Paypress testing

Tag: headline

  • January 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2015 Observer Awards Issue

    undefined

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

  • TNA sees increase in ratings

    Due to a combination of Matt Hardy saying he would either win the title or leave TNA, leading to his heel turn, and an 11 percent increase in clearance of the station that went into effect on Friday, Impact was way up in ratings this week.

    The Tuesday night show did 321,000 viewers on the first run episode and 122,000 on the replay. That’s up from 288,000 viewers last week for the 9 p.m. show and 77,000 for the midnight show.

    The growth for the midnight show was real in the sense it gained more new viewers by percentage than the percentage of new homes getting the station.  For the 9 p.m. show, the growth was almost exactly the same as the percentage of growth of the new clearances.

  • ROH cancels Fletcher, NC show due to weather concerns

    ROH talent was told tonight that Friday night’s show in Fletcher, NC, just outside of Asheville, was being canceled due to concerns regarding the weather.

    The show was to be headlined by The Bullet Club of Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson & The Young Bucks facing the Champions, Jay Lethal & Roderick Strong & War Machine. Because Gallows & Anderson’s final match with the promotion is Saturday night in suburban Atlanta, it looks like they won’t be able to make up that match.

    The lone show this weekend will be the Saturday night show featuring the farewell of A.J. Styles to the promotion.

    As reported earlier this month, Styles, Gallows and Anderson are headed to WWE.

    For more and this and the rest of today’s news Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio later tonight!

  • ROH TV results: departures, drama and destruction

    Ring of Honor television from Philadelphia was a wild and exciting show. Besides the action that channeled the spirit of ECW from the building in Philly where it rose to prominence, drama on the show continued developing storylines. Likewise, stories from the show included Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis finishing up with the company after being written off. AJ Styles also appeared in what would develop into likely his last appearance on ROH TV before starting in WWE. In other developments, BJ Whitmer and Colby Corino confront Mr. Wrestling 3 about his true idenitity. First after the opening match, a villianous act leads to a storyline suspension.

    The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian with Chris Sabin) beat ACH & Alex Shelley

    Sabin and Shelley are former teammates as the Motor City Machine Guns. That would play into the match and its conclusion. In the opening moments Shelley was dominating exchanges with the Addiction until Sabin caused his first of several distractions. Sabin jumped on the apron to distract Shelley and they had a momentary staredown.

    With the Shelley’s attention diverted, Kazarian got a nearfall with a cradle of sorts. Shelley fired back up and tagged ACH, who flew around the ring. ACH stomped on the hand of Sabin when he tried to interfere by grabbing ACH’s foot as he ran the ropes. The distraction allowed for the Addiction to dastardly gain the advantage nonetheless.

    However, ACH still ran wild on them until they double teamed him to cut off his flurry of offense. Addiction looked to get the heat on him through a commercial but, after the break, Shelley tagged in to jump off the top rope with a missile dropkick. Going back to the top moments later, Shelley missed a double foot stomp and the Addiction took over.

    Shelley escaped their clutches to make a hot tag. ACH came in like a house of fire. All four began fighting at once and Addiction double teamed Shelley to take him out. ACH countered their double teaming only for Sabin to cause a distraction. That allowed Addiction to execute their Celebrity Rehab finisher and Daniels covered ACH for the pinfall.

    Afterwards, Addiction did their finisher on Shelley. Daniels grabbed the timekeeper’s hammer used to ring the bell. Referee Paul Turner tried to pry it from Daniels hands and Daniels dropped him with a right hand. Authority figure Nigel McGuiness stormed to ringside to admonish Daniels. He told him there was a zero tolerance policy regarding wrestlers assaulting officials.

    “Poke the dog enough, mate, he is going to bite,” Nigel said.

    Nigel suspended Daniels without pay and ordered him to leave. The crowd mocked Daniels as he protested while being escorted away.

    Mark Briscoe beat Adam Page (with BJ Whitmer & Colby Corino)

    In a match with some wild and crazy bumps, the crowd was solidly behind Briscoe. Instead of booing Page, they chanted insults at Whitmer. Page hung with Briscoe at the outset but he was no match for redneck kung fu. Page countered with a powerslam sending Briscoe bouncing upside down off the turnbuckles into a nasty landing.

