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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
During the biggest sports and advertising night of the year, sidelined WWE star Daniel Bryan popped up in a new ad campaign for Tide detergent.
Tide introduced a Super Bowl ad on Twitter surrounding “small but powerful” sports figures who have said “Yes!” in the face of “No.”
The spot included still-shots from Bryan’s WWE career, but no official WWE video. There was no mention of Bryan’s current employer, but WWE’s website ran a feature on Bryan’s ad spot.
People are STILL telling me no, @DanicaPatrick. It’s my job to change their answer to… #SmallButPowerful @Tide #ad pic.twitter.com/Jw1KcqhPiv
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) February 7, 2016
1951
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– Terry McGinnis defeated Ted Travis to win the Hawaii Heavyweight Title
1954
Atlanta, Georgia:
– June Byers defeated Mildred Burke for the NWA World Women’s Title
1963
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Crusher & Dick the Bruiser defeated Ivan & Karol Kalmikoff to win the AWA World Tag Team Titles
– Haystack Calhoun beat Mike DiBiase
– Don McClarty beat Tiny Mills
– Larry Hennig beat Jack Allen
– Paul Christy beat Bill Wright
1964
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Joe Scarpello fought Bulldog Plechas to a draw
– Rocky Hamilton defeated The Krusher
– Pat O’Connor defeated Harley Race
– Mike DiBiase & Bob Geigel defeated Sailor Art Thomas & Moose Evans in three falls
1970
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Steve Bolus defeated Dale Mann
– Joe Scarpello fought Tarzan Tyler to a 15 minute draw
– Harley Race defeated Oki Shikina
– Rufus R. Jones defeated Baron Von Raschke via DQ
– Danny Little Bear defeated Roger Kirby
1977
Chicago, Illinois:
– Super Destroyer beat Dick the Bruiser
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Ray Stevens by DQ
– AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell no contest Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant
– Billy Robinson beat Ivan Koloff by DQ
– Angelo Mosca beat Pedro Morales
– Chris Markoff beat Spike Huber
– Bob Backlund drew Jan Nelson
1986
Acapulco, Mexico
– Alfonso Dantes defeated Cien Caras for the Mexican Heavyweight Title
Indianapolis, Indianapolis:
– Steve Regal defeated Denny Brown
– Jimmy Garvin defeated Todd Champion
– Jimmy Valiant defeated Shaska Whatley
– Ole Anderson & NWA TV Champion Arn Anderson fought Ron Garvin & Manny Fernandez to a draw
– National Heavyweight Champion Tully Blanchard defeated Wahoo McDaniel
– Nikita Koloff fought Magnum TA to a double count-out
– NWA Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated Dennis Condrey & Bobby Eaton
– NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes via disqualification
1987
Tokyo, Japan:
– Kuniaki Kobayashi defeated Nobuhiko Takada in the finals of the IWGP World Junior Heavyweight Title tournament
Cincinnati, Ohio:
– Kendall Windham pinned Jim Lancaster
– Rocky King pinned Teijo Khan
– Denny Brown pinned Gladiator #1
– Sean Royal pinned the Italian Stallion
– Jimmy Garvin pinned Colt Steele
– UWF Western States Heritage Champion Barry Windham pinned Ivan Koloff
– NWA TV Champion Nikita Koloff fought NWA US Champion Lex Luger to a double-disqualification
– NWA Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard
– NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated Ron Garvin via disqualification
1988
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico:
– Carlos Colon defeated Ron Starr to win the WWC Television Title
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– Ron Simmons & Brad Armstrong fought Rick Steiner & NWA TV Champion Mike Rotundo to a draw
– Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers defeated the Sheepherders
– Sting, Steve Williams, Ricky Morton, & Brad Armstrong defeated Al Perez, Larry Zbyszko, NWA Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard
– NWA US Champion Barry Windham defeated Nikita Koloff via count-out
– Dusty Rhodes defeated the Russian Assassin
– The Road Warriors defeated NWA US Tag Team Champions Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane via disqualification
1989
Chicago, Illinois:
– The Ding Dongs (Richard Sartain & Greg Evans) defeated Big Al Greene & Trent Knight
– Ron Simmons pinned Brad Anderson (Gene Anderson’s son)
– Brian Pillman pinned Norman (w/ Teddy Long)
– Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Jack Victory & Rip Morgan
