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  • Daily Update: NYE final Smackdown on Syfy, WWE HOF tickets, Rock teases ‘Mania with Rousey

    We’re looking for reports on last night’s WWE shows in Toronto and Baltimore at Dave Meltzer

    For this weekend, we’ll be doing polls on the Saturday night UFC show and the New Japan Tokyo Dome show which starts at about 2:15 a.m. Eastern and 11:15 p.m. late Sunday/early Monday.

    SMACKDOWN TONIGHT ON SYFY

    Dudleys & Kalisto vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods

    Goldust vs. Tyler Breeze

    Usos vs. Luke Harper & Braun Strowman

    Brie Bella & Alicia Fox vs. Naomi & Tamina

    Dolph Ziggler vs. Bo Dallas

    Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt & Kevin Owens

    This is the final episode of Smackdown on  Syfy, as it moves to the USA Network with the new announcing team and John Cena in a show taped on Tuesday in Laredo.  It’s expected this will be among the lowest rated episodes ever given the college football playoffs and New Year’s Eve

    CMLL IPPVFROM ARENA MEXICO AT 6 P.M. EASTERN TIME TOMORROW  

    WATCH HERE

    Estrellita & Princesa Sugei & Vaquerita vs.  Amapola & Dallys & Zeuxis

    Blue Panther Jr. & Esfinge & The Panther vs. Cancerbero & Raziel & Virus

    Atlantis & Marco Corleone & Valiente vs. Dragon Rojo & Polvora & Thunder

    Maximo Sexy vs. Kamaitachi hair vs. hair

    Mistico & Caristico & Rusher vs. Volador Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero & Cibernetico

    Negro Casas vs. Super Parka hair vs. hair

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly 12/28/2015: Gawker files to dismiss Hogan lawsuit
    Details on Gawker filing to dismiss the Hulk Hogan sex tape lawsuit, plus other news.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    We have our annual business year in review as the lead of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week. We cover our awards balloting year from 12/1/14 to 11/30/15 looking at the biggest events and biggest draws, with the year’s biggest crowds, records set in several different companies, Cena compared to those in similar positions on the all-time list, the year’s PPV buys for every wrestling, MMA and boxing show, how this year compared with other years.

    Dwayne Johnson returning for WrestleMania, different ideas of where he may fit in, and his recent track record of WrestleMania matches.

    The history of New Japan on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome. The first New Japan Tokyo Dome show and its main event, what drew the first house, what Lou Thesz said to Antonio Inoki after the show and why Thesz thought the result was a good thing and why it ended up being a waste. We look at how this year’s show will differ from last year as well as a match-by-match rundown and a look at the history of the New Japan big four, Tanahashi, Okada, A.J. Styles and Nakamura, with all of their previous Tokyo Dome matches.

    Jonathan Coachman on HGH usage in WWE, why usage is so prevalent in certain types of sports and entertainment.

    WWE injury coverage, why WWE stars are doing more NBC media, how movies with Sting are doing at the box office, how the WWE’s head of medical came across in the movie “Concussion” plus a concussion expert on Daniel Bryan situation. Update on Nikki Bella, NXT sellouts, Brock Lesnar’s next match, Cena facing a surprise opponent, Chris Jericho on future, Royal Rumble, Sin Cara injury update, NXT in Dallas, the go-home show for WrestleMania, two international stars about to start with WWE and the Bayley character on the main roster.

    The holiday show in Madison Square Garden coverage, Ben Askren talks about One’s possibly revolutionary weight cutting regulations that could be the catalyst for changing MMA.  We look at the first Rizin show, the sad spectacle of Sakuraba, the pro wrestlers on the show, the mentality behind why certain people were on the show and match-by-match coverage.

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

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: January 4, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Business year in review, Rock at Wrestlemania 32, tons more.

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

    You can also order print issues at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

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    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: November 9, 1998 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Jesse Ventura wins Minnesota Governor election, WCW trailing WWF, more
    Jesse Ventura becomes the Governor of Minnesota, WCW begins trailing WWF, ECW November to Remember recap, plus tons of news.

    TODAY’S DAILY UPDATE

    Wrestling Observer Radio with Sean Wheelock is up today talking with Bryan and Dave Meltzer about MMA rules and regulations, his departure from Bellator, MMA scoring and even a movie he’s working on that will be about the birth of MMA in 1993.

    Jerome LeBanner showed up in the ring at the IGF show instead of his scheduled fight against Baruto on the Rizin New Year’s Show.  LeBanner “never came to Japan” and was replaced at the last minute by Peter Aerts.   He had been with IGF in the past.  Nobuyuki Sakakibara of Rizin has already said that he’s going to sue over that.

    Tickets to the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at the American Airlines Center in Dallas go on sale to the public on 1/15 at 10 a.m. Central time.  Probably a quick sellout here.  That probably means a Hall of Fame announcement will come on 1/11.

    UFC has sent some Fight Pass subscribers an e-mail offering them 20 percent off UFC 195 as a gift.  I didn’t get one so it hasn’t come to everyone, but we’ve gotten e-mails from several who have gotten it.  