    After Page got a nearfall, Briscoe made a wild comeback that led into a blockbuster off the apron on the floor. Back in the ring, they exchanged strikes before Page caught Briscoe with a swinging DDT for a nearfall. Moments later, Page broke out the money clip for another nearfall. Page went for his finisher but Briscoe escaped.

    During all this, the masked Mr. Wrestling 3 was seated at ringside doing commentary. During the finish of the match, Whitmer was yelling about the identity of the masked man being Steve Corino. The commotion at ringside distracted Page. Chicken swooped in to finish him off.

    Briscoe hoisted up Page to deliver a fisherman’s brainbuster followed by Briscoe climbing the turnbuckles. Briscoe dove off the top with a froggybow and covered Page for the pin. Like previously seen on TV, a distraction by Whitmer cost Page another match as tension mounts within The Decade.

    The Decade remained in the ring after a commercial break. Page glared at him as Whitmer continued ranting at Mr. Wrestling 3. In cutting a promo, Whitmer told him to be a man, unmask and show everyone he was really Steve Corino.

    “This Wrestling 3 nonsense has got to end,” Whitmer said.

    Whitmer kept demanding that Mr. Wrestling unmask. He said everyone knows he is Steve Corino. He called into question Corino’s manhood then told him to set an example for his son Colby, who was serving as a the Decade’s young boy. With the mention of his son, Mr. Wrestling left his seat at the broadcast table and entered the ring.

    Whitmer demanded again for Mr. Wrestling to unmask. The crowd heavily booed BJ.  Addressing BJ, Mr. Wrestling noted there was a zero tolerance policy like in the events from earlier in the show despite Whitmer trying to incite violence. The masked man also denied being Corino. BJ and Colby scoffed.

    Mr. Wrestling admitted he knew Steve Corino. He went on to say Corino was an evil man. According to Mr. Wrestling, Corino wanted BJ and Colby to know he had someone to deal with Whitmer.

    Before the main event, Silas Young cut a promo addressing his feud with Dalton Castle over possession of The Boys. He described his disappointment over them leaving him to rejoin their partnership with Dalton. Silas said he brought them into his home, let them sleep in his basement and treated them like family.

    The crowd chanted “you got dumped” at him. Still, Silas went on to claim those Boys appreciated being taught about being a man by doing chores like mowing the lawn and shoveling snow. Silas speculated Dalton had some sort of “mental hold” on The Boys. Silas said he was giving them one more chance to ether be boys or became men. He urged them to make the right decision or cautioned they would be sorry.

    The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) won a three team Philly street fight over The Kingdom (Adam Cole & Mike Bennett with Maria & Matt Taven) and reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)

    Much like the action packed nature of the entire show, the main event channeled the spirit of ECW with weapons being used to compliment the brawling. The Kingdom were already in the ring when the Young Bucks attacked reDRagon on the entrance ramp. The Bucks rushed into the ring for a superkick party. They superkicked Taven, who was on crutches. Bucks dodged Adam Cole as went for a superkick that nailed ring announcer Bobby Cruise. He would not be the first hapless victim.

    Craziness ensued with brawling and dives. Props used included chairs, tables, a shopping cart and a ladder. Many spots were a direct ode to ones popularized in ECW. Adam Cole did the Terry Funk spot of swinging a ladder around on his shoulders. He paused with the ladder to do his BAY-BAY catchphrase and pose. Then, Fish and O’Reilly clobbered the ladder with chairs.

    In his swan song in finishing up with ROH, Mike Bennett made everyone look good by taking a variety of big moves. In doing so, he took a lot of punishment. Then again, everyone took punishment. Still, Bennett notably took a beating. He fell victim to More Bang For Your Buck and Matt covered him. Cole pulled the referee out of the ring to break up the count.

    Nick gave chase as Cole backpedaled. Nick went for a superkick but Cole moved out of the way. The superkick caught Kevin Kelly. He went down at ringside as Mr. Wrestling screamed, “SUPERKICK!” Kelly joined Cruise as a hapless victim. Nick took a nasty bump on his head during an apparent botch.