– Steve Williams pinned Bill Irwin
– NWA Tag Team Champions Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin defeated Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane (w/ Jim Cornette)
– Sting defeated the Great Muta (w/ Gary Hart) via disqualification
– NWA US Champion Lex Luger pinned Tommy Rich
– NWA World Champion Ric Flair pinned Terry Funk (w/ Gary Hart)
– The Road Warriors defeated the Samoan Swat Team in a steel cage match
1992
Alexandria, Louisiana:
– Tom Zenk pinned Super Invader
– The Barbarian pinned Brian Pillman
– The Junkyard Dog & Big Cat defeated Diamond Dallas Page & Vinnie Vegas
– Barry Windham pinned Dick Slater
– Dustin Rhodes pinned Greg Valentine
– Ricky Steamboat fought WCW TV Champion Steve Austin to a time-limit draw
– Sting & Nikita Koloff defeated WCW US Champion Rick Rude & Jake Roberts
– WCW World Champion Ron Simmons pinned Big Van Vader
1993
Bluefield, West Virginia:
– Tommy Angel defeated Joe Cruz
– Keith & Kent Cole defeated the Italian Stallion & George South
– Dick Slater defeated Mark Starr
– Yoshi Kwan defeated Brad Armstrong
– WCW TV Champion Ricky Steamboat defeated Lord Steven Regal
– WCW/NWA Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Paul Roma defeated Tex Slazenger & Shanghai Pierce
– Johnny B. Badd defeated Maxx Payne in a steel cage match
1994
Newport, Tennessee:
– The Dirty White Boy defeated Killer Kyle
– Lance Storm defeated Chris Candido
– Bruiser Bedlam defeated Tracy Smothers
– SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated New Jack & Mustafa
– Tracy Smothers won a battle royal
1996
Dalton, Georgia:
– Lord Steven (William) Regal defeated Lex Luger for the WCW Television Title
2003
Nashville, Tennessee:
– Michael Shane defeated Chris Sabin and Frankie Kazarian in the “Ultimate X” match to win the TNA X Division Title
2017
WWE SummerSlam: Brooklyn, New York:
– The Miz & Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas beat Matt & Jeff Hardy & Jason Jordan
– Neville regained the cruiserweight title over Akira Tozawa
– Usos regained the Smackdown tag titles over The New Day team of Big E & Xavier Woods
– John Cena beat Baron Corbin
– Natalya beat Naomi to win the Smackdown women’s title
– Big Cass pinned Big Show
– Randy Orton pinned Rusev
– Sasha Banks beat Alexa Bliss to win the Raw women’s title
– Finn Balor pinned Bray Wyatt
– Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose beat Cesaro & Sheamus to win the Raw tag titles
– A.J. Styles pinned Kevin Owens to retain the U.S. title with Shane McMahon as referee
– Jinder Mahal pinned Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the WWE title
– Brock Lesnar retained the Universal title over Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
TNA Impact drew its smallest audience on Pop TV despite the “Lockdown” theme and promoted TNA Hvt. Title match between Matt Hardy and Ethan Carter III.
TNA Impact Viewership Tracking
– February 23: TNA “Lockdown” Impact drew a combined audience of 297,000 viewers, down 18 percent from last week.
The first-run airing drew 210,000 viewers, down 63,000 viewers from last week’s audience.
The replay then drew 87,000 viewers, the same as last week.
The combined audience of 297k was smaller than the first Impact on Pop TV, which drew 345k viewers as people tried to find a new channel for the second straight year.
– In the demographics, Impact’s median age was 54.0 years-old.
Impact drew only 39,000 male 18-49 viewers, less than half of last week.
The show actually drew more female 18-49 viewers than last week (34k this week versus 31k last week).
The result was a split of 53 percent males 18-49 and 47 percent females 18-49, mainly due to how few m18-49 viewers were counted.
– Worth noting is increased competition on Tuesday nights, something TNA cannot seem to avoid no matter what night of the week they air.
In their new night on Tuesday nights, Impact is faced with every-four-years presidential election coverage. The competition will increase next Tuesday, March 1 on “Super Tuesday.”
During an appearance on this weekend’s episode of Heated Conversations with Booker T, the former Big Cass (William Morrissey) opened up about his release from WWE and admitted to making “a lot of mistakes in a very short period of time” before being fired.
“If I’m going to be honest with you, I made a lot of mistakes. I made a lot of mistakes in a very short period of time. I did some things that I probably shouldn’t have done. I guess the company just — they couldn’t rely on me, they couldn’t trust me,” Cass said.