    The Vegas Fuel Energy site is offering free tickets to the TNA shows all week in Bethlehem, PA, which probably tells you how tickets are selling, but I don’t think that’s a surprise when it TNA running five straight nights in the same venue.

    The 1/13 episode of NXT will feature the NXT Awards.  There will be voting on the WWE web site starting tomorrow and ending this coming Wednesday for Competitor of the Year, Male Competitor of the Year, Female Competitor of the Year, Tag Team of the Year, Match of the year, TakeOver show of the Year.  

    WWE

    • Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has been pushing for WrestleMania at Michigan Stadium, saying it’s bigger than Texas Stadium and they could break the attendance record.  
    • With the holidays, the company will return to action with shows in Corpus Christi and Hidalgo on Sunday.  
    • The International Judo Federation sent Dwayne Johnson a Tweet saying to let them know if he needs a judoka to be his tag team partner at WrestleMania.  “I may need a judoka,” he wrote.  “I had the honor of a course in judo last year.”
    • As far as movies with WWE talent, Daddy’s Home was No. 2 in Australia last weekend and Spectre was No. 8 (thanks to James Stanios)
    • While it feels like more, out of 389 matches on Raw in 2015, 21 were won by distraction and roll-up finishes. (thanks to Jason Solomon)
    • Alberto Del Rio’s match in Puerto Rico with Ray Gonzalez Sr.

    UFC

    • Michael Bisping ripped on Anderson Silva in a Tuesday press conference noting him testing positive for three different banned substances, so that may be the theme of his promos leading to their fight.  He said that he respects him as a fighter, but lost a lot of respect for him and this fight represents him trying to beat fighters that cheated.  He said that calling yourself a martial artist and taking PED’s is “the biggest contradiction you could ever make and to be honest, he should be ashamed of himself and I feel that this should be talked about more.”  He said he believes the people who used to cheat will try and continue to cheat and manipulate the system.  “Just because they’re bringing in advanced testing doesn’t share the fact you’re still going to be a coward and you’re still going to try and cheat the system.”
    • Due to an injury to Jimi Manuwa, his 2/27 fight scheduled with Nikita Krylov in London has been canceled.
    • FS 1 will be airing the Conor McGregor vs. Chad Mendes tonight at 8 p.m.
    • The weigh-ins will be at 7 p.m. tomorrow night with Karyn Bryant, Daniel Cormier, Kenny Florian, Tyron Woodley and Ariel Helwani working the shows.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    • There’s talk of a big immediate push for Michael Bennett in TNA. 
    • RDS in Quebec, the French language version of ESPN, had a one hour documentary last night on the Rougeau Family, starting with Eddy Auger to nephews Jacques Sr. & Johnny, third generation wrestlers Jacques Jr. & Raymond as well as Armand and Joanne (who was the local Montreal promoter for WWF) to Emile & Cedric, Jacques’ sons.  Also in the documentary included former promoter Gino Brito, Jacques’ former tag team partner Pierre-Carl Ouellet, announcer Marc Blondin and historian Patric Laprade.
    • Findlay Martin of Powerslam’s book “Pro Wrestling Through the Power Slam Years:  1994-2014” was named by Dan of Geek as one of its top books of 2015.
    • One of the best women’s bouts this year, the Io Shirai Queen of Stardom win over Meiko Satomura
    • Glory kickboxing will have a six hour marathon starting at midnight Eastern tomorrow night on the CBS Sports Network.
    • An interview with Matt Hardy on TNA’s move to Pop TV
    • Michael Landsberg talks about his battles with depression and how WWE wrestling and Bret Hart put Off the Record on the map in 1997
    • The World Series of Fighting will have an eight hour marathon starting at 5 p.m. tomorow on NBC Sports Network.  The Justin Gaethje vs. Luis Palomino match of the year candidate will air at about8:30 p.m. Friday night Eastern and 5:30 p.m. Pacific time.
    • The CW TV show “Supernatural” will have a pro wrestling themed episode airing on 1/20 at 9 p.m.  The show will include familiar themes within pro wrestling including deaths of wrestlers at a young age.    
    • Evolve has announced a Style Battle tournament for Royal Rumble weekend with shows on 1/22 in Ybor City, 1/23 and 1/24 in Orlando, with a four-man round robin tournament featuring Matt Riddle, Tracy Williams, Peter Kaasa and Fred Yehi.
    • The Resurrection Fighting Alliance on AXS has a sow on 1/15 from Broomfield, CT.  the main event will be Bojan Velickovic (12-3) vs. Benjamin Smith (15-3) at welterweight plus Adam Stroup (10-2) vs. John Poppie (6-2) at middleweight.
    • ECWA on 1/23 in Woodbury Heights, NJ at the Community Center.
    • AAW is offering two weeks free on its streaming service at www.airwarchives.com
    • Bill Beecroft noted that Harry Simon wasn’t the only person to have written for both the Wrestling Observer and Pro Wrestling Illustrated, as he did as well.
    • American Combat Wrestling on 1/16 in New Port Richey, FL at the All Sports Arena.
    • Promociones del Vallle has a show on 1/8 at the Auditorio in Tijuana with Gronda XXX & L.A. Park & Rayo de Jalisco Jr. vs. Cibernetico & Cien Caras & Dr. Wagner Jr. as the main event.
    • Infinity Pro Wrestling on 1/30 in Bloomington, IN at the National Guard Armory with GT Vega vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Shane Mercer.
    • Bushwhacker Luke Williams celebrates in birthday on 1/8 at the River City Wrestling show in San Antonio at Sideliners Grill.  Hernandez will also be on that show.
    • Pro Wrestling Phoenix from last night in Omaha:  Purple b Robert Storm, Dalton Lee Roth won three-way over Kevin Davidson and Ozzie Gallagher, Zac James b Pat Powers, L-Ray b Branden Juarez, Blue Rocket b Brandon Wallace, Michael Elgin b Devin Carter, Daniels Brothers b Hype Gotti & Tony Cortez in a tables match.  Next show is 1/16 in Council Bluffs, IA at the National Guard Armory.