    Bennett took Chasing the Dragon on the floor as Cary Silkin somewhat replaced Kelly on commentary. Shortly thereafter, Fish speared Bennett through a table propped up on the guardrail. O’Reilly squared off with Cole then Cole took a powder and tried to flee. O’Reilly chased him up the ramp and they fought their way back through the curtain.

    When a table inadvertently broke during a spot, Nick still jumped off the top turnbuckle with a splash on the floor. Back in the ring, Nick and Matt sat Bennett down in a chair, placed a party hat on his head. From behind, Maria gave the Bucks a dual low blow. Bennett went to hit them with a chair when AJ Styles in street clothes ran in to make the save.

    Styles hit Bennett with the chair and delivered Bloody Sunday. The Young Bucks grabbed Maria and gave her the Meltzer Driver. They also gave Bennett the Indy Taker. As Styles held him, the Bucks gave Bennett a double superkick before AJ hit the Styles Clash. The Bucks both covered Bennett to score the pinfall.

    Though unknown at the time of the TV taping, this would serve as the farewell of Styles on ROH TV. Styles celebrated with Nick and Matt in going out as a hero as the show closed in stark contrast to the heel departure of Mike Bennett and his wife Maria. 

  • WWE Smackdown results (01/21): Wyatt Family stands tall, DeanTV, Roman Reigns vs. League of Nations

    – Air Date: January 21, 2016 (Jan 20 in Canada)
    – Location: Wright State University Nutter Center in Dayton, OH

    The Big News:

    The Wyatt Family laid out Roman Reigns and again stood tall to end the show.

    Show Recap:

    They opened Smackdown by plugging MizTV with Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens, as well as Roman Reigns vs. League of Nations.

    Chris Jericho came out and welcomed everyone to Thursday Night Jericho, his first Smackdown in 14 months. He wore a light-up jacket with jeans and no shirt. Jericho plugged the Rumble and had the monkeys in the back play a Raw video package. He didn’t explain why he disappeared during the Highlight Reel. He started calling himself the saviour again when he was interrupted by New Day.

    Big E said “Christof” was no saviour, and they’re still mad about him destroying the trombone. Xavier Woods said there should be a documentary about Jericho called “Making a Brass Murderer,” but they wouldn’t need to plant evidence because it’s all on video. They asked the crowd for a moment of silence for the trombone and the crowd booed.

    Jericho called them stupid for mourning the trombone and said they look like jackasses with horns on their heads. He called them Rooty, Tooty, Booty and the crowd chanted along. New Day jumped in the ring and Jericho backed off. He said he’d love to kick their asses but they already have a 6-man match scheduled.

    6-Man Tag Match: The Usos & Dolph Ziggler beat The New Day via pinfall

    Ziggler wore face paint to match the Usos, as he did on their tour of India. They showed that The Usos’ cousin, The Rock, posted a picture of Ziggler and The Usos with their face paint, calling it bad ass.

    Jerry Lawler was basically a full-fledged heel this week. He said Ziggler looked silly in face paint, got mad at an Uso for pulling hair and said Jericho should be charged criminally for breaking the trombone.

    New Day worked over Jimmy Uso until he hit a corkscrew dive and hot-tagged Ziggler. Ziggler ran wild until Woods tossed him out, but Jey Uso tagged himself in and dropkicked Woods into the corner (like Finn Balor) and followed with a Samoan drop.

    An Uso took out out Big E and Kingston with a dive. All three babyfaces hit a triple-superkick on Woods and an Uso pinned him for the win. Nice match. Although, Woods can thank constant camera switches for not looking completely out of place.

    Commercial break. Royal Rumble By-The-Numbers video. Becky Lynch entrance. Commercial break.

    Becky Lynch beat Alicia Fox via submission

    Charlotte and Ric Flair joined commentary, and they replayed Lynch’s promo with Flair from Raw. The announcers said Lynch took a page out of Flair’s book, and Flair said Becky can’t even read his book. Charlotte said her look of surprise on Raw was because she couldn’t believe Lynch spoke the way she did to her father, not because he accepted the challenge.

    Fox did a Northern Lights Suplex on the outside and held the bridge as if she could get a pinfall and Mauro Ranallo made sure to point this out. Lynch won shortly afterwards with the Disarmer.