“Look, I’ll just be honest with you, in my opinion, they made the right decision for them. It was the right decision to get rid of me at that point in time,” Cass said. “Not saying I won’t be back, but at that point in time they definitely made the right decision for them. And to be honest with you, looking at it, they made the right decision for me.”
Booker T then asked Cass if he would have fired himself.
“Yeah, I would have. I definitely would have fired myself. If I was in Vince McMahon’s position, I would have fired myself for sure, 100 percent,” Cass said.
Cass was released by WWE on June 19, which was the Tuesday after he lost to Daniel Bryan at Money in the Bank. Dave Meltzer reported that a “series of things” led to Cass being fired. That included blowing off a rehearsal for a promo and then going long on the live version of it, and an incident where Cass went against what the company wanted and got more (worked) offense in than he was supposed to during a beatdown angle with a little person on SmackDown.
While speaking with Booker T, Cass mentioned getting signed by WWE not long after he began training with Johnny Rodz and said he never really got a chance to see what else was out there in professional wrestling. He said his goal is to come back to WWE.
When asked about potentially reuniting with Enzo Amore on the indies, Cass said they had something special but thinks the act ran its course and WWE separated them at the right time. Cass mentioned that he and Amore don’t keep in contact and aren’t friends. Cass said he’d be willing to reunite with Amore if the money is right and left the door open for them to become friends again, but he said he hasn’t fielded any offers to team with Amore and doesn’t think there’s a chance of it happening right now.
Cass said he hasn’t watched any wrestling since being released but mentioned being friends with Kevin Owens and Bryan and them telling him that the work outside WWE right now is incredible compared to when they were on the indies.
In his return to the ring, Cass is set to face James Storm for Big Time Wrestling in Spartanburg, South Carolina on September 21. He’s being advertised as “Big C.”
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
WWE says that Triple H received six staples in the left side of his head to close a gash from his fight with Roman Reigns on Raw.
Hunter bled from the side of his head during the backstage portion of his brawl with Reigns that included Reigns using various weapons to attack Hunter.
Black-and-white photos posted on WWE’s website show Hunter being stitched up while Stephanie McMahon watched.
No sympathy for the devil… #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/McO9ZAIr8W
— Triple H (@TripleH) March 15, 2016
President Donald Trump and North Korean Kim Jong-un will hold a second historic summit in late February, the White House announced after fresh talks in Washington DC on Friday.
The White House announced the plan after Mr Trump spent 90 minutes meeting with North Korea’s top negotiator Kim Yong-chol in the Oval Office.
The summit follows the first meeting between the two leaders in 2018 where they shook hands and agreed to work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
The location of the meeting is yet to be set, but reports suggest Vietnam, Thailand and Hawaii are all under consideration.
Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, said: “President Donald J Trump met with Kim Yong Chol for an hour and half, to discuss denuclearisation and a second summit, which will take place near the end of February. The President looks forward to meeting with Chairman Kim at a place to be announced at a later date.”
In Singapore last June, Mr Trump and Kim were seen laughing over lunch and the North Korean promised to blow up a nuclear test site.
However hopes for ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme remained muted after the highly anticipated summit ended with a vague denuclearisation agreement and talks appeared to have stalled since then.
North Korea has pushed for harsh economic sanctions to be eased before it makes steps towards dismantling the bulk of its nuclear programme, while the US has insisted that denuclearisation must form the basis of any future progress.
A second summit is expected to focus on more specific aims. The North Korean leader met with China’s Xi Jing-pin earlier this year in a sign the two were preparing for an upcoming meeting with the US.
Yesterday marked the second time Mr Trump has met with Kim Yong-chol – Pyongyang’s lead negotiator with the United States and a hardline former spy chief travelled to the White House last year to deliver a letter from the North Korean leader.
That meeting preceded the June summit in Singapore between the two leaders. It is believed that Mr Kim has brought a second letter for Mr Trump on this visit.
Earlier in the day Mr Kim held a 45-minute meeting with Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, at a hotel in Washington.
The pair did not take questions from journalists but the accord was judged to be a success given Mr Kim’s subsequent trip to the White House.
A Universal title match, along with a World Cup tournament, have been announced for WWE Crown Jewel.
