Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm weigh-ins from the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia kicking off at 5 PM eastern time. The event airs on Saturday on pay-per-view at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:15 PM eastern time before moving over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time. This will be the UFC’s third stadium show and the first visit to Melbourne, Australia.
The event is headlined by two title fights in each of the UFC’s womens’ divisions topped by dominant champions. UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey looks to continue her reign as the best female fighter in the world as she puts her 12-0 record and title on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm. UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk looks to continue her dominance of the 115-pound division as she puts her title and undefeated record on the line against Valerie Letourneau, winner of four straight fights. Also on the card is a heavyweight bout that is a rematch of an all-time classic fight as Mark Hunt takes on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT): Ronda Rousey (134) vs. Holly Holm (134) – UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship Joanna Jedrzejczyk (114) vs. Valerie Letourneau (115) – UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship Mark Hunt (265) vs. Antonio Silva (263) Uriah Hall (185) vs. Robert Whittaker (185) Stefan Struve (265) vs. Jared Rosholt (239)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT): Jake Matthews (155) vs. Akbarh Arreola (155) Kyle Noke (169) vs. Peter Sobotta (169) Anthony Perosh (205) vs. Gian Villante (205) Richie Vaculik (125) vs. Danny Martinez (125)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT): Dan Kelly (185) vs. Steve Montgomery (185) Richard Walsh (170) vs. Steve Kennedy (169) James Moontasri (170) vs. Anton Zafir (170) Ben Nguyen (126) vs. Ryan Benoit (125)
*Ronda calling Holly’s niceness all fake, and Ronda can see through her. Ronda is ready!
*Ronda gets right in her face. Holly didn’t back down. Awesome!
*Joanna pre-stared her down before even getting on the scale, Dana stepped in. Joanna said, “Her lucky day was yesterday…”
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today with tons of news including the latest on Billy Gunn’s drug test failure and release from WWE with additional details, Royal Rumble tickets gone already, the newest UFC video game and a preview of this weekend, plus Dr. Lucha joins us to talk Alberto Del Rio, the original Mistico getting pinned already, the status of Cibernetico and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Live is back today with special guest Dave Meltzer to talk some of the main stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter! WrestleMania plans, why it appears both Rock and Ronda Rousey won’t wrestle on the show, Mirko Crocop’s drug test failure and tons more! Plus, your phone calls, text messages and more!
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Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including Raw ratings from Monday, the slow and steady collapse, the WWE Title tournament and Survivor Series, Seth Rollins update, latest tournament brackets, Smackdown spoilers, UFC Saturday with Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm, Mirko Crocop retires and then gets popped by USADA, questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
The UFC heads back to Australia this weekend for the third stadium show in company history, headlined by the two most dominant women in the UFC today each defending their championships in front of a potential record-setting crowd. UFC 193 takes place on Saturday night on pay-per-view with the main card airing at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:15 PM eastern time before heading on over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time for more prelim action.
The most dominant woman in MMA today, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, defends her title in the main event against undefeated challenger, Holly Holm, in a fight that could end up being the toughest test to date for Rousey. In the co-main event, the most dominant woman at 115 pounds, UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, defends her title against Valerie Letourneau, winner of four straight fights. Also on the card is a heavyweight bout between Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva, who meet in a rematch of their epic encounter from December 2013. Let’s take a deeper look into the action and give you five storylines to keep an eye on at UFC 193 on Saturday night.
1. Can Holly Holm be the woman to dethrone Ronda Rousey?
Ronda Rousey has been, arguably, the most dominant champion in UFC history, or at the very least, of the last couple of years. She is undefeated in her career at 12-0, and she has only been out of the first round once in her career. She has scored eight wins in less than a minute, three wins by knockout, and nine wins by submission, with all nine coming by her signature move- the armbar. She has amassed just under 26 minutes of total fight time in her twelve career fights. Everything about her fighting has been dominant. She has become a mainstream star unheard of in the sport, due not just to the attention she has received from being a fighter, but also due to her new-found status in Hollywood. She may not be long for the sport at this rate, but every time she steps foot inside the Octagon, you get the feeling you are about to see something special yet again.