    Here is today’s FULL Daily Pro Wrestling History including International history: Daily pro wrestling history (12/29): Mankind wins the WWF World Title

  • Figure Four Weekly 12/28/2015: Gawker files to dismiss Hogan lawsuit

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    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

  • January 4, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Business year in review, Rock at Wrestlemania 32, tons more.

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    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

  • Memphis’ Buddy Wayne passes away at 81

    Dwayne Peale, best known as Buddy Wayne and Buddy Wayne Peale, a fixture on the Memphis wrestling scene for three decades, passed away today after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis, is son Ken reported this morning.

    Peale was 81.  Ken Wayne (Ken Peale) said that his father had spent the week in the hospital and asked to leave to go into hospice care on Tuesday night as he knew he wasn’t going to last long.  He passed away at 1:30 a.m

    “He passed with dignity and loved ones,” Ken wrote on the Wrestling Classics message board. “He is at peace now.”

    Peale started in the territory in the late 50s until his real name, but was best known as Buddy Wayne.  His most memorable program would have been a father-and-son tag team feud with Buddy & Ken Wayne against Tommy & Eddie Gilbert.

    Buddy Wayne, not to be confused with the Northwest wrestler of the same name, used to promote shows in the Memphis area for Nick Gulas and later Jerry Jarrett.

  • RIZIN results from Saitama Super Arena: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Jadeep Singh

    Results from today’s Rizin show from the Saitama Super Arena:

    Rena beat Jleana Valentino in a women’s 112 pound fight with a second round flying armbar.

    King Mo Lawal beat Teodoras Aukstuolis in the heavyweight tournament semifinal, dominating him everywhere and winning via decision

    Jiri Prochazka beat Vadim Nemkov in the other heavyweight semifinal.  Very good fight going back-and-forth.  Nemkov had the advantage on the ground.  Both very tired by the end of the 10 minute first round and when it was over, Nemkov just couldn’t get up and didn’t answer the bell for the second round.

    Brennan Ward of Bellator beat Ken Hasegawa with a belly-to-belly suplex and choke.

    Soo Chul Kim beat Maike Linhares in a boring fight via unanimous decision.

    Takeru beat Yang Ming under K-1 rules.  The ref stopped it after a barrage of punches in the second round.

    Gabi Garcia beat Lei’d Tapa via knockout with a backfist that looked most like a reflex action than a planned punch.  Garcia looked tons bigger than Tapa, stunningly so.  Tapa was a lot lighter than her wrestling size and Garcia had the most ridiculous shoulders on a fighter, man or woman, that you’ll see.  Tapa knocked her down first and then both swung wildly with no technique.  The crowd was very into this as a freak show fight.

    Bob Sapp beat Akebono.  This fight was so bad Spike couldn’t air it.

    Baruto beat Peter Aerts via decision.  The 403-pound Baruto threw Aerts around pretty easily.

    Andy Souwer, a kickboxing legend, beat Yuichiro Nagashima with a flurry of hard punches to the head and particularly the body and Nagashima went down.

    Kron Gracie beat Asen Yamamoto via triangle.  He got the triangle, Yamamoto was able to power bomb Gracie but Gracie held on tight for the submission.  Yamamoto was too young and too small.  Gracie’s technique looked great.

    Fedor Emelianenko beat Jadeep Singh via first round ground and pound as Singh tapped from strikes.  Fedor took him down and pretty much beat him up.  Hiroshi Hase made a cameo in the ring with Fedor.

    King Mo beat Jiri Prochazka too win the heavyweight tournament. Prochazka landed a lot of kicks early, but Mo took him down.  Prochazka rushed in after getting up and Mo knocked him out cold with a right hand.

