Fast Lane and WrestleMania, what’s up with Undertaker, WWE injury updates, the next WWE Network special, Licensing issue with new WWE signees, notes on the next NXT Takeover show, a look at all the TV building the next Takeover show, who led to a huge increase in demand for WWE tickets, next WWE show in Madison Square Garden update, Nakamura updates, WWE performer wants to compete in the Olympics and what former pro wrestler went back to the Olympics to medal, Lesnar’s schedule, Tough Enough winner starts out, Other Tough Enough competitors start out, change in Rumble plans, New WWE Network series based on wrestling matches, new WWE movie, WWE’s tour of Germany this coming week, more on The Rock’s segment on Raw.

    A detailed look at the Awesome Kong-Reby Hardy situation in Manchester, England. Benson Henderson’s decision to leave UFC for Bellator and take a championship fight, why he made the decision, what both Dana White and Henderson said. We look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s last major event and where it’s storylines are going.

    A huge look at the life and career of Archie “The Stomper” Gouldie, one of the most memorable wrestling characters of his generation, stories about him, his gimmick, how big a star he was in his heyday, his incredibly long career title history, how he was two very different successful characters, and his most famous angles and biggest bouts. We also have a lot of comments from people who knew him, including how he changed the life and career of J.J. Dillon. The life and career of the original Espectrito, the best heel mini of his generation including when he main evented the Los Angeles Sports Arena, a rarity for a mini.

    We also look at Saturday’s UFC , what’s next for the winners, thoughts on Sage Northcutt, as well as business notes on the show and match-by-match coverage.

    PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

    You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer

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    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE – February 15, 1988 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: A Tale of Two Hebners: All the details on Hulk Hogan losing the WWF title to Andre the Giant in a historic angle, plus tons of news and notes.

    SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    Kevin Greene, who did a number of high profile matches for WCW in the 90s and actually had great potential as a pro wrestler, was elected into the NFL Hall of Fame. Greene still has the third most sacks in NFL history and coached for the Green Bay Packers when they won the Super Bowl several years ago. Here is the article.

    Lucha Underground is releasingfour digital comic books, with the first out right now and the other three out over the next six weeks, free on-line.

    Mike Mooneyham, a longtime friend and author of the longest running wrestling column in the country, is retiring from the Charleston Post-Courier but the column will be continuing Read that story here.

    Chris Nowinski was in USA Today over the weekend heavily critical of the NFL’s treatment of concussions., saying he doesn’t think the NFL is making a good faith effort to study the effects of concussions.

    Even with the Super Bowl and everything related to it, the tenth most searched item on Google today has been Johny Hendricks with 50,000.  Maybe people were wondering what happened to him.

    WWE

    • A video of A.J. Styles who turned to DDP Yoga for help on his bad back (thanks to Ross Blair).
    • At last night’s house show in Penticton, BC, they did a double turn in the Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze match, but that was only for the house.
    • Enzo & Cass worked the house show in San Jose last night, as did Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is scheduled for Raw tomorrow, but not for Smackdown this week.
    • A new episode of Ride Along airs after Raw tomorrow night with Sheamus, King Barrett, Renee Young, Summer Rae and R-Truth.
    • The first NXT show from the University of Central Florida gym that was taped on 1/21 will air on Wednesday
    • Bret Hart tours Calgary 
    • Here is a story on the New Day saying that are revolutionizing the business

    UFC

    • The flying knee finish by Diego Rivas on Noad Lahat on last night’s show not only won him a $50,000 bonus but was shown over and over as one of  ESPN’s Top Plays of the day. (thanks to Daniel short)
    • In predictions last night, Me, John Pollock, Mike Sempervive, Mike Sawyer and Ryan Frederick all went 4-1, only missing the main event in most cases.  Josh Nason, Steve Juoin, David Bixenspan and Frontrow Brian were 3-2 and Paul Fontaine was 1-4.   