Holly Holm is 9-0 since moving over to MMA from boxing, where she won 19 world titles in her career while putting together a 33-2-3 career record. She also has some professional kickboxing experience. She was impressive early in her MMA career, winning six of her first seven fights by knockout, leading to negotiations with the UFC. It was a long process, but she finally signed in July 2014. Injuries kept her from debuting for a while, but she was coming into the UFC with a lot of hype. She also works with one of the best fight camps in the world, the Greg Jackson camp in New Mexico, and under a lot of great coaches and with some of the best training partners in the world. She has been somewhat underwhelming in her two UFC bouts, scoring solid, yet overall unimpressive, wins over Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau. She was selected as Rousey’s next opponent, likely before she was fully ready, because it was what Rousey wanted. Holm now has the chance to show she is the one that can dethrone the champion.
Holm’s two UFC bouts have almost been like walk throughs in anticipation of a chess match with Rousey. Holm moves around a lot on her feet, and she picks her attacks rather nicely. She throws a lot, but doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. She’s methodical in her approach. Rousey is much the same. Rousey doesn’t make mistakes, and she is much better on her feet than she has gotten credit for. She is also a master of gameplans. Holm’s coach, Greg Jackson, is also a gameplan master. Holm has shown good takedown defense, and it is going to need to be on point against Rousey. Both women fight very smart and Holm isn’t going to rush in right after Rousey. This fight may be different than any Rousey fight we have seen to this date, but it is hard to envision the outcome being any different. It’s not a matter of if Rousey will win, but how long will it take. We are in store for another special moment on Saturday, but Holm will be a very tough test for Rousey to pass.
2. Does Valerie Letourneau have a chance against Joanna Jedrzejczyk?
Valerie Letourneau enters UFC 193 on Saturday night challenging Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship. She is doing it on the heels of four straight wins and is coming off a win over Maryna Moroz in August. She has been declared an undeserving challenger by most, but at the same time, they needed someone to challenge Jedrzejczyk, and she was likely the best option available at the time due to injuries and bookings to others. She enters as the biggest underdog in a title fight in history, and a simple $100 bet on her would win you $1,335 if she were to pull off the upset. Quite frankly, she is being counted out before the two women even step foot inside the Octagon. The big question is does she even stand a chance against Jedrzejczyk?
Letourneau has some solid striking and comes from a good camp in the American Top Team camp. The only losses in her career have come to Alexis Davis, Sarah Kaufman and Claudia Gadelha. Two of those have won and fought for titles, and the other, Gadelha, is next in line when she returns from the injured list. Jedrzejczyk is a different beast, though. She is undefeated in ten career fights, and she is likely the best striker in women’s fighting, no matter the weight class. She tees off on opponents, and her dominant win over Jessica Penne in her first title defense in June shows how great her attack is. She has overwhelmed both Penne and Carla Esparza in their title fight, and Gadelha has been the only one to give her a tough fight. Gadelha arugably beat Jedrzejczyk. Letourneau is going to need to be on the offensive and use her reach advantage. She won’t be able to outstrike Jedrzejczyk, so she should mix in some grappling. However, the champion is strong there. This is all set up for a showcase win for Jedrzejczyk, and it’s only a matter of how long it takes the champion to win.
3. Can Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva recapture the magic of their first fight?
Depending on who you ask and when you ask them, Mark Hunt and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva were involved in the greatest fight in UFC history when they met each other in December 2013. It was an amazing heavyweight battle that surprisingly went 25 minutes, with over 320 strikes landed between the two of them. They were bloodied and battered, and when all was said and done, the fight ended without a winner. It ended in a draw, in one of those rare occurences where a draw is determined without a point deduction to factor in. It was a magical moment on that December night in Australia, and the two big heavyweights will step back into the Octagon again on Saturday night in Australia looking to recapture the magic of their first encounter. More importantly, after a draw, they, and fans alike, want a definitive winner.
When you are involved in one of the best fights in history, if you try it again with the same components, rarely does it ever live up to the first fight. Both men are different since that war. Hunt is coming off two straight losses, one of which was a brutal beating at the hands of Stipe Miocic. Silva lost his next two fights in bad fashion, but is coming off a big win over Soa Palelei. At this stage in their careers, it is unsure if either man has much left to give to the top contenders. Both still have that power that can make a difference in the heavyweight division, but their days of challenging for titles are likely long gone. That is why this is a perfect moment for a rematch. Hunt has the biggest difference maker in his right hand, but the beating he took at the hands of Miocic may be the beginning of the end for him. Silva’s chin can hardly take a punch these days, as his last five losses have all been first-round knockout losses. They are only going three rounds this time, and I sense a different outcome this time, with a winner truly decided. Who will that be? I like Hunt getting a knockout win.