  • UFC 195 Preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions

    The UFC kicks off 2016 on Saturday night for their traditional New Year’s event from Las Vegas, Nevada with UFC 195, headlined by the UFC Welterweight Championship being defended when Robbie Lawler defends against Carlos Condit. The action kicks off with preliminary card bouts on UFC Fight Pass before moving over to FOX Sports 1 for more preliminary card fights leading into the main card on pay-per-view. The action will kick off on Saturday at 6:30 PM eastern time, and we will have coverage for you here on F4WOnline.com. Also on the card is a pivotal bout in the heavyweight division as Stipe Miocic takes on Andrei Arlovski. Let’s take a deeper look into the night’s card and present you five storylines to keep your eye on during UFC 195 on Saturday night.

    1. Welterweight gold on the line in the main event

    The first UFC event of 2016 is headlined by a title fight that could be an early contender for “Fight Of The Year” as the UFC Welterweight Championship is on the line. Robbie Lawler comes off his first title defense in 2015’s “Fight Of The Year” against Rory MacDonald and gets another big challenge in the form of Carlos Condit, a former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion. This fight is a much anticipated one for hardcore fans as Lawler and Condit are two of the most exciting 170-pound fighters on the planet, which is a big reason why the fight was put together. Condit is just 2-3 in his last five fights and missed 14 months of action due to a serious knee injury, but it looked like he hadn’t missed a step with a dominant win over Thiago Alves in May. It helped him leapfrog fellow contenders such as Tyron Woodley and Johny Hendricks, but the styles clash between Lawler and Condit is just too interesting to pass up. That could breed a war for the ages for the first main event of 2016.

    Lawler is coming off of that war with MacDonald in July and has been in quite a few wars over the last few years. His comeback story is one for the ages- written off coming back from Strikeforce, he has gone 7-1 since then to become champion and has been involved in the last two “Fight Of The Year” winners. He has had a lot of mileage put on him since the beginning of 2014, and it will be interesting to see if that has caught up to him. Condit will come in with a masterful gameplan with coaching from Greg Jackson. Both men, at times, start slow, but both have the conditioning to go a full 25 minutes. Condit may be more technical on the feet, but Lawler has more power in his hands. Both men can end a fight at any moment with their striking, and both men are equally as tough to finish. Condit has a better ground game.

    Needless to say, this has the makings of a war. On a card not big on star power, especially after the bonanza of fight cards in December, this is a fight fan’s dream battle in a month of more solid UFC action. It should be a battle for the ages, and the man who walks out of the Octagon with the gold around his waist at the end of Saturday night will have gone through hell to get it, but will be a deserving champion.

    2. A heavyweight title shot hangs in the balance

    The co-main event bout is a battle in the heavyweight division that could determine the next man in line to challenge for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Current champion Fabricio Werdum defends against former champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 196 next month, but first, Stipe Miocic and Andrei Arlovski will step inside the Octagon and do battle. Miocic is coming off of one of the most dominant performances in UFC heavyweight history in his fifth-round TKO win over Mark Hunt in May. He set the record for most strikes landed in a UFC bout, landing 361 total strikes over the course of nearly 23 minutes. Miocic has won four of his last five fights, with the lone loss being a close bout against Junior Dos Santos that was an all-out war. Miocic is ranked third in the division rankings, and a win has him primed to finally score that title shot.

    A title shot is something that many wouldn’t have expected Arlovski to ever receive again. But, here he is, on the verge of earning one following wins in six straight fights, including four straight since returning to the UFC. He may have earned one had his win over Frank Mir at UFC 191 in September been more impressive, but that performance set him back just a bit and put him in a title eliminator position. Arlovski has held UFC gold before, and his comeback story is proof you can never count a fighter out in this sport. Training under Greg Jackson has done wonders for him, and Jackson could be leading him towards gold. He has a tough opponent ahead of him in Miocic, and both men are heavy-handed strikers. Arlovski’s chin has held up after taking several beatings years ago, but Miocic lands with a lot of power and volume. This is going to be one tough test for both men, and the winner deserves a title shot.

    3. Young, exciting fighters highlight the main card

    Two potential barnburners highlight the main card on pay-per-view featuring some exciting prospects. In a welterweight bout, dynamic strikers Albert Tumenov and Lorenz Larkin will square off. Tumenov has won four straight bouts, and he looks like a big threat at 170 pounds after a dominant first-round knockout win over Alan Jouban at UFC 192 in October. Ten of Tumenov’s last eleven wins have come by knockout, and he boasts serious power. Larkin also boasts serious power, and his striking is more flashy and comes from every angle. He has won two straight since moving to welterweight, both by knockout, and both earning him post-fight bonus awards. The move down is what Larkin needed after three straight losses, and he seems comfortable at 170 pounds. This fight is one that could send the winner into the top 15 rankings at 170 pounds.

    In a featherweight bout, former TUF winner Diego Brandao will be looking for his third straight win as he looks to end the perfect record held by fast-rising prospect Brian Ortega. Ortega is undefeated in ten career bouts, though he has a blemish on his mark with a win overturned due to a drug test failure. He is coming off a third-round knockout win over Thiago Tavares in June in one of the best fights of 2015, and at 24-years-old, he has a bright future ahead of him. He hasn’t had an easy road in recent UFC bouts with his second straight tough veteran fighter, and Brandao is out to prove he is no stepping stone. He has two straight first-round wins, but he has seemed to always falter when he has the spotlight on him. He does again with a main card bout, and Ortega will be out to prove that he is ready to be solidified as a title contender.