The Universal title match was set up on tonight’s Raw when Roman Reigns came out to call Brock Lesnar following last night’s attack at Hell in a Cell. Braun Strowman came out instead, wanting to settle things. Acting Raw General Manager Baron Corbin came out and made a triple threat match for the Universal title, with Roman Reigns defending against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match.
WWE’s website also announced that a WWE World Cup tournament would also be taking place on the show. It didn’t give out any details on what kind of tournament it would be other than it would decide the best in the world.
WWE Crown Jewel will take place at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 2. It will be streaming live on the WWE Network, and will also be on pay-per-view outside of the Middle East.
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
WWE executive/wrestler Triple H finds himself in an interesting situation this weekend where he expects the “NXT Takeover: Dallas” special on Friday to push the WrestleMania roster on Sunday, which includes himself in the WWE Title match against Roman Reigns.
“I want those guys to strive to push the card at WrestleMania to want to perform better. I also am a part of the card of WrestleMania that is gonna be watching Dallas going ‘Oh man,’ and has to perform better,” Hunter told CBS Sports in a pre-WM32 interview focused on the NXT brand.
“So it’s great. It pushes everybody on every level. But that’s one of the matches I think everybody will be watching to see just how hard they’re gonna have to push.”
One match he expects to push everyone to beat that is Shinsuke Nakamura’s NXT debut match against Sami Zayn. Hunter said he is anticipating getting to work with Nakamura after his debut.
“I think the whole world wants to see that match. I know I want to see it. I can’t wait. Nakamura’s an incredible performer. Sami Zayn, one of the best. It’s gonna be amazing,” Hunter said.
“Nakamura is one of the most talented guys in-ring in the business. I’m anxious to get my hands on him in some way at the Performance Center, just from a learning television production. I’m unsure, a little bit, of how much of that he knows and doesn’t know, and it’s gonna be an exciting thing.”
Along with finding out Nakamura’s outside-the-ring skillset, Hunter said the next big challenges for him are finding spots for the NXT stars on the main roster and also not expanding the brand too quickly.
“A lot of the talent, you can see they’re ready (to be called up,” Hunter said. “They’re ready to go, and they’re as good as what you see on Raw or Smackdown or what you’ll see at WrestleMania. It’s a matter of timing and positioning. What does the WWE need and when?
“It really depends on the need of WWE. If we’re in a situation and we need a certain type of guy, or we see that there’s a lack of a certain type of performer that we want, or somebody that we think, ‘Wow, this person fits in perfectly with this story,’ then the call-up is there.”
As for not expanding too quickly, Hunter said, “It’s just continuing to grow the brand to where it doesn’t evolve beyond itself. I don’t want it to grow too fast that we can’t stay with it. But at the same point in time, continue to have it grow, continue to tour it. I want the talent at NXT to be working just like they would if they were a WWE talent on Raw or Smackdown or anything else, and to have that experience. That’s what this is really about at the end of the day, that experience, to ply their craft.”
Next up in 2016 are international tours, including an announced tour of the U.K. in June. The tour starts at the Download Festival running June 10-12. Then, NXT tours the U.K. in Belfast, Dublin, Liverpool, Bournemouth, and Plymouth. (Full Details reported by The Mirror)
A woman in Australia was bitten on her by a snake that had curled up in a toilet bowl to seek refuge from a weeks-long heatwave that has seen temperature records smashed.
Helen Richards said she got the fright of her life after she was bitten by a non-venomous carpet python hiding inside a toilet bowl in the house of a relative in Brisbane.
“When I sat down I felt this really sharp tap on my bottom along with some pain. I thought holy s**! What was that?” she told Channel 10 in Brisbane.
“When you’ve got your nickers and long pants around your ankles it’s pretty hard to go far, and to be honest it was like running a three-legged race without a friend.”
The snake was also left unhappy. “He didn’t appreciate that shower under the full moon,” Mrs Richards said.
After the initial shock, both parties calmed down and Mrs Richards was able to shepherd the snake into a corner until a wildlife handler arrived, removed the reptile.
In Sydney on Friday, Georgie Campbell, a venomous snake handler with Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Service came to the aid of three snakes.
“It’s pretty typical in the summer you get quite a few snakes because they love the heat and are much more active during the day,” she said.
“I get them out of toilets when they’ve gone to get a drink. Not just toilets but bird baths, fish ponds and watering holes.”