    The announcers congratulated The Rock on being the top box office draw of 2015.

    The Miz hosted MizTV and explained the rules of a Last Man Standing match. As he talked about how dangerous the match is, Dean Ambrose interrupted. Ambrose talked over Miz, so Miz told him to shut his mouth. Ambrose threatened to shut Miz’s mouth by knocking him out. Miz asked the crowd if they thought Ambrose could do this better than him and they cheered. Miz gave up, welcomed everyone to DeanTV, sat silently in the corner, and the crowd chanted Yes.

    Ambrose compared Last Man Standing to an amusement park and went on to explain the rides he’ll take Owens on, like snapping him in half over the ring apron. He said Owens looks like a bear, so he would use the steel steps as a bear trap and hit him with every object he can find, including a Kendo stick or the new Smackdown announcer. Ambrose would then put Owens through the table and will be the last man standing, as always.

    Owens came out next but stayed on the stage and said he likes zoos more than amusement parks. He said the Intercontinental Title was his and his obsession with the title would prevail over Ambrose’s insanity. Owens continued, saying Ambrose’s insanity has taken him far but it would be his downfall because he won’t know when to stop, and Owens would stand over him as new champion.

    Ambrose invited Owens down to the ring for DeanTV but Miz attacked him from behind. With Ambrose down, Owens sauntered to the ring. Owens actually attacked Miz and gave him the pop-up powerbomb. He then grabbed Ambrose and said Sunday would be the Kevin Owens Show. Owens went for the powerbomb but Ambrose countered and tried for Dirty Deeds, but Owens bailed. Ambrose gave Miz the Dirty Deeds instead and counted to ten as Owens looked on.

    Ambrose comparing Last Man Standing to an amusement park was pretty dumb, but he did the best he could with it and overall I thought this was good.

    Bray Wyatt (w/Wyatt Family) beat Ryback via pinfall

    After hitting a powerbomb, Ryback did CM Punk’s running knee lift in the corner, followed by a superkick. That really happened. He tried a splash off the top, but Bray moved and hit a uranage and running senton for two. Ryback came back with a meat-hook clothesline but Luke Harper jumped on the apron, allowing Braun Strowman to toss Ryback into the steps. Bray pulled him back in the ring and hit Sister Abigail for the win. Afterwards, Bray ranted (not on a microphone) about slaying the beast on Raw and said the rest would be slaughtered at the Rumble. This was fine.

    Titus O’Neil beat Stardust via pinfall

    O’Neil lifted Stardust off the top rope into a Clash of the Titus for the win. Before the match, O’Neil compared being in the Rumble to being on the line of scrimmage with bodies flying everywhere, and this Sunday could be his national title. I wish they did more of these promos with different guys.

    During the match, Lawler said Byron Saxton and O’Neil both attended University of Florida and asked if he could do the bark. Byron said, “I don’t have much bass in my voice” and Lawler responded, “Oh, we know that.” That was funny. The announcers also mentioned Stephen Amell during the match.

    Backstage, they showed Kalisto getting ready for an interview as a stagehand showed him… the script, I think? She held up pieces of paper and he was reading it with her. Was it a script? Is wrestling fake? Not sure what this was.

    After a break, Renee Young asked if Kalisto was ready for Sunday. Kalisto said, in Mexico, Alberto Del Rio’s name is up there with Mil Mascaras, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. Kalisto said he has beaten Del Rio twice and will do it one more time. Del Rio interrupted and called his victories flukes. Rusev, Wade Barrett and Sheamus grabbed him from behind. Del Rio attacked him and Sheamus gave him a Brogue Kick. This was a setup for the main event.

    WWE Champion Roman Reigns beat League of Nations via DQ

    Before the match, Reigns sarcastically said he didn’t see it coming when Vince McMahon made him the number one entrant. Reigns would still walk in and out of the Rumble match as champion and was ready to take on the League of Nations tonight.

    Heels got the heat pretty easily after the League distracted Reigns allowing Rusev to hit a fallaway slam. Reigns sold it like he’d been taking a long beating. Rusev kicked Reigns in his heavily padded stomach and back and Reigns sold some more. He came back with a clothesline on Sheamus, who tagged Rusev back in.