4. Will Uriah Hall continue his surge up the UFC’s middleweight rankings?
Uriah Hall steps into the Octagon for fifth time on Saturday night, and he does so for the second straight time on short notice against a dangerous opponent. Last time it was Gegard Mousasi, and most thought Hall was headed to Japan to collect a paycheck and a beating. In the first round of their bout, it was looking like it was going to be a long night for Hall. However, in the second round, Hall pulled off a highlight-reel finish that he became known for during his time on “The Ultimate Fighter”. A spinning back kick landed to Mousasi’s face, then a flying knee, and before you know it, Hall finished Mousasi in a stunning upset to collect a performance bonus, a huge win, and the number ten ranking in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. It finally looked like Hall was going to start to live up to his potential as he has now won five of his last six fights.
He gets another tough foe on Saturday night as he steps in to fight Robert Whittaker, who has been looking great himself since moving up to 185 pounds. Whittaker is a former TUF winner, but after winning his first two UFC bouts, he dropped his next two. He has since won three straight, including two straight knockout wins after deciding to make the move up from 170 pounds. He has established himself as a formidable threat in the middleweight division, and he has moved to number 14 in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. He has a lot of power in his hands and can finish fights quickly with his punches. He doesn’t have the overall striking prowess of Hall, and when Whittaker faced a similiar striker when he took on Stephen Thompson, it was Thompson finishing Whittaker. Hall has a lot of momentum, and with taking another short notice fight, while it’ll be his third fight in three months, he has a lot of confidence after the win over Mousasi. It’ll likely be a highlight-reel win in either direction, but Hall gets the job done here.
5. What else on the card is there to look out for?
The UFC 193 main card on pay-per-view rounds out with a heavyweight bout between Stefan Struve and Jared Rosholt. It will be Struve’s 16th appearance inside the Octagon, and after a long list of setbacks, he got back into the win column in scoring a decision win at UFC 190 in August over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, which will be notable in history as the last fight in the legendary career for Nogueira. For Rosholt, it will be the first pay-per-view appearance for him as he looks to extend his two-fight win streak and move into the heavyweight rankings. He is 5-1 during his stint in the UFC, but it hasn’t been an overly impressive five wins as four of them have come by decision, and in not-so-pretty fashion. If there is one thing about Struve, it is that he can be finished, as all five of his UFC losses have come by knockout. It is the chance for Rosholt to score an impressive win, or for Struve to pick up his 11th triumph inside the Octagon.
In preliminary card action, each fight will feature a fighter hailing from Australia. It is not the most-stacked preliminary card in terms of name value, but features some solid fighters. One of the big names to watch is Jake Matthews, a 21-year-old lightweight looking to bounce back from the first loss in his career. He has been impressive in his short career, scoring seven of his eight wins by stoppage, but he gets a durable opponent in Akbarh Arreola, who has 22 wins by stoppage. In welterweight action, Kyle Noke looks for his second straight win against Peter Sobotta, holder of a seven-fight win streak. UFC veterans Anthony Perosh and Gian Villante will meet in a light heavyweight bout as both men look to rebound from setbacks in their previous bouts. A fight on the UFC Fight Pass portion to keep an eye on is the night’s opening bout, a flyweight contest between Ben Nguyen and Ryan Benoit. Nguyen has won seven straight fights, while Benoit is coming off an impressive second-round TKO win over Sergio Pettis at UFC 185 in March.