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • The Sky News app on Friday had the story of the death of Axl Rotten as the fourth leading story in the Showbiz section 
    • Mike Tyson talks pro wrestling and Vince McMahon in a video preview of Mike Tyson in the Nine Legends film. The full film is streaming now at www.ninelegendsfilm.com
    • Absolute Intense Wrestling on Friday night in Cleveland at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel with Ethan Page vs. Josh Prohibition, Jock Samson & Tracy Smothers & Bunkhouse Buck (managed by Col. Rob Parker) vs. Dick Justice & Marion Fontaine & Colt Cabana (managed by Missy Hyatt), Alex Shelley vs. Candice LaRae, Heidi Lovelace vs. Veda Scott for the women’s title, Brian Myers vs. Tim Donst and more.
    • Scott Steiner will be doing talk shows next month in the U.K.  He’s appearing 3/21 in London at The Garage, 3/22 in Manchester at the Comedy Store, 3/23 in Glasgow at The Classic Grand and 3/24 in Belfast at The Empire. Tickets are on sale here.
    • The Globe tabloid ran an article destroying Hulk Hogan and the company that hired him as a spokesman. 
    • Preston City Wrestling on Friday in Preston, England before 400 to 500 fans:  Ken Anderson b Luther Ward, Rampage Brown b Chris Dickinson, Drew Galloway b Martin Kirby, Noam Dar b Timothy Thatcher, Matt Hardy b Lionheart, Billy Gunn b Joey Hayes, T-Bone b Tajiri, Iestyn Rees & Sha Samuels b Dave Rayne & Dave Mastiff, El Liger b Bubblegum.  Galloway’s match only took a few seconds.  Dar & Thatcher was solid.  Gunn got a good reaction.  Liger vs. Bubblegum was the match of the night. (thanks to Jan Buxton)
    • Preston City Wrestling had two shows yesterday:
    • Afternoon show:  Tajiri & Luther Ward & Sammy D b Joey Hayes & Martin Kirby & Bubblegum, Drew Galloway b Ken Anderson, Lionheart b Dave Rayne, T-Bone b Billy Gunn, Noam Dar b El Ligero, Iestyn Rees b Chris Dickinson, Rampage Brown b Matt Hardy via DQ
    • Evening show:  Matt Hardy b Luther Ward, Lionheart b Charlie Garrett, Drew Galloway b Noam Dar, Rampage Brown b T-Bone, Billy Gunn & Ken Anderson & Tajiri (calling themselves The New Age Assholes) b Joey Hayes & Martin Kirby & Dave Rayne, Chris Dickinson b El Ligero, Bubblegum b Iestyn Rees, Rampage Brown b Drew Galloway to win Road to Glory tournament, Sha Samuels b Dave Mastiff to win the PCS title.  Galloway “injured” Dar’s arm in the afternoon show to lead to a short win in he evening show.  Galloway was sick all weekend but still had two of the best matches with Anderson and Brown.  Billy Gunn was announced as returning in June.
    • Championship Wrestling Entertainment from Friday night in Fort Pierce, FL:  Slade Porter & Josh Parker b Richard Delicious & Derek Steele, El Hero Byronico b Chico Adams, J-Dawg Brooks & Mad Dawg Wilson b Jamal King & Jay Prince, Shaniah Ariyana b Dominque Fabiano, Rhett Giddins won over Braydon Knight, JB Cool and Craig Classic, Raquel (TNA) b Shaniah Ariyana, Lince Dorado & Jon Cruz b Ace Andrews & Rex Bacchus=-DQ, Rhett Giddins won three-way over Tyranus and Irish Jack with Alex Porteau as referee.  Next show is 3/18 with Giddins vs. Tyranus and Santana Garrett (thanks to Al Haft)
    • IWF has shows at the IWF Centre in Nutley, NJ on 2/13 and 2/20 at 7 p.m. and 2/26 at 8 p.m.  They also announced a 4/16 show featuring Tito Santana.
    • The Economist talks pro wrestling in election coverage here.
    • Sean Carr was announced as joining John Skyler, Papadon and Davey Richards in this year’s ECWA Super 8 tournament on 4/23 in Woodbury Heights, NJ.  Well, with Richards’ knee injury, that is questionable in his case.
    • NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on Saturday night in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium with Jason Kincaid vs. Vince Brent for the Southeastern title and NWA champion Jax Dane vs. Toby Farley.
    • CCW Winter Fallout on 3/6 at the Wish Centre in Chatham, ONT at 2 p.m.
    • Future Pro Wrestling from yesterday in Sutton, Surrey, UK before 250 fans:  The Warden b Earl Windsor, Ryan Smile b Will Ospreay (crowd gave them a standing ovation), London Riots b GZRS, Jimmy Havoc b Paul Robinson to retain FPW title, Darrell Allen won Rumble (thanks to Darren Rogers) 
    • Stardom from yesterday in Tokyo:  Yoneyama b Azumi, Haruka Kato b Starlight Kid, Keitlin Diamond b Hiromi Mimura, Hiroyo Matsumoto b Alez Lee, Santana Garrett & Kellie Skater & Evie & Viper & Chelsea Green b Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani & Kairi Hojo & Momo Watanabe & Jungle Kyona
    • Marty Jannetty appears on 3/12 for In Your Face Wrestling in Albany, NY at the Polish Community Center.  Also appearing are Kevin Nash, Scott Norton, Bob Holly and Cody Deaner.  The convention will be 2-6 p.m. with a wrestling show at 7 p.m.
    • Dynamo Pro Wrestling from last night in Fenton, MO”:  Jack Gamble & Jon Webb b Danny Adams & Paco Gonzalez, Billy McNeil b Brandon Aarons, Ozzie Gallagher b Rocket Mapache, Evan Morris b Jayson Khaos, Kiyoshi Shizuka b Shorty Biggs, Outtkast won three-way over Elvis Aliaga and Jayden Fenix, Mike Sydal b Kevin Lee Davidson, Lucy Mendez b Heather Patera, Jake Dirden won four-way over Ricky Cruz, Brandon Espinosa and Mike Outlaw (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
    • Lucha Xtreme TV from last night in Fresno:  Chat Douglas b Fantastico, Guerrero de la Muerta (formerly Kevin El Devino) b Anthony Idol-DQ (thanks to Jon Southerland)
    • NSPW from last night in Quebec City before 472 fans:  Matt Angel b Brad Alekxis, Surfer Mitch & Dru Onyx & Shayne Hawke b Alex Price & Dead End, Pee Wee & Judas b Handsome Jean Frais & Jay Phenomenon, Travis Toxic b Michael Style, Frankie the Mobster b Giovanni, Heavy Metal Chaos & Scott Parker b Kickin n Stompin & Shane Matthews, Marko Estrada b Chris Hero to retain the NSPW title.  Next show is 3/12 with Frankie the Mobster vs Travis Toxic for the No. 1 contender spot (thanks to Patric Laprade)
    • Hoosier Pro Wrestling from last night in Columbus, IN:  Lightning Bolt won Battle Royal, Psycho Sytt & Scarecrow b Butcher Manson & Tim Lutz, Dynamite Dillen b Nate Steele, Van Zants won tag titles from Cowboy Marc Houston & Big Country Clint Poe, Amazing Maria b Haley Shadows, Lightning Bolt b TJ Kemp (who thanked the fans for 14 years of support and said he was going to be gone for a while), Timmy Danger NC Flash Flanagan in a strap match.  Next show is 3/5 with Vic the Bruiser & Timmy Danger vs. Flanagan (thanks to Jerry Wilson)
    • Chikara Pro was featured in an article this weekend on Rolling Stone’s website. “Part badass B-movie, part sugary Saturday morning cartoon, it’s wild, weird and everything WWE isn’t. And that’s precisely the point.” (thanks to Paul Sosnowski)
    • Super Fight League on 2/20 in Tacoma, WA at the Emerald Queen Casino.
    • WSWF from last night in Yuba City, CA before a sellout 240 fans to honor Darren “Mike” Dean:  JJ King & Rik Luxury b Christian & Airon Skye, Scooter McGavin b Victor Sterling, Joe DeSoul & Eddy Vega b Drake Frost & Sir Samurai-DQ, Ethan White b Reggie Bright, Nathan Brick b MPT. (thanks to Jim Davis)
    • Former WWE announcer and ”Fabulous Rougeau Brother” Raymond Rougeau talks ​about his experiences with WWE Hall of Famer The Ultimate Warrior as an announcer as well as in the WWE dressing rooms as a wrestler.