    Reigns hit him with a clothesline too, followed by ten more clotheslines in the corner and a jumping clothesline. He got ready for the superman punch but Barrett and Del Rio held him down. Sheamus attacked him and the referee called for a DQ. Ugh.

    Rusev hit a superkick and was about to apply the Accolade but the Usos ran down. They each hit superkicks but the numbers game caught up to them too. Rusev hit an Uso with a superkick and Sheamus hit the other with a Brogue kick. Reigns then took out Rusev with a superman punch and Sheamus with a spear. (Barrett disappeared and never took a bump, so he’s still injured.)

    The Wyatts appeared suddenly and surrounded the ring. Reigns tossed Harper and Rowan over the top. Strowman got in his face and actually tossed Reigns over the top, where he was taken out by Harper and Rowan. Strowman gave Reigns his [finishing move] and Bray finished him off with Sister Abigail.

    Final Thoughts:

    I thought Smackdown was better than usual right until the main event. They announced tonight’s main event on Raw and plugged it throughout this show, just for it to end after 5 minutes on a DQ. I know the idea was to play up the numbers game against Reigns, but it was terribly deflating after all that build – and after we’ve seen Reigns beat these guys already. That being said, the post-match angle was fine. I’m not a fan of hot-shotting the Wyatts, but if that’s the direction, then this was the right way to follow-up the finish of Raw.

  • WWE NXT recap for 1/13/2016: Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin all compete plus Bayley!

    Check out WrestlingOutsiders.com for 100% free MMA and Pro Wrestling podcasts!

    The Big News: All three participants in the triple threat #1 Contender’s Match had singles matches this week and all three came out victorious

    The Medium News: Bayley and her #1 Contender Carmella continued the build to their title match by teaming up to defeat Emma and Alexa Bliss.

    The Little Beaver Sized News: Rich Swann debuted, in a losing effort to Baron Corbin.

    1.) Sami Zayn submitted Adam Rose

    All three men who will compete in the #1 Contender’s Match next week will have matches tonight, so of course we kick things off with Sami Zayn! This is Zayn’s first match in Full Sail since May. The last time Rose was here on NXT he didn’t allow his music to be played, which got him heat. Now he just let it play while he implied he hated his own theme.

    Rose got just enough offense so that this wasn’t a total squash. One person in the crowd tried to get a “Leo Kruger” chant going, but everyone else ignored it and chanted for Sami. Rose hit a Diving Headbutt, which you could tell he was afraid of the landing as he braced himself to the point that it looked ridiculous on slow motion replay. Out of nowhere Zayn hit the STO and slapped on the Koji Clutch for the submission.

    -Alex interviewed Johnny Gargano about his match with Samoa Joe. Gargano pointed out that Joe has been upset about not winning the NXT Title at Takeover and has been taking it out on everyone. Gargano said he is all heart and as long as there is a heart beat he will not back down.

    -Gable and Jordan were outside the arena, talking about being the Alpha Males of NXT. After talking back and forth they named their team American Alpha and said they will beat Blake & Murphy next week.

    Jordan finally said the “Ready, Willing and Gable” line.

    2.) Apollo Crews pinned Tye Dillinger

    This is a rematch of Crews debut back at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. Dillinger, despite being the Perfect 10, didn’t win 5 matches in 2015. Him and Jason Jordan broke up as a team 10 times and then he has lost almost every match since becoming the Perfect 10.

    Crews picked Dillinger up for a suplex. In his efforts to get out of it Dillinger dropped knees down to Crews’ head, but Apollo still dropped him with the suplex. Apollo went for a Springboard WhatAManeuver, but Dillinger tripped him up and hit a nice looking Suicide Dive. Back in the ring he even got a near fall with a Running Twisting Knee to the face. The announcers talked about how no one had ever kicked out of that move. You know, the one he has used maybe one other time. Whatever. Crews won with a twisting sit out power bomb.

    After the match Crews talked about not liking matches that end in DQ, so he wants a match with Finn Balor.

    -Alex was trying to interview Blake and Murphy, but they were ignoring him. Alexa took over and said Blake & Murphy blew it in London, saying they are so much better than what they showed then.