Full UFC 193 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship: (C) Ronda Rousey vs. (#7) Holly Holm Betting Odds: Rousey (-1900), Holm (+1200) Prediction: Rousey by submission in round 1
UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship: (C) Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. (#8) Valerie Letourneau Betting Odds: Jedrzejczyk (-2150), Letourneau (+1300) Prediction: Jedrzejczyk by knockout in round 2
Heavyweights: (#8) Mark Hunt vs. (#11) Antonio Silva Betting Odds: Hunt (-265), Silva (+225) Prediction: Hunt by knockout in round 1
Middleweights: (#10) Uriah Hall vs. (#14) Robert Whittaker Betting Odds: Hall (-130), Whittaker (+110) Prediction: Hall by knockout in round 2
Heavyweights: (#14) Stefan Struve vs. Jared Rosholt Betting Odds: Struve (-125), Rosholt (+105) Prediction: Struve by decision
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Lightweights: Jake Matthews vs. Akbarh Arreola Betting Odds: Matthews (-900), Arreola (+600) Prediction: Matthews by submission in round 1
Welterweights: Kyle Noke vs. Peter Sobotta Betting Odds: Noke (+145), Sobotta (-165) Prediction: Noke by decision
Light Heavyweights: Anthony Perosh vs. Gian Villante Betting Odds: Perosh (+325), Villante (-400) Prediction: Villante by knockout in round 1
Flyweights: Richie Vaculik vs. Danny Martinez Betting Odds: Vaculik (-105), Martinez (-115) Prediction: Vaculik by decision
Combat legend Judo Gene LeBell made his second appearance on Submission Radio this week.
Gene discussed his views on Ronda’s fighting future citing he’d like to see her retire while she’s on top and avoid the path many of his combat friends took by sticking around too long “I personally would like to see her retire while she’s on top. And if you think of Joe Louis, he fought too long. Muhammad Ali fought too long. You know, everybody eventually will get beat. There’s a tougher guy that comes along, and you’re not that tough anymore.”
Focusing on her next fight at UFC 193 Gene dissects Rousey’s fight with Holm “Well, the only way she could beat Ronda is boxing. She isn’t gonna beat her on the mat, she isn’t gonna beat her at Judo, she isn’t gonna beat her at wrestling. I’ve watched a lot of film on Holly, and she’s good. She’s very, very good. She usually hits and hits hard, and then when she backs up, she moves to her left. Very predictable. I’m a big one of watching old films if you’re gonna fight. Football players watch and see people’s habits, and they usually don’t change.”
Another fight Gene would like to see Rousey have is with Cris Cyborg however LeBell doesn’t hide the fact that he’s prejudice when talking about how the fight would play out “Well you know, I’m prejudiced. Gene LeBell should keep him mouth shut. But at this time, it’s like when Joe Louis was in his prime, Muhammad Ali was in his prime, Henry Armstrong in his prime. Everybody else is fighting to be second favourite. Well that’s the way I feel with Ronda right now. She’s on top of the world. It’d be a great fight, because this gal, she can fight, she can box, and if she cuts Ronda, the finish could be something else.” Much like Ronda’s camp Gene doesn’t believe the fight should take place at anything but 135 “Why should she go up? She’s the champion at 135. Let them come to her, to Rowdy Ronda. Let them come to her and then fight. I don’t know if it will ever take place. I’d like to see it as a fan, take place, because I like to see the best go against the best.”
Read the transcript below where Gene discusses Mayweather vs. Rousey, how Floyd stacks up to the all time boxing greats and his memories of Roddy Pipper.
On if Gene believes Holm’s 19 boxing world championships will matter in her fight with Rousey at UFC 193
“Well, the only way she could beat Ronda is boxing. She isn’t gonna beat her on the mat, she isn’t gonna beat her at Judo, she isn’t gonna beat her at wrestling. I’ve watched a lot of film on Holly, and she’s good. She’s very, very good. She usually hits and hits hard, and then when she backs up, she moves to her left. Very predictable. I’m a big one of watching old films if you’re gonna fight. Football players watch and see people’s habits, and they usually don’t change.”
On if Gene believes Mayweather would ever have an exhibition match with Rousey
“First of all, a man against a women….it isn’t gonna go, because a man is physically a lot stronger than any women in comparison. And to me, it’s just something to talk about. A lot of the women swimmers now are swimming a lot faster, hundreds of yards then they did in the Olympics 40-50 years ago, ‘cause they’re learning better methods and they’re faster. But so are the men. You know, they had a tennis match between a women and a man. Well, the man was over the hill and was a bum – [Billie Jean] King was the women, and she beat him. To me it’s like a sideshow. It is something to talk about. Who’s the king of the mountain?”
“I don’t think in a physical place…they [women] gotta be a big underdog. You get the best women basketball players in the world and if they win against a mediocre basketball team of men, the men have gotta win practically every time. So it’s a handicap.”