    ON THIS DAY IN WORLD PRO WRESTLING HISTORY: 2/7 IWA Mid South champion CM Punk jobs to Chris Hero

  • UFC Fight Night 82 Las Vegas live results: Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson

    Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a five-round bout in the UFC’s welterweight division as former UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks takes on Stephen Thompson, winner of five straight fights. In the co-main event, it will be heavyweight action as Roy Nelson squares off against Jared Rosholt. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.

    UFC Fight Night 82 Weigh-In Results
    UFC Fight Night 82 DFS Playbook
    UFC Fight Night 82 Observer Picks & Preview

    They  just announced the next FOX show is 4/16 from the Amalie Arena in Tampa with at least a four hour show on FOX itself.

    Cub Swanson vs.  Hacran Dias

    Bethe  Correia vs. Raquel Pennington

    Michael Chiesa vs. Beneil Dariush

    Tecia Torres vs.  Rose Namajunas

    Lyoto Machida vs. Dan Henderson

    Rashad Evans vs. Shogun Rua

    Khabib Nurmagomedov vs.  Tony Ferguson in a five round main event       

    The 4/23 PPV will be in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena

    Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title

    Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo for the flyweight title 

    Coverage provided by Dave Meltzer

    The show opened with a Mickey Gall video, followed by a C.M. Punk interview with Ariel Helwani.

    Punk said his focus will be different after today.  Said he knows Mickey Gall drives a bread truck, he’s hungry, he’s a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu, but doesn’t have a lot to go on.  He said we’re both a bit of a mystery so the fight makes sense.  “He’s got hands, he knocked the guy down and he choked the guy out.  I think Jiu Jitsu is his strong suit.”

    He said if hey fight it’ll be a matter of who wants it jore and who trains hardest beween now and he fight.

    “I’m gonna watch, excited to see it, I’m  gonna watch like a fan,”   

    Said hopes Gall wins so he’ll know his opponent.  He said that he’s creating jobs, and he’s created two.  He said that if Mike (Jackson) wins, he doesn’t get him.  “I don’t get it and I don’t think anyone else does either.”

    Punk made a joke about not being any good at promos but in time he hopes he can improve.

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT)

    FEATHERWEIGHTS- ARTEM LOBOV (11-11-1 1 NC, 0-1 UFC) VS. ALEX WHITE (10-2, 1-2 UFC)

    First round: Lobov is a Russian who lives in Dublin and trains with Conor McGregor.  White with a body kick.  Hard body kick by White.  Lobov with a body kick.  Lobov has him against the fence.  White landed a punch and took him down.  Punches and knees by White.  White 10-9.

    Second round: Lobov’s coaches told him he probably lost the round because he got wobbled.  Low kick by White.  Left to the body by White.  Kick to the body by White.  Traded punches.  White landing more.  White still landing.  Both trading.  Lobov bleeding under the left eye.  White took him down.  White 20-18.

