July 2020 – Page 41 – BLOGGERPARUNG

An NXT house show scheduled for later this month has been converted to a television taping.

WWE announced today that NXT’s event in San Jose, California on Thursday, November 15 will now be a TV taping. The show is taking place at the Event Center on the campus of San Jose State University.

The show in San Jose is being held two days before NXT TakeOver: WarGames. With the next Full Sail taping not scheduled until November 28, it’s likely that the San Jose taping will be to film content for at least one of the post-TakeOver episodes before NXT returns to Full Sail.

The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) vs. Ricochet, War Raiders & Pete Dunne in a WarGames match, NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa defending against Velveteen Dream, and Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano have been announced for TakeOver: WarGames. The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California will host the event on November 17 during Survivor Series weekend.

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.)

DAILY UPDATE

The Latest News

NJPW World Tag League live results: Cobb & Elgin vs. EVIL & SANADA
NXT post-TakeOver conference call audio with Paul ‘HHH’ Levesque
NXT TV taping spoilers: Three matches taped before TakeOver
NXT TakeOver WarGames II live results: WarGames, two title matches

The Latest Audio

WOR: NXT Wargames, UFC, Dave goes to NXT in San Jose, more! 11/18
Pacific Rim Podcast: WWE Hall of Famer Madusa/Alundra Blayze 11/17

We’re doing polls on both last night’s NXT Takeover and today’s Survivor Series. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected].

WWE SURVIVOR SERIES FROM THE STAPLES CENTER IN LOS ANGELES WITH PRESHOW STARTING AT 5 P.M. EASTERN ON WWE NETWORK

Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair — These two have been in Southern California intently working on their match. It’s huge for both because it’s Rousey’s biggest match that was thrown at her at the last minute as opposed to with a lot of preparation. We don’t know at this point which match goes on last but this seems to have the most interest. For Flair, she’s kind of fallen in the shadow of Becky Lynch, but is also coming off the best match of her career a few weeks ago. Rousey is a whopping -530 favorite. Keep in mind that based on odds here the “smart money” isn’t in, and really that hasn’t been the case in months so these are not predictions, just guides and are often wrong. Anything can happen but this doesn’t feel like the right night to end the Rousey streak unless Lynch interferes to cause it.

Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan — This is entirely up to Lesnar. If Lesnar is up to working a great match, a great match it will be since Bryan has thought about this match for more than three years since it was originally the 2015 SummerSlam main event idea. Bryan had indicated it was a match he was very much looking forward to. It’s kind of weird since Bryan just turned heel and in this match on paper, it would figure he’d be better off as a face. A lot about this match is interesting including crowd reactions. Lesnar is a -300 favorite.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins – This is a first-time meeting and is something Rollins has greatly looked forward to. Nakamura is a -400 favorite, so I guess the belief is that Ambrose will cost Rollins the match, which does make sense. Nakamura hasn’t had a truly killer match on the main roster but there is potential here to be a show stealer.

AOP vs. Sheamus & Cesaro — AOP is a -250 favorite. This will be a big test because AOP usually does squash matches, and in a sense this is heel vs. heel and they can’t walk over The Bar. It’s a real test to see how AOP stands as well as how the crowd takes to these two teams.

Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley & Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre & Finn Balor vs. The Miz & Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio & Samoa Joe & Shane McMahon in elimination match — There are a lot of interesting confrontations here with Mysterio in the ring with a lot of new people, Joe in with Strowman, McIntyre and Lashley, Mysterio vs. Balor, Strowman vs. Joe and more. These type of matches are usually good. The Raw team is a -385 favorite, likely beacuse Strowman is being groomed for Lesnar and McIntyre is being protected.

Ruby Riott & Nia Jax & Tamina & Mickie James & Natalya vs. Asuka & Naomi & Carmella & Sonya Deville & ? in elimination match — Still no word on the fifth member of the Smackdown team. Smackdown is a slight favorite at -160. If the belief is Raw is winning the two big matches on the show, the tag title and men’s elimination, then Smackdown probably has to win the close ones. Jax is really the only one to be protected in this match, since she’s facing Rousey next. But they could DQ her out if need be.

Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali for cruiserweight title — From a technical standpoint, this should be one of the best matches on the show. Like always, it depends on what kind of crowd is there. If it’s last night’s crowd, these two will probably kill it. If it’s a different crowd and more mainstream oriented, it may be tough for them as far as crowd response goes. But I can’t imagine it not being good and perhaps great. Murphy is now a -400 favorite.