“I don’t think it would ever happen. I think it would be bad. I’d personally like to see Ronda fight Cyborg. But she’s gotta get over Holly Holm first, and if Holly Holm hits her, she could hurt her, cut her. Ronda is very good with the gloves. Maybe she’s not in Holly’s class for sure, but her other accolades gotta make her a winner, and she’s devoted. I mean, you go into the gym [with Ronda] and people want to talk to her, rub elbows. She doesn’t even look at them. Why? Cause she’s working out. She is the most focused athlete I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve seen a lot of them and in a lot of different sports. And they joke and they get on their cell phones and texts and everything. When she’s working out, boxing – and she’s good at boxing, Judo, grappling, whatever – she doesn’t see you. You could be the famous movie star, she wouldn’t even look at you.”
With Gene being around Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson, where does Floyd Mayweather rank as the greatest of all time?
“Well Floyd to me is as good a Welterweight or a fighter as has ever lived. He’s not as entertaining as Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, but they’ve both lost. Mayweather has never lost. And he fought the ‘bum of the month’ and good people. He fought everybody. And he made a lot of money. His personality, a lot of people don’t like him for particular reasons which I’m not getting into. I admire his ability in the ring, and when he trains, he trains hard. Now he’s retired and gonna spend his millions of dollars, and more power to him.”
“He’s one of the best that’s ever lived in his weight area.”
On if Gene believes that Cyborg is clean and off steroids these days
“I don’t know if she’s clean or not. I’m assuming she is. I hope she is. A lot of people knock Cyborg, but man, she’s probably in my opinion the second best women martial artist that ever lived. Did I say second best? Yeah. But it would be a good contest between Miesha and Cyborg. Everybody can get beaten. Ronda has all her fights [won in the] first round, but Miesha went three rounds with her. But always you had a feeling, well anytime she’s gonna finish it. Cyborg is an animal, well-conditioned athlete, and I thought it would be a good contest if the winner goes against Ronda.”
How would Cybrog vs. Rousey play out if it ever does happen?
“Well you know, I’m prejudiced. Gene LeBell should keep him mouth shut. But at this time, it’s like when Joe Louis was in his prime, Muhammad Ali was in his prime, Henry Armstrong in his prime. Everybody else is fighting to be second favourite. Well that’s the way I feel with Ronda right now. She’s on top of the world. It’d be a great fight, because this gal, she can fight, she can box, and if she cuts Ronda, the finish could be something else.”
On if Ronda should fight Cyborg at a higher weight
“Why should she go up? She’s the champion at 135. Let them come to her, to Rowdy Ronda. Let them come to her and then fight. I don’t know if it will ever take place. I’d like to see it as a fan, take place, because I like to see the best go against the best.”
Gene talks about his special relationship with Roddy Piper and remembers a chat he had with Pipper two days before he passed away
“Well Roddy Pipper, he’s good. I mean, when I say good, I don’t take that lightly. He would have made a fortune off MMA, but he was making a fortune doing Piper’s Pit. And every time he got in a bad mood he’d call me up ‘come on, we’re going down to the gym and wrestle’. And he spent a lot of time on an airplane, going from town to town. He had a little radio program here I was on, and two days before he passed, I was with him and he said he wants to come down on Monday to the dojo and workout. And I said ‘no problem’. I says ‘how do you feel’? He says “I’m tired. Gene, I’m really tired”. And you burn the candle at both ends, it’s gonna come up and get you in the middle.”
“So anyway, he at 61, he passed. And I used to – I have a terrible memory. But I used to tell him, every year his birthday was April 17th and 1954. And I said ‘oh, it’s you’re birthday’, you know and he always asks ‘how do you remember?’. Well I do things through association. I won Judo nationals through that date for the US on April 17th 1954. So you know, now I am 104 and going up, but he was a good guy.”
If Gene believes Ronda would make a good Pro Wrestler in the WWE after her MMA career
“She could become one and she would be very good, but why? Because she wouldn’t go on the road, and drive from one town to the next to make things. She might do a spot-show once in a while, but it’s better to do movies. ‘Cause in movies, if they play it again, even if you have a small part – like you talk about Rocky. I get residuals. I must have gotten thousands of dollars in residuals from that, and in dollars, American dollars. And once you do wrestling, that’s it. Plus I got life time insurance, which is very important and for me and my family, and that’s a good thing. I love pro wrestling. I wrestled pro on-and-off for 20 years. I love it. It was the way of life. But I think she’s better off doing movies, and I personally would like to see her retire while she’s on top. And if you think of Joe Louis, he fought too long. Muhammad Ali fought too long. You know, everybody eventually will get beat. There’s a tougher guy that comes along, and you’re not that tough anymore. You think you are in your head: ‘I think I can beat the world’. And then I go out and I stumble on the mat and look for my glasses to see where my opponent is. In other words – of course I’m teasing – but there’s a time to retire. And she said ‘when I’ll retire, you’ll never hear from me again’. She’s gonna become a beach bum and just surf.”