    Third round: White took him down again.  He moved to side control Lobov started to land after he got up.  He scored a nice right hook.  White came back with punches when Lobov missed wild punches.  White landing punches and Lobov look tired.  White took him down again.  Lobov bleeding from a number of cuts.  30-27 White

    Scores: All three have this 30-27 for White

    WELTERWEIGHTS- MICKEY GALL (1-0, 0-0 UFC) VS. MIKE JACKSON (0-0, 0-0 UFC)

    First round:   Jackson is only the sixth guy to make his pro debut in UFC in the post-2001 era.  He’s an MMA media guy but is 2-0 as a pro boxer.  Gall dropped him with a right to the jaw and after a few punchds on the ground, Gall got his back and is working for a choke.  He got the choke and Jackson tapped out immediately. :45

    He cut a promo on Punk.  Punk came to the cage.  They shook hands Punk.  Punk looked taller than Gall but he was wearing shoes.  They posed together.  Punk said nothing on the mic but will do an interview backstage. 

    Punk did a backstage interview.  Punk said he looked very impressive, that’s the way I want to win a fight.  Punk said he thought both men looked relax, both came out to good music, he seemed to be having fun.  Punk asked him if he was having fan and Gall said “I’m having a blast.”  Punk said he’s indifferent that it was a short fight, “I don’t care about how hard he hits.  I try not to get hit.”   He said he wants to talk to his wife, said she’s in her room writing a book.

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)

    FEATHERWEIGHTS- NOAD LAHAT (9-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. DIEGO RIVAS (6-0, 1-0 UFC)

    First round:   Rivas poked him in the eye right away.  Lahat with a low kick.  Lahat took him down.  Lahat working for a guillotine.  Rivas seems to have it blocked.  Lahat gave up on it.  Lahat stayed on top.  Lahat has his back.  Now he’s working for a head and arm choke.  Rivas got up slammed him down but Lahat reversed to the top.  Lahat 10-9.

    Second round:  Rivas landed a jumping knee and blocked Lahat out.  Crazy finish.  Lahat was out cold.  

    FLYWEIGHTS- (#12) RAY BORG (9-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. JUSTIN SCOGGINS (10-2, 3-2 UFC)

    First round:  Borg took him down but Scoggins right back up.  Body kick by Scoggins.  Left and body shot by Scoggins.  Scoggins with lefts.  Borg went for a takedown but Scoggins blocked it.  Borg has a bloody nose.  Body kick by  Scoggins.  10-9 Scoggins

    Second round:  Spin kick by Scoggins.  Scoggins slammed him down, although it was more Borg pulling guard.   Borg up.  Body kick by Scoggins.  Head kick by Scoggins.  Borg bleeding from the nose.  Scoggins took him down.  Borg went for a reverse but  Scoggins reversed back to the top. Scoggins landing a lot of punches but Borg threw a big punch back.  Spin kick by Scoggins.  Right by Borg.  Scoggins missed a spinning backfist.  Borg went for the takedown but didn’t get it.  Scoggins tried a takedown by Borg defended.  Scoggins 20-18.

    Third round:  Borg got the takedown.  Scoggins up and slammed him down.   Borg back up.  Scoggigns took him down again.  Scoggins just holding him down and trying to burn out the clock since he’s winning the decision here.  Scoggins 30-27. 

    Scores:  30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 for Scoggins.

    Scoggins did a great promo, telling UFC to not put him on the shelf, and vowed he would win the title by the end of 2016.

    HEAVYWEIGHTS- DERRICK LEWIS (13-4 1 NC, 4-2 UFC) VS. DAMIAN GRABOWSKI (20-2, 0-0 UFC)

    First round:  Lewis ran in but got taken down.  Lewis then threw him down and is on top.  Lewis landing big punches.  Grabowski bleeding.    Lewis threw punches from the back.  Lewis hammering him with punches from the top.  Lewis landed more punches and it was stopped.  Impressive win.