    4. A big lightweight bout on Fight Pass

    2016 looks like there will be a lot of emphasis on UFC Fight Pass with some big fights already planned for the digital network. It won’t just be main events for exclusive events, but also big preliminary bouts being positioned on the network. That starts on Saturday with a lightweight title between Dustin Poirier and Joseph Duffy taking place on UFC Fight Pass. They were originally scheduled to headline the event in Dublin in October that aired on Fight Pass, but the fight was cancelled the week of the event as doctors wouldn’t allow Duffy to fight after he had suffered a concussion one week prior to the event. Several fighters campaigned to fight Poirier on short notice, but he was pulled from the October event so the fight with Duffy could be rescheduled. They get their chance to throw down on Saturday night.

    Poirier and Duffy are both exciting fighters with a lot of potential. Poirier has adjusted well in moving up to the lightweight division as he doesn’t have the drastic weight cut, and his power has seemingly gotten better with the move up. Duffy has proven capable of finishing opponents in his two UFC bouts, but this is a giant step up in competition. Known as the last man to defeat Conor McGregor, Duffy is looking to carve himself a name as a threat at 155 pounds. He is a big favorite over Poirier, and that is very surprising considering Poirier has fought much tougher competition in his career. Poirier is another fighter who has faltered in the spotlight, and he has to prove that is in the past from competing at 145 pounds. These men can make a statement about the card very early on in the evening, and fans tuning in on Fight Pass not just for UFC 195, but for future events, are in store for a treat.

    5. Mayday back in the bantamweight fold

    After being out of action for just over two years, former bantamweight title challenger Michael McDonald will be making his return to action in the featured preliminary bout on Saturday night. McDonald has been nursing hand injuries throughout his entire career, and hand and wrist surgeries cost him the last two years. He was last seen in December 2013 being submitted by Urijah Faber, one of only two losses in the UFC, the other coming to Renan Barao in a title fight in February 2013. McDonald is still just shy of his 25th birthday, and with him returning along with Dominick Cruz, the bantamweight division is getting a much needed input of exciting fighters.

    McDonald will be taking on Masanori Kanehara, who is 1-1 in UFC competition. Kanehara is coming off a tough split decision loss to Rani Yahya in July. This is a perfect bounce back fight for McDonald, who is an exciting knockout artist with good well-rounded skills. The long layoff has cost McDonald in the rankings as he has dropped to eighth following the rise of such prospects as Thomas Almeida and Aljamain Sterling. Even though he has already fought once for the title, McDonald is still very young and his name should be propped in with those two as young fighters to keep an eye on in the future. With his injury issues hopefully behind him, he is primed to make a run and remind fans why he is a much hyped fighter at 135 pounds.

    Full UFC 195 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions

    MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)

    UFC Welterweight Championship: (C) Robbie Lawler vs. (#4) Carlos Condit
    Betting Odds:     Lawler (-110), Condit (-110)
    Prediction: Condit by decision

    Heavyweights: (#3) Stipe Miocic vs. (#2) Andrei Arlovski
    Betting Odds:     Miocic (-230), Arlovski (+190)
    Prediction: Miocic by knockout in round 2

    Welterweights: Albert Tumenov vs. Lorenz Larkin
    Betting Odds:     Tumenov (-240), Larkin (+200)
    Prediction: Tumenov by decision

    Featherweights: Diego Brandao vs. Brian Ortega
    Betting Odds:     Brandao (+190), Ortega (-230)
    Prediction: Ortega by knockout in round 1

    Lightweights: Abel Trujillo vs. Tony Sims
    Betting Odds:     Trujillo (+105), Sims (-125)
    Prediction: Trujillo by knockout in round 3

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

    Bantamweights: (#8) Michael McDonald vs. Masanori Kanehara
    Betting Odds:     McDonald (-550), Kanehara (+425)
    Prediction: McDonald by submission in round 1

    Welterweights: Kyle Noke vs. Alex Morono
    Betting Odds:     Noke (-300), Morono (+250)
    Prediction: Noke by knockout in round 1

    Women’s Strawweights: Justine Kish vs. Nina Ansaroff
    Betting Odds:     Kish (-265), Ansaroff (+225)
    Prediction: Kish by decision

    Lightweights: Drew Dober vs. Scott Holtzman
    Betting Odds:     Dober (+140), Holtzman (-160)
    Prediction: Holtzman by submission in round 2

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT)

    Lightweights: (#12) Dustin Poirier vs. Joseph Duffy
    Betting Odds:     Poirier (+165), Duffy (-190)
    Prediction: Poirier by knockout in round 2

    Bantamweights: Joe Soto vs. Michinori Tanaka
    Betting Odds:     Soto (-110), Tanaka (-110)
    Prediction: Soto by decision

    Welterweights: Sheldon Westcott vs. Edgar Garcia
    Betting Odds:     Westcott (-160), Garcia (+140)
    Prediction: Westcott by decision

  • Best of Bellator special airs tomorrow before Rizin

    Spike announced tonight that it will be airing a Best of Bellator special tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Eastern and Pacific time, as a prelude to the Rizing show.