    -A short video package for The Vaudevillians aired. They were angry young men.

    3.) Baron Corbin pinned Rich Swann

    It is the debut of Rich Swann, who got some screaming and hollering from the fans. The announcers mentioned that he was one of the top independent wrestlers in the world. Swann looked really good in the match. At one point he took a backdrop and did a full flip, landing flat on his face.

    Swann did his best to avoid Corbin like he had the Plague and chopped Baron down with kicks. Swann came off the top rope, but Baron avoided him and hit something that looked more like a Black Hole Slam for the win.

    -Alex interviewed Bayley and Carmella. Carmella was happy about being #1 Contender and getting to wrestle her friend. I smell a heel turn. Bayley just started talking about their upcoming tag match when Dash & Dawson came up and made Carmella go crazy when pointed out that Enzo & Cass can never win the big one.

    4.) Bayley & Carmella defeated Alexa Bliss & Emma

    Emma and Alexa attacked Bayley before the bell, attacking her ribs before the match even started . Despite that Bayley still started the match despite being injured. This was an alright match, but was almost a handicap match. They got the heat on Bayley. When Bayley scratched and crawled and dragged himself to the corner Alexa knocked Carmella off the apron.

    Bayley made her own comeback, which got halted when Dana Brooke interfered to give the heels back the advantage. Finally Bayley was able to avoid her foes and make the tag. Carmella went nuts on both girls and made Alexa tap to a leg scissors.

    -Alex interviewed Finn Balor. Balor accepted Apollo Crews challenge to a non title match.

    5.) Samoa Joe submitted Johnny Gargano

    The fans chanted Johnny Wrestling until half of the crowd decided to chant for Joe. Gargano got a little bit of offense, so Joe went outside the ring. Gargano went to run down the apron at him, but Joe tripped him up and Gargano crashed face first on the apron.

    Gargano made a brief comeback, including hitting a slingshot DDT, but ended up kicked in the face and locked in the Coquina Clutch for the tap out. Good match, but not nearly as good as the Ciampa match a few weeks ago.

    The announcers ended the show by wishing good luck to Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin, putting over that they have to face a monster next week.

  • Daily update: Full Royal Rumble Card, McGregor UFC 197 press conference

    We now have the full card for Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble PPV / Special Event:

    Pre-show: Darren Young and Damien Sandow vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Ascension vs. Mark Henry and Jack Swagger

    The New Day (c) vs. The Usos for the Tag Team Championship

    Charlotte (with Ric Flair) (c) vs. Becky Lynch for the Divas Championship

    Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Kalisto for the United States Championship

    Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship in a Last Man Standing match

    The Royal Rumble for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship where Roman Reigns (c) will be the first entrant

    TV tonight:

    No UFC programming on Fox Sports 1 due to college basketball commitments.

    NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network is headlined by Samoa Joe vs. Johnny Gargano.

    ROH at midnight on COMET has a main event of Adam Cole & Michael Bennett vs. The Young Bucks vs. reDRagon.

    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!  

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 1/4/2016: More on Gawker motioning to dismiss Hulk Hogan lawsuit

    More information on Gawker’s motion to dismiss Hulk Hogan’s sex tape lawsuit, tons more.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: January 18, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: NJPW strips Nakamura, Sting to HOF

    An update on Shinsuke Nakamura, WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling is the lead story of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer.  His departure, not losing the IC title in the ring, the decision making surrounding it, Nakamura’s final matches in Japan and his start in the U.S., New Japan’s next two PPV shows, and the future of the IC title.

    Nick Diaz’s updated suspension, Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler, and the welterweight division title situation.  UFC 197 through 200 with talk about what is next for Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier, MMA in New York, what huge publicity coup UFC had that fell apart, is UFC too confident about high ticket prices, and a number of future main events.  The plans for C.M. Punk’s debut.

    Lots of WrestleMania updates, including what is on the books and other key matches.  We’ve got more on John Cena’s surgery, updates on a number of WWE injuries, a look at the first Smackdown on USA, more on brain injuries to fighters and wrestlers, Notes on the next NXT tapings, new WWE camps, double standards, Linda McMahon update, NXT weekend, and football background of two NXT stars.