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- JOSHUA BURKMAN (27-12 1 NC, 5-7 1 NC UFC) VS. K.J. NOONS (13-8 1 NC, 2-2 1 NC UFC)

    First round:  Body kick by Burkman.  Low kick by Burkman and two more.  More low kicks by Burkman.  Body kick by Burkman.  Low kick by Burkamn.  Burkman with a spin kick.  Burkman with a body kick.  Crowd booing.  Body kick by Burkman.  Noons did nothing this round until the end when he finally started throwing punches.  10-9 Burkman

    Second round:   Burkman took him down with a high slam but Noons back up.  Big left by Noons.  Burkman still with low kicks.  Crowd booing again.  Both trading punches.  Noons lands a nice left hook.  Burkamn landed a  good punch.  Closer round.  20-18 Burkman.

    Third round:  John McCarthy pretty much told them to do something.  Burkman took him down.   Noons back up.  Noons landed several punches.  Noons landing more.  Burkman looks tired.  Noons landing a good left hook.  Knee by Burkman.  Hard right by Noons.  Burkman working for a takedown.  Burkman with a left.  Burkman working for a takedown and Noons was landing elbows.  Burkman took him down.  Noons but still have it 29-28 for Burkman.

    Scores:  All three have it 30-27 for Burkman.

    MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)

    WELTERWEIGHTS- MIKE PYLE (26-11-1, 9-6 UFC) VS. SEAN SPENCER (12-4, 3-3 UFC)

    First round:  Pyle with a body kick.  Pyle with a low kick.  Spencer dropped him with a right.  Spencer landed a left.  Spencer with lefts.  Pyle back with punches late.  Spencer 10-9.

    Second round:   Pyle hurt him  with a punch.   Pyle landing rights.  Spinning back fist by Pyle and Spencer back with a punch.  Spencer with a left.  Spencer with a left.  Pyle with punches.  Knee by Pyle.  Spin kick by Pyle.  Pyle got for a takedown and got it at the last end of the round.  Pyle’s round so 19-19.

    Third round:   Spencer in with punches.  Spencer landed some punches.  Pyle faked being rocked which is a bad idea because people, as in judges, may believe it.  Pyle took him down and has a guillotine.  Knee to the body by Pyle.  Left by Spencer.  Left by Spencer and a knee by Pyle.  Pyle hurt him with an elbow.  He’s throwing hard knees  and another knee.  Elbows by Pyle.   More knees, Another knee and Yves Lavigne stopped it.  This was a hell of a fight. 

    LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- MISHA CIRKUNOV (10-2, 1-0 UFC) VS. ALEX NICHOLSON (6-1, 0-0 UFC)

    First round:  Nicholson was giving away a ton of size.  He looked like a welterweight, not even a middleweight.  Cirkunov with a head kick. Cirkunov is just beating him up.  Takedown by Cirkunov.  Herb Dean got mad at Nicholson for a low knee.  Dean said next time he’s taking away a point.  Left by Cirkunov.  Cirkunov with punches.  Cirkunov took him down again.  Hard elbow by Cirkunov.  10-9 Cirkunov.

    Second round:   Cirkunov took him down.  Cirkunov got his back.  Cirkunov landing punches from back position.  He used a neck crank and got the tap.  Screwed up that engagement weekend.  Cirkunov just beat him up the entire fight.    

    FLYWEIGHTS- (#1) JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ (23-4, 10-2 UFC) VS. (#8) ZACH MAKOVSKY (19-6, 3-2 UFC)

    First round:  Left by Benavidez.  Makovksy took him down but Benavidez back up.  Low kick by Benavidez.  Head kick by Benavidez.  Punches by Benavidez.  Body kick by Benavidez.  Benavidez overwhelmed him but Makovsky took him down again.  Another takedown by Makvosky and got his back.  10-9 Benavidez,.

    Second round:  Makovsky again going for a takedown.  Punches and a knee by Benavidez.   Body kick by Benavidez.  Makovsky got a takedown but Benavidez right back up.  The crowd is really into this.  Left by Makovsky.  He got another takedown but Benavidez back up.  Makovsky with another takedown.  He jumped on his back.  Close round.  Makovsky so 19-19.