Other Australian wildlife has not fared as well in the prolonged heat. In Western Australia’s Goldfield Region, 2,500 camels that had wandered in from the Gibson desert to congregate around water sources on remote cattle stations were culled on Thursday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
It followed the culling of 50 wild horses at a waterhole in central Australia last week where another 40 horses had already died of thirst.
Back in November, a separate heatwave wiped out around 30,000 spectacled flying foxes – nearly half of the continent’s population. The animals, which experience fatal heat stress when temperatures surpass 42C, were seen falling from trees into backyards and swimming pools from Sydney to Cairns.
“This sort of event has not happened in Australia this far north since European settlement,” President of the Australasian Bat Society Dr Justin Welbergen told the BBC in November.
“It is clear from the present data that these vents are having a very serious impact on the species. And it’s clear from climate change projections that this is set to escalate in the future.”
THE ROUND-UP
THE LATEST NEWS
Impact Wrestling falls below 200,000 viewers this week
MLW notes: Rush to debut, Battle Riot II announced
Khabib Nurmagomedov & Conor McGregor make weight for UFC 229
Pete Dunne currently dealing with foot injury
Impact Wrestling results: Aries cuts epic promo on Johnny Impact
NXT Sebring, FL, live results: Johnny Gargano vs. Dominik Dijakovic
THE LATEST AUDIO
F4D: Bryan Alvarez talks to Lance Storm and Filthy Tom Lawlor!
FREE WOL!: Khabib vs. Conor, WWE Australia, Dr. Lucha on Mexico Hall of Fame candidates! 10/5
Wrestling Weekly: Atlanta wrestling history, Tennessee Legends Reunion 10/5
B&V&G: Granny, NXT, Mae Young Classic! 10/5
WOL: News, Dave Meltzer, Austin Aries, tons more! 10/4
WOR: UFC 229, MSG, Smackdown, 205 Live, RATINGS, more! 10/4
We’re doing polls this weekend on the WWE Super Show-down from Melbourne, UFC 229 from Las Vegas and New Japan King of Pro Wrestling. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]. We’re looking for reports on tonight’s NXT show in Citrus Springs, FL to [email protected].
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON AXS TV
Jushin Liger & Ryusuke Taguchi & ACH vs. Rocky Romero & Sho & Yoh
Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Hangman Page & Chase Owens
Hirooki Goto & Baretta & Chuckie T vs. Jeff Cobb & Chris Sabin & Flip Gordon
Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Seiya Sanada vs. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Zack Sabre Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kushida vs. Jay White & Gedo
Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll in semifinals of IWGP Jr. title tournament
Young Bucks vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa for IWGP tag titles
Juice Robinson vs. Cody for U.S. title
Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii
MLW TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. EASTERN ON BEINSPORTS
CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON HONOR CLUB AND IPPV
El Hijo del Signo & Robin & Yago vs. Akuma & Camorra & Star Jr.
Avispa Dorada & Jarochita & Marcela vs. Dalys & Metalica & Reyna Isis
Valiente vs. Gran Guerrero
L.A. Park & El Hijo de L.A. Park & Mistico vs. Cavernario & Ciber the Main Man & The Chris
World Grand Prix Elimination match: Dark Magic, David Finlay, Flip Gordon, Gilbert El Boricua, Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, Matt Taven, Michael Elgin, Okumura, Caristico, Cuatrero, Diamante Azul, Euforia, Hechicero, Sanson, El Terrible, Ultimo Guerrero and Volador Jr.
QUINTET FROM THE ORLEANS ARENA IN LAS VEGAS AT 10 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON FIGHT PASS
Submission grappling with four teams including Frank Mir vs. Satoshi Ishii and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Urijah Faber
We’re looking for reports Saturday from the NXT show in St. Petersburg, FL to [email protected].