    Rundowns of all the WWE & NXT house shows over the weekend and business notes.  Updates on Royal Rumble.

    A feature on Sting and his career, from growing up through Memphis, through WCW and TNA and his final run in WWE.  How he got started, his first break, the Ric Flair match that made him a star, when he was originally going to win the NWA title and why it was delayed, what happened when he was champion, the Hogan vs. Sting disaster, how he ended up in TNA.

    Full coverage of TNA’s tapings and PPV, contract issues, the Matt Hardy situation and what is the short-term future for television.

    Yoel Romero and his potential test failure and how this changes the middleweight division.  Romero’s background, fighter reactions to his test failure.

    The future of the AAA Mega championship and the current plans for Guerra de Titanes, the first major show of 2016 in AAA.

    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: November 23, 1998 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWF Survivor Series review, Rock becomes Corporate Champion
    A full review of WWF Survivor Series with The Rock becoming the Corporate Champion, more WCW woes, plus tons of news.

    WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

    If you didn’t see McGregor today at the UFC 197 press conference, enjoy.

    WWE RAW ratings get no help from lack of NFL competition.

    There are only 18 participants announced thus far for the Royal Rumble, with the betting favorite HHH not even listed, so expect some surprises as usual

    Jerry Millen, VP of Rizin Fighting, is hinting that Randy Couture may come out retirement to face Fedor Emilianenko on a future show. He claims that they were in talks for Couture to be the New Year’s Eve opponent but he needed more time to get ready.

    WWE

    • The stipulation of the pre-show match is that the winning team gets to enter the Rumble, and then be promptly eliminated most likely
    • The Condemned 2 starring Randy Orton is available for purchase now. I’ve heard it’s a decent action movie but not at good as Condemned 1 starring Steve Austin
    • John Cena posted a photo of AJ Styles on his Instagram account today leading to speculation of a possible debut at the Rumble; or perhaps Cena is just getting back at the internet for memeing him into shoulder surgery
    • Our own David Bixenspan has a huge longform article on the front page of SBNation.com today about how the Big Show spent his time in 2007 between WWE runs training for a professional boxing career.
    • If you missed it last night on Total Divas, Nikki Bella did not in fact leave John Cena for Dolph Ziggler.
    • From deadline.com, The Rock was named Number 1 international box office star of 2015, starring in movies that made a combine 1.488 billion dollars last year (San Andreas and Fast 7), right at the level of the recent Powerball lottery jackpot.
    • Eva Marie talks to Ted Gruber at Fansided.

    UFC/MMA

    • Mike Tyson will be fighting in the UFC… as a playable character in the EA Sports UFC 2 video game. If you pre-order the game, you will be able to get Tyson immediately along with bonus downloads of Kazushi Sakuraba and Bas Rutten. If not, you’ll have to unlock Tyson in career mode. It’s unclear whether or not you’ll be able to unlock his pigeon collection. The game is out March 15th and available for pre-order now.
    • Lebron James finds Conor McGregor inspiring. The world’s greatest NBA player instagrammed a quote from arguably the world’s greatest UFC fighter today.
    • Darren Elkins vs. Chas Skelly has been signed and will take place at UFC 197 on March 5. Tickets for that card (McGregor vs. Dos Anjos) go on sale January 22.
    • UFC announced today that the 3rd season of TUF Latin America will be taped in Argentina after the first two seasons were filmed in Las Vegas. This is part of the UFC’s plans to run events in South American countries other than Brazil, according to Jamie Pollock, UFC Senior Vice President in charge of Latin American content.
    • Ariel Helwani’s new show ‘In The Clinch’ that focused on Matt Serra debuted Tuesday on Fox Sports 1. Good debut effort. It’s being repeated throughout the week on Fox Sports 2.
    • Marlon Moraes will defend his WSOF Bantamweight Title against Joseph Barajas at Next Level Sports Complex in Garden Grove, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 20, which airs live on NBCSN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