On if Gene discussed that she needs to retire and not hang around too long
“Oh I told her that. I don’t want her hurt by fighting too long. And you can be the best in the world and catch a punch or a kick and it can hurt you. I’ve got injuries that, you know, they were over within a couple of days when you’re young. 20 years later, you come back and you’re limping around, ‘oh I remember when I hurt my knee’ and it comes back on you. The only initial investment you have, Denis and Kacper, is your body. You know, that’s in MMA, Football, Soccer, Basketball. Your body is your initial investment. I recommend all MMA fighters get a second job. In other words, I’ve had people that are real good, and then they can’t make it anymore and they made lots of money, and then they’re out of a job. Have another vocation, another avocation, another job. Something that you can go back on.”
FILTHY FOUR DAILY with Tom Lawlor and Bryan Alvarez is back today with tons to talk about! We’ll kick it off with a not-so-serious review of TNA Bound for Glory, which Tom inexplicably loved, then it’s a very serious discussion of the Ronda Rousey commercial that Tom decided he didn’t like, UFC’s need to create new stars and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn airs live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network (preceded by a NXT TV taping airing Wednesday):
NXT Championship: Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens in a ladder match (Half of double main event) NXT Women’s Championship Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley (Other half of double main event) NXT Tag Team Championship: Blake & Murphy (c) vs. The Vaudevillains Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tyler Breeze Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger (Crews/Uhaa Nation makes his debut on his birthday)
They’ve made a point of billing the top two matches as a double main event and treating them that way, which is for the best . Even though the women’s title match should be the emotional high point of the night if Bayley wins as expected, Owens-Balor is a ladder match and given the way NXT is booked, it can’t really go on next to last. On another presentation note, here’s to hoping that Liger gets his proper entrance music, though since it’s dubbed on NJPW World, I’m not exactly holding my breath.
WWE SummerSlam 2015 live from Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York on WWE Network and pay-per-view:
Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. United States ChampionJohn Cena for both titles WWE Intercontinental Championship: Ryback (c) vs. The Miz vs. The Big Show WWE Tag Team Championship: The Prime Time Players (c) vs. Los Matadores vs. New Day vs. Lucha Dragons Sheamus vs. Randy Orton Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro Three-Way Elimination Match (Whole team is out when they lose a fall): Team PCB vs. Team Bella vs. Team B.A.D. Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev Steven Amell & Neville vs. Stardust & Cosmic King Barrett
A rare Sunday UFC card (opposite SummerSlam no less) comes tomorrow in the form of UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Oliveira:
MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 9 PM ET/6 PM PT): Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira in the five round main event. Neil Magny vs. Erick Silva Patrick Cote vs. Josh Burkman Chad Laprise vs. Francisco Trinaldo Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Tony Sims Maryna Moroz vs. Valerie Letourneau
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT): Sam Stout vs. Frankie Perez Yves Jabouin vs. Felipe Arantes Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Nikita Krylov Chris Kelades vs. Chris Beal
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6 PM ET/3 PM PT): Shane Campbell vs. Elias Silverio Misha Cirkunov vs. Daniel Jolly
Not much at all in the way of name value, but the fights have a ton of potential for action on paper, especially with the fireworks the main event and c-feature should bring,
Raw on Monday is, of course, still in Brooklyn at Barclay’s Center, while SmackDown is being taped Tuesday in Providence, Rhode Island.
Feedback, polls and show report requests:
For this weekend, we will be doing polls on both NXT Takeover tonight and SummerSlam tomorrow, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
Looking for reports on the following, which you can send to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com: Global Force Wrestling TV tapings from last night in Las Vegas
ROH from tonight in MCU Park in Brooklyn
We’re also looking for reports on the various WWE activities around New York, as well as th Five Borough Wrestling/House of Glory show last night with Rey Mysterio vs. The Amazing Red, the Jim Ross show tonight at 7 p.m. at the Gramercy Theater, and the Pro Wrestling Syndiate show at 8 p.m tonight in Sayreville, NJ with Rey Mysterio Jr., Kenny Omega, Sabu and Mick Foley.