WWE SUPER SHOW-DOWN FROM MELBOURNE CRICKET GROUNDS AT 5 A.M. EASTERN SATURDAY MORNING ON WWE NETWORK
Undertaker vs. HHH
A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe for WWE title
Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler & Braun Strowman
Ronda Rousey & Bella Twins vs. Ruby Riott & Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz – Winner gets WWE title shot
John Cena & Bobby Lashley vs. Elias & Kevin Owens
Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy for cruiserweight title
New Day vs. Sheamus & Cesaro for Smackdown tag titles
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair for Smackdown women’s title
Naomi & Asuka vs. Billie Kay & Peyton Royce
UFC 229 ON SATURDAY FROM THE T MOBILE ARENA IN LAS VEGAS
Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. Eastern
Ryan LaFlare vs. Tony Martin
Gray Maynard vs. Nik Lentz
Yana Kunitskaya vs. Lina Lansberg
Prelims on FS1 at 8 p.m. Eastern
Alan Patrick vs. Scott Holtzman
Tonya Evinger vs. Aspen Ladd
Jalin Turner vs. Vicente Luque
Sergio Pettis vs. Jussier Formiga
PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern
Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig
Alexander Volkov vs. Derrick Lewis
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Dominic Reyes
Anthony Pettis vs. Tony Ferguson
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor for lightweight title
NEW JAPAN KING OF PRO WRESTLING AT 4 A.M. EASTERN MONDAY MORNING ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado vs. Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger for IWGP jr. tag titles
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Juice Robinson & Toa Henare
Young Bucks & Hangman Page & Chase Owens vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa & Taiji Ishimori
Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto & Will Ospreay vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi & Takashi Iizuka
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano & Sho & Yoh vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Bushi & ?
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Evil
Kushida vs Marty Scurll for IWGP jr. title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White for Tokyo Dome IWGP title shot
Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Cody for IWGP heavyweight title
Raw will be Monday in Chicago. There will also be a Smackdown house show Monday night in Louisville.
Smackdown, 205 Live and Mixed Match Challenge are taped Tuesday in Indianapolis. Announced for Mixed Match Challenge are A.J. Styles & Charlotte Flair vs. R-Truth & Carmella and Braun Strowman & Ember Moon vs. Finn Balor & Bayley.
F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Liv Morgan, Brie Bella, and the dangers of wrestling
What should have been a fairly innocuous six-woman tag match on last Monday’s Raw ended with Liv Morgan having suffered a concussion and with a social media controversy that has yet to fully die down. The Riott Squad faced The Bellas & Natalya on last week’s Raw as part of the build to Ruby Riott, Morgan & Sarah Logan vs. Ronda Rousey & The Bellas at Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia.
WON NEWSLETTER: October 8, 2018 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Massive UFC 229 expectations, plus tons of news
Headed up with a major history piece on the 30-year history of Ted Turner’s involvement with pro wrestling and coverage of a week of so many major events, it’s a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week.
Preview UFC 229 and why it is expected to be the biggest non-boxing PPV in history. Look at projections, some real numbers, some comparisons, and why Dana White says it wasn’t in Madison Square Garden.
The big story looks at Ted Turner and how he first got connected to pro wrestling in 1972, the role of Ray & Ann Gunkel, the wrestling war in Georgia that led to the two hour Saturday night block, the roles of Jim Barnett and Ole Anderson, and the first-ever Omni sellout.
Also look at the decision made by UFC and USADA to no longer announce drug test failures and why it wasn’t well thought out, as well as the reputation of USADA taking such a hit and the sad ironies of this.
Look at WWE Super Show-Down, ticket sales and ramifications.
Read the update on the 1,000th episode of Smackdown, WWE plans for NXT and ideas that have been talked about, major execs selling WWE stock.
Look at the big questions facing Bellator as they try and build their brand, as well as surprising notes of the Bellator brand vs U.S. pro wrestling companies and Saturday’s show in particular.
This issue has full coverage of ROH’s Death Before Dishonor with match-by-match coverage, business notes, polls and star ratings for the show.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $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 [email protected]. 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 choose one free classic issue or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Super Show-Down airs live on the WWE Network at 5 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow morning. It’s listed as running from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Liv Morgan spoke to The Mirror about being cleared for Super Show-Down: “”I’m 100% cleared by the WWE doctors. They took great care of me. They have a very extensive concussion protocol, which we followed 100% and luckily I am feeling fantastic and we are ready to win.”
Elias spoke to Complex about the background of his character. When talking about various people, he had this to say about Triple H: “There’s a fear that I sense about him, and a reluctance to accept me…I don’t want to say he’s doing his best to keep his thumb on me, but while it feels like a lot of people want the best for me, it doesn’t feel like Triple H does.”
WWE announced yesterday that Vickie Guerrero and former developmental talents Theo Agbi and Josh Woods are recipients of this year’s WWE talent scholarships.
Morgan, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan got matching tattoos of “11-21-17” — the date that the Riott Squad debuted on SmackDown.
Braun Strowman and his family were featured on the latest episode of My Son is a WWE Superstar.
Linda McMahon posted video of her skydiving yesterday, which was her 70th birthday.