Bobby Roode & Chad Gable & The Ascension & B Team & Revival & Lucha House Party vs. Usos & New Day & Colons & Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows & Sanity tag team elimination match — This is the preshow match. For the same reason of balancing out, Smackdown is a strong -420 favorite here. Also, the two strongest teams of the ten as far as being pushed are the Usos and New Day, and they are both on the Smackdown side. This is on the preshow, and preshow matches are historically rushed. I’d think with 20 men and a minimum of five falls and as many as nine, that this should be the longest preshow match of the year.

Raw will be Monday night from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT TUESDAY IN TAKAOKA ON NEW JAPAN WORLD ON SAME DAY TAPE DELAY

Togi Makabe & Toa Henare vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb vs. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Togi Makabe & Toa Henare

Smackdown, 205 Live and Mixed Match Challenge will be taped on Tuesday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT ON WEDNESDAY IN SHIBATA ON NEW JAPAN WORLD SAME DAY TAPE DELAY

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. Baretta & Chuckie T
Evil & Sanada vs. Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Looking at the WWE-EVOLVE relationship

The evolution of WWE’s relationships with promotions they’re friendly with continued to take shape this past weekend. Five WWE-contracted wrestlers were in action for EVOLVE last Friday and Saturday: The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford), Fabian Aichner, Kassius Ohno, and Mustafa Ali. Killian Dain made a surprise appearance for ICW in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday, defeating Mikey Whiplash after it had been advertised that Whiplash would be facing a wrestler from WWE.

WON NEWSLETTER: November 19, 2018 Observer Newsletter: Survivor Series shake up, more

One week ago, the Survivor Series was to be headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. A.J. Styles and Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch in battles of the Raw and Smackdown brand champions.

But just days before the show, two unrelated incidents saw both main events that were heavily-looked forward to change.

And in doing so, one of the key matches at WrestleMania, possibly the main event, was also established.

Right now the plan is for Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch to headline WrestleMania. After the injury to Lynch on 11/12, a fractured nose and a concussion from a punch by Nia Jax during an in-ring Raw vs. Smackdown women’s brawl, she was out of the match that, due to the promos on both sides, was the most looked-forward to match on the show.

The next day, both Vince McMahon and Rousey decided that the best course of action was to do the match at WrestleMania. Rousey and Lynch immediately went at it hard on social media, even though Rousey’s new opponent on the PPV is Charlotte Flair.

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].

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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.

SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back both tonight and tomorrow night with Wrestling Observer Radio. We’re talking Survivor Series as well as the latest news tonight. You can send e-mail questions for the show to [email protected].

You can vote on star ratings for tonight’s show through the Kambi web site. The over-under betting has these numbers:

Rousey vs. Flair ****
Lesnar vs. Bryan ****1/4
Rollins vs. Nakamura ****
Men’s 5 on 5 match ***3/4
Women’s 5 on 5 match **1/2
AOP vs. The Bar ***1/2
Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali ***3/4
Tag team 5 on 5 ***
Based on these predictions, it looks like it will be a good show.

Other star ratings odds you can bet on. These are the odds for best match:

Lesnar vs. Bryan +175
Rousey vs. Flair +175
Rollins vs. Nakamura +200
Cruiserweight title +275
Men’s tag +300
Any other match +1000
You can also get -105 odds to bet on whether Lesnar vs. Bryan or Rousey vs. Flair will be the better match.

As far as mainstream stuff, neither Takeover nor UFC cracked 20,000 searches which is a very low number, so from a mainstream interest level neither show was there. Takeovers never do. Today’s show should do in the 500,000 to 1 million range. This week two pro wrestling topics cracked the last as Becky Lynch had 100,000 searches on Tuesday and David Arquette had 50,000 yesterday for his match with Nick Gage.

Undertaker, who was in Los Angeles for an autograph session yesterday, flew home already according to PW Insider.

I want to make a mention of a Go Fund Me, as we’ve mentioned this before, for former pro wrestler Jerry Grey. Grey is battling stage four colon cancer which has drained all of his savings. Grey wrestled and ran shows for decades in the Florida area primarily.

The Coy Wire CNN Travel series had an episode in Tokyo and there are clips in there preview of Wire talking with both Harold Meij and Kenny Omega, as well as some women New Japan fans.