    The show, hosted by Sean Grande and Jimmy Smith, called “Bellator MMA: Best of 2015,” will cover the biggest matches of the past year and feature fights like Kimbo Slice, Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Liam McGeary and Phil Davis, and start the build to a McGeary vs. Davis light heavyweight championship match.

    The Rizin show, built around Fedor Emelianenko, King Mo Lawal and the sad spectacle of the Shinya Aoki vs. Kazushi Sakuraba fight, starts at 10 a.m., on tape delay from the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, as promoter Nobuyuki Sakakibara attempts to rebuild the pageantry and circus like atmosphere that made Pride events so big a decade ago.

  • WWE Smackdown results: Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens & Sheamus

    – Air Date: December 31, 2015

    – Location: Verizon Center in Washington, DC

    The Big News:

    Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae are no more.

    Show Recap:

    A Raw recap opened the show, which included Vince McMahon’s line about Roman Reigns’ ancestors. It also made the return of John Cena seem secondary. They announced Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens and Sheamus for tonight.

    The New Day came out and they showed a replay of Sin Cara separating his shoulder at the hands of Big E on Raw. Xavier Woods said they don’t have a New Year’s resolution because they’re perfect. They’re still upset about not being voted Tag-Team of the Year and Kofi Kingston said the fans don’t appreciate them. They had a list of resolutions for the fans, like the fans should wear glasses and hearing aids, and they’re required to keep a New Day journal so they don’t forget anything. This wasn’t good.

    Lucha Dragons interrupted. Sin Cara wore a sling. Kalisto called New Day a cute tag-team and Sin Cara challenged all three of them to a match. New Day laughed at him. Woods said Sin isn’t hurt, he’s injured. Kalisto said they had friends of their own and the Dudleys came out with a table that had “Happy New Year” spray painted on it.

    Throughout the night they aired pre-taped segments with guys giving their New Year’s resolutions. Ryback wished everyone a happy new year and his resolution was to help those less fortunate.

    6-Man Tag Match: Kalisto & The Dudley Boyz beat The New Day via pinfall

    Dueling chants for New Day. Bubba and D-Von held Kingston’s legs apart so Kalisto could hit a diving headbutt to the groin. Kalisto went after Kingston on the outside but Big E yanked him down onto the ring apron, trying to injure the shoulder. As they worked over Kalisto, Woods played the trombone to loud “New Day sucks” chants.

    Big E hit Kalisto with an impressive big splash, but Kalisto kicked out and hot tagged Bubba. Kalisto eventually tagged back in and hit a sitting senton off of Bubba’s shoulders followed by a tornado DDT. Dudleys gave Big E a 3D, and Kalisto used Salida Del Sol on Kingston for the win. After the match, Bubba put Woods through a table with a powerbomb. This was good and the crowd was into it. I like that Woods is the one New Day member always getting beat up.

    Tyler Breeze (w/Summer Rae) beat Goldust via pinfall

    Booker said Goldust debuted in 1988, the same year Breeze was born. Booker then reminisced about tagging with him. Goldust took most of the match and was begging the crowd to get into it, but they didn’t. Breeze won on a crap finish, sending Goldust face-first into the middle turnbuckle pad and getting the pinfall win with his feet on the rope.

    Afterwards, Summer said they had a huge announcement for 2016. Breeze announced that he and Summer are (amicably) going their separate ways. They gave the crowd one last selfie together. Well, that’s one way to break up a duo.

    The announcers talked about The Rock and WrestleMania and drooled over all the news coverage.

    Backstage, Bo Dallas found Curtis Axel somehow. Dallas said Axel had a bad year and should make a New Year’s re-bo-lution. Ugh. Axel told him he was never eliminated from the Royal Rumble and wouldn’t be eliminated this year either. Dallas told him to start using deodorant. Dallas continued walking and autographed some woman’s hand, which she rubbed off as soon as he walked away.

    He then ran into Dolph Ziggler, who told him to stop dressing like the New Year’s baby. Dallas had an amazing comeback, telling Ziggler: It always sounds like you’re telling a joke, but you never actually say anything funny. Ziggler said he should get ready for his match, because its against him. Ziggler psyched out Dallas with a fake superkick and told him to Bo-lieve.

    Luke Harper & Braun Strowman (w/Erick Rowan) beat The Usos via submission

    Bray Wyatt wasn’t there, so they came out to Harper’s music. Wyatts had the heat almost immediately, working over Jimmy Uso. Jey made a hot tag and ran wild on Harper and nailed him with a suicide dive. I assume Jimmy tagged himself in as Jey went out on the dive, but they didn’t really show it. Jimmy hit two superkicks on Strowman and superkicked Rowan off the apron. Jimmy tried a third superkick on Strowman, but Strowman caught him and choked him out for the win. Surprisingly quick loss for The Usos.