WWE stock closed the week at $91.34 per share.
A new episode of Ride Along will air on the WWE Network after Monday’s Raw. It will feature Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair “before their falling out” and Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville.
Both Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy appeared for this week’s #WOKEN Word of the Week.
Travel packages for the 2019 Royal Rumble will be available starting on Wednesday, October 10 on the Royal Rumble travel website. Individual tickets will start on October 12.
WWE added their previous Australian stadium show, Global Warming, to the WWE Network today. The show, which took place on August 10, 2002 featured a main event pitting The Rock against Triple H and Brock Lesnar for the WWE Undisputed title.
WWE.com ranked the 15 greatest wrestlers in SmackDown history. The Rock, The Undertaker, AJ Styles, Edge, and Eddie Guerrero were ranked as the top five.
Pro Wrestling
Brian Pillman passed away on this date in 1997.
Impact Wrestling has announced Matt Sydal & Ethan Page vs. Rich Swann & a mystery partner for Bound for Glory. The PPV is taking place at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York on October 14.
Jeff Cobb vs. Eli Isom and Flip Gordon & Kenny King vs. The Kingdom (Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) have been added to ROH Glory by Honor night one in Baltimore on October 12.
Matt Jackson continues to tease a timer that was first shown on this week’s Being the Elite.
Already announced for Joey Janela’s LA Confidential include The Great Sasuke and a match between Hardcore Holly and Brody King.
Big Cass, now going as Big C, made his first indie appearance at a Championship Wrestling League event in Michigan and said that his no-compete had expired. He then turned heel, saying people didn’t deserve to know what happened that led to his release.
UFC/MMA
Jon Jones spoke to Ariel Helwani on his impending return to the UFC and the controversy surrounding it. He refutes being a “snitch”, saying he didn’t give any information on anyone. “USADA asked me to do a lot of things throughout this case, but one thing I didn’t do is snitch on anybody in MMA,” he said. “I definitely didn’t give up any information on anyone in the sport, nor do I know of anybody who’s doing these things in the sport. I think the whole snitching thing is pretty silly. It’s interesting to watch people jump to conclusions about things they don’t know what they are talking about. And that’s all I want to say about that topic.”
He also expressed disinterest in fighting Daniel Cormier for a third time. “No, I don’t,” he said when asked. “I already have all the marbles when it comes to Daniel Cormier. I’ve beaten him twice. This game has never been personal. What is personal to me is chasing greatness, not individuals. So in the case of myself and Daniel Cormier, he needs to fight myself one more time if he ever wants to be considered one of the all-time greats. I don’t need to fight him again to be considered one of the all-time greats. I have many more years to prove it.”
Conor McGregor’s disclosed purse for UFC 229 is $3 million and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s is $2 million. The disclosed purses are only a portion of what they’ll make and don’t account for PPV buys.
The UFC uploaded the fourth and fifth episodes of Embedded for Saturday’s PPV, with the fifth episode including footage from yesterday’s press conference for Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor.
Nurmagomedov has posted a third video showing his training camp ahead of tomorrow’s show.
King Mo talked to MMA Junkie about interest in RIZIN and possible future matches in Bellator.
Daily Professional Wrestling History: First Hell in a Cell match, Kane debuts
For all Observer readers that are planning to attend UFC 231 on December 8 in Toronto and stay overnight, Grant Zwarych, who sells Observer back issues for us, has arranged a great deal at the Holiday Inn Express at 111 Lombard Street in Toronto. The hotel is a short walk to Scotia Bank Arena, the Distillery District and St Lawrence Market. The rate includes breakfast for 2. The hotel also has one of the lesser expensive parking charges. Rate is available for both Friday & Saturday night.
Readers need to call the hotel directly at 416-367-5555 or can send an email to [email protected] and ask to book under the UFC 231 group block Dec. 7-9, 2018. Please be advised due to high volume of calls to the hotel some unanswered calls will automatically transfer to central reservation and the agent will not have access to the group block.
A room with a King bed is $170.00 (sgl/dbl occupancy, maximum 2 people per room), a room with 2 Queen beds is $175.00 (sgl/dbl occupancy, $10 for each additional person up to maximum 4 people in the room) plus applicable taxes. There is a stricter cancellation policy due to the great rate being offered. Readers must book by November 7 and cannot cancel after November 8 without a one night room & tax cancellation policy. If you have your tickets and know you are definitely going, this is a fantastic deal.
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