    Third round:  Makovsky with a left.  Knee by Makovsky.  Benavidez with a right.  Punch and knee by Benavidez.  Benavidez ran in and delivered a right and left and another right.  Another right by Benavidez.  Left and right by Benavidez.  Benavidez knocked him off balance as time ran out.  Benavidez 29-28 but he has to win the fight.

    Scores:   30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 Benavidez

    LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#6) OVINCE SAINT PREUX (18-7, 6-2 UFC) VS. (#13) RAFAEL CAVALCANTE (12-6 1 NC, 1-3 UFC)

    First round:  Saint Preux hurt himself throwing a low kick.  Saint Preux is in trouble now as he can barely move.  Fejiao throwing low kicks.  Right by Feijao.  Left by OSP and he’s unloading with punches and put Feijao down .  Saint Preux with an elbow from the top.  Saint Preux with body punches while staying on top.  OSP is hurt by I have him winning the round 10-9.

    Second round:   Feijao with a left.  Saint Preux with lefts.  Body kick by Saint Preux.  Another front kick by Saint Preux.  Saint Preuz knocked him down with a left.  Saint Preux on top.  Saint Preux landing a lot of lefts from the top.   20-18 OSP.

    Third round:  Saint Preux moving better.  Feijao started throwing big punches.  Saint Preux went for a takedown.  Saint Preux landing  more punches and took him down.  Saint Preux is mainly just holding him down and the crowd is booing a lot.  They really should stand it up from here.  Big left dropping down by Saint Preux  .  Saint Preux throwing a lot of punches late.  It was close to being stopped when the time ran out.  30-27 OSP, could be 30-26.

    Scores:   30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for OSP.

    The injury was to OSP’s right ankle.

    HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#11) ROY NELSON (20-12, 7-8 UFC) VS. (#12) JARED ROSHOLT (14-2, 6-1 UFC)First round:  Nelson missed a punch by a mile.  Rosholt landed a few punches.  Rosholt with punches.   Rosholt with jabs.  Front kick by Rosholt.  Rosholt 10-9.

    Second round:   Nelson with a low kick.  Nelson is moving forward but not landing anything.  Nelson slipped throwing a punch.  Body kick by Rosholt.  Crowd booing this fight as well.   Left by Nelson.  Low kick by Rosholt.  Nelson landed a right.  Nelson landed a couple of punches and Rosholt dancing away.  Rosholt landed some punches.  Boring fight.  Nelson’s round so 19-19.

    Third round:  Low kick by Nelson.  Rosholt dancing away.  Nelson throwing big punches and Rosholt ran away.  Rosholt landed a left as Nelson came in.  Nelson back with a few punches.  Right by Nelson.  Rosholt went for a takedown but Nelson blocked it.  Rosholt anded a right.  Left by Rosholt.  Crowd booing both men.  Nelson 29-28 but either guy could win.

    Scores:  30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 Nelson

    WELTERWEIGHTS- (#2) JOHNY HENDRICKS (17-3, 12-3 UFC) VS. (#8) STEPHEN THOMPSON (11-1, 6-1 UFC)

    First round:  Hendricks looks so much smaller than usual.  Hendricks moved in and working for a takedown.  Thompson’s defense is good.  Side kick by Thompson.  High kick by Thompson.  Another head kick and landing big punches and a body kick   Thompson is taking him apart.  Right by Thompson.  Right by Thompson.  Head kick by Thompson.  Left by Thompson.  Knee by Thompson.  Left by Hendricks and Thompson back with kicks.  Thompson destroying him with punches.  He landed a spin kick and finished him with punches.  This was a one sided destruction.  Hendricks had nothing.  He was a different guy.  3:31

    Thompson wanted a title match next. 

  • Figure Four Weekly 2/1/2016: Weekly Hogan/Gawker update

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