    They announced John Cena would return to Smackdown next week.

    Brie Bella & Alicia Fox beat Naomi & Tamina via pinfall

    Light “We want Sasha” chants. She wasn’t there. After Tamina hit a superkick, Booker said the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but never mentioned Snuka by name. Brie made this match’s version of a hot tag and hit Yes Kicks and an X-Factor on Naomi for the win. If they don’t forget about this match by Monday, they can tell the story that Team B.A.D. lost here without Sasha Banks.

    Backstage, they wanted Miz to make a New Year’s resolution but he laughed at them, called his manager and walked away.

    They’re plugging The Hateful Eight movie by essentially counting down the top eight heels in the company. They started with the first four tonight: 8. The Miz, 7. Paige, 6. Rusev & Lana, 5. Kevin Owens. Final four will be shown on Raw.

    Dolph Ziggler beat Bo Dallas via pinfall

    Dallas did a victory lap around the ring after getting the heat less than a minute into the match and Jerry Lawler said he really does look like the New Year’s baby. Rich Brennan reminded us that he’s the longest reigning NXT Champion, something they might want to ignore. In short: Bo Dallas dominated for five minutes and Ziggler won with a superkick. Ziggler looked like such a loser getting beat up by Bo Dallas.

    New Day does have a resolution after all: to get the patriarch Kofi Kingston the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That seems unlikely.

    They aired the same Raw recap that opened the show and plugged Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus with McMahon as referee for Monday.

    WWE Champion Roman Reigns & I.C. Champion Dean Ambrose beat Kevin Owens & Sheamus via DQ

    They showed a replay of Owens powerbombing Ambrose through the announce table on Raw as Ambrose walked to the ring looking like he always does. Reigns hit some moves on Sheamus and tagged in Ambrose who nailed a suicide dive. Owens tagged in and Ambrose sent him to the outside to set up for a powerbomb through the announce table, but Owens drove him into the side of the ring.

    Heels beat up Ambrose for a while until he hit Owens with a rebound clothesline and tagged in Reigns. Reigns hit Sheamus with clotheslines in the corner, a Samoan drop and superman punch. He readied for the spear, but Owens tripped him from behind and pulled him groin-first into the ring post for a lame DQ.

    They attacked Reigns and sent him over the announce table. Ambrose dove on Sheamus but Owens cut him off with a superkick. Owens set up Ambrose for a powerbomb through the announce table but Reigns hit him with a superman punch. Ambrose tossed Sheamus into the ring post and Reigns finished him off with a spear. Reigns and Ambrose stood tall on the announce table holding their titles to end the show.

    Final Thoughts:

    The opening match was fun but the show dragged like crazy after that. A good main event on paper ending with an abrupt DQ is the perfect way to end the final Smackdown of 2015.

  • WWE network special, Road to WrestleMania, announced for March 12th

    The WWE has just announced today its first WWE-brand network special for the year, “Road to WrestleMania” show on Saturday, March 12, from the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.

    Nothing has been announced for the card as of yet, but usually there is some sort of a hook for these shows.

    Toronto would be the fourth WWE-brand network special thus far, with a North American exclusive PPV show added last year with an Elimination Chamber theme, as well as shows in Tokyo and Madison Square Garden built around Brock Lesnar matches.

  • Daily Update: McMahon arrest angle confuses NYC, UFC cuts

    TV Tonight:

    No new UFC programming.

    NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network is a best of 2015 edition.

    ROH at midnight ET/PT on COMET is also a best of 2015 edition with ACH & Matt Sydal vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong, A.J. Styles & The Young Bucks vs. ACH, Matt Sydal, & Cedric Alexander, and Jay Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal.

    Meanwhile, WWE’s last two house shows of 2015 are tonight: Toronto is headlined by Alberto del Rio vs. John Cena, while Baltimore has a main event of Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus.

    RIZIN FROM THE SAITAMA SUPER ARENA (some matches air on U.S. TV on Spike Thursday morning at 10 a.m.)

    Rena vs. Jlena Valentino – women’s match

    Heavyweight tournament semifinals

    Brennan Ward (Bellator) vs. Ken Hasegawa

    Takeru vs. Yang Ming in K-1 rules

    Soo Chul Kim vs. Maike Linhares

    Gabrielle Garcia vs. Lei’d Tapa – women’s super heavyweight match

    Akebono vs. Bob Sapp – Shoot boxing rules (boxing, kicking, takedowns, no ground work or submissions)

    Andy Souwer vs. Yuichiro Nagashima

    Peter Aerts vs. Baruto (sumo star)

    Kron Gracie (Rickson’s son) vs. Asen Yamamoto (age group wrestling champion, son of former women’s world champion Miyu Yamamoto)

    Fedor Emelianenko vs. Jaideep Singh

    Heavyweight tournament finals

    Figure Four Weekly

    Figure Four Weekly (12/21/15): Hulk Hogan and Nelson Frazier Lawsuit Updates
    Transcript gives new insight into the FBI/Gawker dispute, plus WWE gives us a peek at what their termination notices look like in the Nelson Frazier wrongful death lawsuit.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    A look at the Slammy Awards, business of the show, who watched the show, suggestions made for improving the awards show idea, some history of where it came from and what happened at the show including injury updates.