    MISC

    • Gawker is selling part of the company to Columbus Nova Technology Partners as part of a fundraising effort in light of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against the company. This is the first time that founder Nick Denton has brought on outside investors.
    • Joey Ryan is trying to capitalize on Tammy Sytch’s adult film offers by publicly trying to divert her to his sponsor.
    • Timothy Thatcher is off this week’s EVOLVE show due to a staph infection. Sami Callihan will now team with Zack Sabre Jr. in the tag team tournament.
    • Jake Roberts, Nick “Magnus” Aldis, and Mickie James are doing a seminar in Richmond, Virginia in March.
    • Former pro wrestling Joe Blanchard will be inducted as a distinguished member of the 2015 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame this summer in Waterloo, IA. Father of Tully, Joe worked in the Calgary, Hawaii, and Texas territories in a 25-year career that also included the founding of Southwest Championship Wrestling.
    • Due to unforeseen circumstances, Infinity Pro and its partners are forced to postpone January 30’s 10th anniversary event. Refunds via PayPal have already been processed. Information on our return will be provided at InfinityProWrestling.com and facebook.com/ipwbloomington.
    • This week’s Fire Pro Podcast takes a look at the May 3, 2000 WCW Thunder where there were no referees, so everyone had to count their own pins, and lots and lots and lots of brawling. It also featured the returns of  Bret Hart and Randy Savage in WCW, who showed up once then were never seen again. It was really weird. They also review WCW Great American Bash 2000, which was somehow even worse, here.

    ON THIS DAY IN WORLD PRO WRESTLING HISTORY: Daily pro wrestling history (1/20): Flair vs. McMahon, Misawa wins Triple Crown

    I normally try not to list off everyone who helped with the daily update today because so many of us do and it would be hard to list everyone every day.  But thanks to David Bixenspan, Paul Fontaine and Brian Hoops for the help today, and Bryan too I guess…

  • No bounce back for WWE RAW ratings without NFL

    Due to a disastrous third hour, Raw did not have much of a bounce back after the end of football competition.

    Monday night’s show did 3.48 million viewers, only up 160,000 viewers from last week’s show that went up against the national championship college football game.

    On this night was clear what did the show in was the show itself, with major pattern of declines from start to finish, including a third hour that did 3.12 million viewers, a number that would have been considered poor even going against a huge NFL game.

    The show was promoted around building to a Highlight Reel segment where Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns would meet face-to face. No major matches were plugged for hour three.

    The three hours were:

    8 p.m. 3.78 million viewers
    9 p.m. 3.59 million viewers
    10 p.m. 3.12 million viewers

  • VIDEO: Watch today’s UFC 197 Press Conference

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AQ7dlmZIFU

    UFC 197 is still over a month away, but with tickets going on sale this week, UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael Dos Anjos, UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm and Miesha Tate will be involved in today’s UFC 197 Press Conference from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which hosts the event on March 5. Dos Anjos will defend the UFC Lightweight Championship against McGregor, who will be looking to become the first fighter to hold two titles in two different weight classes at the same time when he goes for 155-pound gold in the main event of UFC 197. In the co-main event, Holm will make her first title defense against Tate, winner of four straight fights. Hear from those four, along with UFC President Dana White, at 2 PM eastern time by watching above.

    Also announced for the UFC 197 card is Filthy Four Daily co-host and our very own Tom Lawlor taking on Corey Anderson in a light heavyweight bout, Erick Silva taking on Nordine Taleb in a welterweight bout, and a featherweight clash between Darren Elkins and Chas Skelly.

  • Raw and UFC ratings notes

    There will be no ratings for either the weekend UFC programming or for Raw available today due to Martin Luther King’s birthday.

    Ratings for the weekend, which includes the Dominick Cruz vs. TJ Dillashaw bantamweight title change, will be available tomorrow. Preliminary numbers based on the overnight ratings have indicated Sunday’s show will be one of the most watched UFC events ever on FS 1, likely second most to the show last January headlined by Conor McGregor vs. Dennis Siver.

    Raw’s number will also be interesting as it was for the go-home show for the Royal Rumble, built around a Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns confrontation from early in the show.  Traditionally Raw numbers bounce back significantly in January when football season ends.  Monday will be the first show since the last football game of the season airs on a Monday, although the show two weeks ago didn’t have football competition and the bouce-back was less than anticipated.