Saturday Daily Update
Most, if not all, of the main roster that is in town will be at NXT tonight. The Tough Enough cast is also in NYC.
Dana White told the L.A. Times that Joanna Jedrzejczyk will be defending her UFC Strawweight Title as the co-main event to Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm on January 2nd at UFC 195. The opponent will most likely be clear top contender Claudia Gadelha, but the fight won’t be official until her hand injury heals and she’s cleared. This is exactly what they should be doing with Jedrzejczyk, who has huge star potential in a completely different way than Rousey does. White also said that they’re looking to book Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes for the same card, so it sounds like they may be going for an all-female main card. Being that Rousey draws a unique audience that doesn’t watch other UFC cards, that’s probably for the best so you can familiarize themwith the contenders.
We’re told the Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal ROH title match, which was taped for television, was tremendous and it’ll take something really great to top it for match of the weekend. Strong was bleeding from his forhead hardway during the match.
Holly Holm was the second most searched for term on the Internet on Friday with more than 100,000 searches.
UFC Fight Night 74 Picks And Betting Game From The Secret Psychic Spy~!
WWE NXT TakeOver live results & main card: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens, Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, Samoa Joe, Jushin “Thunder” Liger
Ring Of Honor 8-21 TV tapings results: Nakamura vs. Adam Cole, Sydal vs. Kushida, Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong
New Japan on AXS results 8-21-15: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
All eyes are on WWE as they host three sold out shows this weekend, the main attraction being a four hour Summerslam on Sunday. We will have full coverage of all the events over the weekend including live results and post show audio with Dave and Bryan. ROH is also hosting a New Japan Crossover event tonight featuring Jay Leathal, Shinsuke Nakamura, Okata and others. In addition to wrestling action UFC fight night is headlined sunday with a bout between Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira.
Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive will give a preview NXT takeover, UFC and SummerSlam, speak about Rondas next oppenent and your calls on Wrestling Observer Live available here or through the iHeart Radio App. Here is today’s show: Wrestling Observer Live 8/21: SummerSlam weekend, Ronda Rousey’s next fight, open line Fridays, more!
Tonight:
Ring of Honor Presents: Aftershock FRIDAY, AUGUST 21ST, 2015 7:30PM BELL TIME
ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal w/ Truth Martini vs “Mr ROH” Roderick Strong
Adam Cole vs Shinsuke Nakamura
KUSHIDA vs Matt Sydal
ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Addiction (c) vs The Young Bucks
Kazuchika Okada & RPG Vice (Rocky Romero & Beretta) vs The Briscoes & Hirooki Goto
Dalton Castle vs Cedric Alexander w/ Veda Scott
“Unbreakable” Michael Elgin vs “The Last Real Man” Silas Youn
The Kingdom w/Maria Kanellis vs War Machine (Raymond Rowe & Hanson)
reDRagon vs The House of Truth
Adam Page w/ BJ Whitmer vs Will Ferrara vs Takaaki Watanabe vs Moose w/ Stokely Hathaway
New Japan on AXS
Description: “Hiroshi Tanahashi vs rival Katsuyori Shibata in a brutal five-star classic encounter. Togi Makabe meets Hirooki Goto.”
Feedback, polls and show report requests:
We’re looking for ROH Philly, GFW Vegas, and sights/sounds/spottings from #SummerSlam. Email Newstips
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The new issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring a chat with Konnan about the state of AAA heading into TripleMania XXIII. We discuss the company’s improvements in production, advantages over WWE and differences in philosophy, how to listen to fans, and much more. Plus, as always, we have all of the usual reviews and international news, including Dr. Lucha’s TripleMania preview.
Last week’s FREE Figure Four Weekly is still up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
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WWE’s weekend in Brooklyn is the main story in this weeks Wrestling Observer Newsletter now available. This includes both Summerslam on Sunday as well as NXT Takeover on Saturday. We also have full coverage of the now finished G1 Climax and what the results mean for NJPW in the near future. In addition we look at UFC teamsters looking at options of unionization and the morale issues that spawned it. We also have a look at the AAA TripleMania PPV show, UFC ratings increases, the brawl at the WSOF show, UFC suing Wanderlei Silva and Layla retiring.