    We also have a story about both the California commission, doctors, and reps from the Association of Boxing Commissions talking about the problem of weight cutting in MMA as well as all the medical issues involved, win/loss records of bigger vs. small fighters, belief of how many fighters go into fights dehydrated, the dangers of fighting dehydrated, new weight class suggestions, the good and the bad of adding weight classes, the discussion of splitting up the heavyweight division and the ONE organization becomes the first promotion to take drastic steps in this subject with a look at their new regulations.

    We also look at the life, career and significance of Lizmark, one of the biggest stars in the history of Lucha Libre, who passed away this past week.  We have his background, how he got into wrestling, his life before wrestling, why he first wore a mask, how he got the name Lizmark, his long run as a constant singles champion or top contender, his induction into the Hall of Fame, his run in the glory days of AAA, Lizmark Jr. and why he fell out of favor in WCW due to loyalty to his father, his biggest rivals, the wrestlers who emulated him and his title history.

    We look at what is next for NXT, the upcoming tour dates, reaction to Roman Reigns internally, Notes on the video game, Mauro Ranallo updates, WWE injury updates, John Cena and Dwayne Johnson news, lots of WWE U.K. date business notes, Japan TV update, Two new wrestlers making main roster debut for one tour in January and why.  We also have notes from all the weekend house shows.

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

    The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: December 28, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE Slammy Awards, MMA Weight cutting

    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: November 9, 1998 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Jesse Ventura wins Minnesota Governor election, WCW trailing WWF, more
    Jesse Ventura becomes the Governor of Minnesota, WCW begins trailing WWF, ECW November to Remember recap, plus tons of news.

    TODAY’S DAILY UPDATE

    WWE

    UFC/MMA

    • UFC cut Fabio Maldonado, Chico Camus, Ericka Almeida, Bubba Bush, Mickael Lebout, Vernon Ramos and Jumabieke Tuerxun.  At one point, that list was believed to include Kevin Souza, who then said in an interview with MMAFighting.com said that he was not informed by the company that had been cut.  Instead, USADA emailed him and told him that he no longer had to inform them of his whereabouts at all times because he was no longer listed as a UFC fighter.  What actually happened was that he was unaware that his contract was up and it was all a miscommunication.
    • Fedor Emeliananko on Jaideep Singh:  “I think he is quite a serious contender.”
    • Here are the weigh in results for Rizin Fighting which takes place on December 31st in Japan.

    MISC

    • Our annual Prediction Show will span two days this year, tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday on Wrestling Observer Live.  If you can’t listen to the show during its live airing (12 PT/3 ET on Sports Byline USA, links are up on the front page), don’t worry.  Just call between 12:05/3:05 and 12:40/3:40).  Everyone will get MAX two predictions for 2016, and next year will will crown a winner.  Obviously, if you predict something like “WrestleMania will draw more than 18,000 fans” you will not win the grand prize.  Grand prize goes to the most out-on-a-limb yet still accurate prediction (“Roman Reigns will win the title at Survivor Series over Dean Ambrose but then Sheamus will cash in and steal the belt” would be an amazing prediction if it had been made at this time last year).  We will also be reading last year’s predictions over the next two days as well and crown the 2015 winner.  If we are deluged with calls, we may move last year’s predictions reading to Sunday’s Observer Live.  We’ll play it by ear.  The numbers are up on the front page of the website.  For now, no email or text message predictions, only phone calls.  Have fun!
    • Karl Stern’s first Dragon King Dark episode will be up on the After Dark Radio website later today.  Karl will be doing one new show a week, as announced on Sunday’s After Dark Radio.  If you are a regular listener and interested in providing columns for the brand new website, email bryan@afterdarkradioshow.com.
    • ROH Winter Warrior Tour: SATURDAY, JANUARY 9TH 2016 – 7:00PM BELL TIME – NATIONAL TV TAPING. Cabarrus Events Center – 4751 NC Hwy 49 North – Concord, NC 28025.  Tickets on Sale Now.  ROH Tag Team Champions War Machine vs. All Night Express has been signed.
    • Tonight on RDS (Quebec’s version of ESPN) there will be a one-hour documentary on the Rougeau family. From Eddy Auger to his nephew Johnny and Jacques Rougeau to Jacques’ children Raymond, Jacques Jr, Armand and Joanne (who promoted here from 95-2000 for the WWF) to Jacques Jr’s sons Emile and Cedric (6 foot 7, 315 pounds) the documentary talks about all 4 generations of Rougeaus, the only ones with the McMahons to have 4 generations in wrestling.  Patric Laprade says, “Other people like Gino Brito, Pierre-Carl Ouellet, announcer Marc Blondin and myself have also been interviewed for this. I have also worked in the behind-the-scenes of this documentary.”

    Here is today’s FULL Daily Pro Wrestling History including International history: Daily pro wrestling history (12/29): Mankind wins the WWF World Title