The issue is on the site right now at August 24, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Summerslam preview, G1 Tournament and finals review, Silva trial details
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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
We look at the WWE events in Brooklyn with three straight full houses and look historically at the only other promotion that has been able to do it historically and the record, as well as updates on the NXT and SummerSlam shows and more details on the NXT card as well as the probable main event stipulation and ticket demand.
We have a complete look at the G-1 Climax tournament, including updates on the last few days, the standings, the Sumo Hall preview and coverage of all the shows this past week with star ratings.
We’ve got a look at the attempts to unionize UFC fighters, the real story behind the attempt, the letter sent by UFC to all of its fighters and why they probably could have written it better, and a look at UFC business.
We also look at the wealth of Vince McMahon, Rosa Mendes being pregnant, WWE injury updates, lawsuits, weird match, Tough Enough, new names, insider trading, Raw advance, Diva search news plus notes on all the weekend WWE & NXT events.
We look at TripleMania, all the problems with the show, what happened with the Spanish language broadcast, mistakes made in booking, how the card had to change from its original plans, the letter AAA sent out after, the retirements and Hall of Fame ceremony, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
We’ve got notes on the funeral of Roddy Piper, more on the Hulk Hogan tapes story, Hogan’s first public appearance, two Roddy Piper moves that haven’t come out, one of the biggest stars of the last ten years suffering a major health issue, a former star gets his number retired, a U.K. star returns after cancer, a retirement that probably isn’t a retirement, a Japanese promotion running in October in California, a wrestler having his first match in 20 years, the second oldest living wrestler and his background, big shows in Puerto Rico and news no two different wrestling Halls of Fame.
We also have an update on the status of Lucha Underground, what changes have to be made, the audience watching the show, what to look out for, notes on the contracts the performers have, update on Vampiro and coverage of both weeks of Ultima Lucha.
We also look at the ROH show in Brooklyn, TNA Hall of fame ceremony, and upcoming TNA house shows.
We also look at McGregor vs. Aldo, a big show vs. normal show, Las Vegas vs. Cowboys Stadium, Rousey vs. Cyborg update, Lawler vs. McGregor, UFC financials, how much it costs them every year just in interest on their bond, what kind of profits they are making, lots of ratings into, Rousey business notes, the Aldo drug testing fiasco, Overeem vs. Dos Santos, Punk vs. Pendred, fighter already talking about coming out of retirement, and lots of new UFC fights.
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Friday Update:
As noted in this WrestlingObserver.com article: WWE SummerSlam: Steve Austin, Ric Flair & post-SS RAW Steve Austin is leaving NYC before SummerSlam, but Ric Flair is heading into town. It also sounds like something big will be happening on Raw this Monday.
As you have probably already heard, Ronda Rousey’s next opponent will be undefeated Holly Holm. This comes as a bit of a surprise as most believed Meisha Tate was getting the immediate shot. The full story: UFC: Ronda Rousey to fight Holly Holm at January’s UFC 195 Meisha’s reaction at MMAFighting.com: Miesha Tate ‘extremely disappointed’ about news of Ronda Rousey-Holly Holm fight
Brock Lesnar, Divas & celebrities: 5 reasons to be excited for WWE SummerSlam
The top story on Google News concerning SummerSlam this morning was a small blurb on Stephen Amell Check it out here.And another article.
Sports Illustrated SummerSlam Articles:
Every main event of WWE’sSummerSlam ranked
SummerSlam predictions: Jim Ross breaks down the PPV card
Jonathan Coachman connecting WWE, ESPN worlds at SummerSlam
According to Sportcenter WWE’s John Cena will become first celebrity to grant 500 wishes in Make a wish Foundation history.
Here is our Total Divas report: WWE News: Total Divas TV report
WWF Tuesday Night Titans episode 34 review: The original ‘Rock’, Brutus Beefcake, Wendi Richter vs. Peggy Lee
UFC is also targeting Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha for UFC 195 co-main. Though, this is not official at this time.
Nate Marquardt vs. C.B. Dollaway, and Samman-McCrory has been added to UFC on FOX 17 Dec. 19 at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. The Orlando Sentinal on the new fights.
Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov has been added to the TUF 22 Finale scheduled for Dec 11th. It is a potential #1 contenders match for the light weight title.