WWE
Mark Henry will be awarded the 2019 Iron Mike award, which is the lead award each year from the Cauliflower Alley Club at its 54th annual reunion. The reunion takes place from 4/29 to 5/1 at the Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas.
Sabu had very negative comments about Jim Ross after his fall yesterday. When asked to explain, he said it was over a 1988 Great American Bash show at Cobo in Detroit where he said that they gave Sheik $10,000 and his family was owed $90,000 more. Ross wasn’t running the company and a $100,000 payoff for a house show didn’t exist in that era. It doesn’t really even exist in this era. $10,000 was unheard off for one show in 1988 unless it was a PPV show or perhaps a giant house show. I think Kevin Sullivan was the one who felt Sheik would help them draw big in Cobo and he did get a big reaction. It was a short main event with Dusty Rhodes & Sheik over Sullivan & Dick Murdoch in a cage match and Sheik used his camel clutch on Sullivan.
MISCELLANEOUS
Toni Storm won the wXw women’s title yesterday from Melanie Gray. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Melbourne Championship Wrestling from last night in Melbourne: The Brat Pack b Tome & Stevie Filip (Tome turned on his brother) in a tag title match, Avary b Aria, Dowie James b Lochy Hendricks 4-3 in a 30:00 Iron Man match, Slex b Adam Brooks to win the Intercommonwealth title, Men for Hire b Helter Skelter, Gino Gambino b Jonah Rock to keep the NCW title. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
Pro Wrestling League from last night in Gold Coast, Queensland: Robbie Eagles b Tim Kade, Caveman Ugg b Jade Diamond, Adonis won over Jaxon Cross, JL Gold, Rufio, Spaceman Dacey and Jesse Daniels, Mick Moretti b Xander Sullivan, Jake Nova b Rip Reilly, Street Revolution b Babes & SMS, Mick Moretti over Robbie Eagles, Caveman Ugg and Jake Nova in a ladder match to become the first Australian Pro Wrestling League champion. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
St. Louis Anarchy Wrestling from Friday night in Alton, IL: Mighty Micah b Kenny Alfonso, Hoodie & Anaya b Nick Iggy & Kerry Awful, Larry D b Jake Garvin, Matt Kenway & Adam Caster b Buddy Shephard & Everett Connors, Jake Parnell b Chip Day, Gary Jay b Hallowicked, Anthony Gutierrez won over Logan James, Sage Phillips, Mikey McFinnegan, Steve Manders and Paco Gonzalez, ACH & Mat Fitchett & Davey Vega b Kody Lane & Zac Taylor & Ethan Price, Jake Dirden & Thomas Shire b Logan & Sterling Riegel, Jeremy Wyatt b Jonathan Gresham to keep the Gateway title. (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Eve announced that its 2019 Wrestle Queendom show, its big event of the year, takes place on 6/30 at York Hall in London. Last year’s show set a promotion record with 900 fans and they are hoping to break that record this coming year.
Chase Owens vs. Sigmon headline for Innovate Wrestling on 12/1 in Morristown, TN at the Tally Ward Rec Center, a regular spot for a number of regional promotions over the years.
PCW Ultra on 12/7 has announced Penta 0M vs. Shane Strickland, Tessa Blanchard vs. Delilah Doom, ACH vs. Jake Atlas, Taya Valkyie vs. Heather Monroe and they also announced a 1/18 show.
Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling from last night in East Carondelet, IL: Moondog Rover b Purple Passion, Jake Prater b Keith Smith, Gary Jackson & Billy McNeil b Curtis Wylde & Waco, PT Beckham b Kowalski-DQ, Gil Rogers b Bobby D, Ricky Cruz b Big Texan, Flash Flanagan & Ken Kasa b Superstar Steve Fender & Christopher Hargas-DQ. (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Reality of Wrestling Ladies Night out from last night in Texas City, TX: Alex Gracia b Myka Madrid, Keira Hogan b Aerial Monroe, Ivory Robyn b Angel Blue, Taya Valkyrie b Jazz (subbing for injured Jordynne Grace), Hyan b Su Yung in a no DQ match (crazy wild match people were raving about), AQA b Kylie Rae, Ivelisse b Thunder Rosa. They announced the next all women’s show like this for 2/23. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Australian wrestler Lena Kross was injured in an 11/9 match with Saraya Knight. She is expected back early next year. She had to pull out of an 11/25 match against Brandi Rhodes for World Series Wrestling. Savannah Summers will replace her. That promotion had both Cody and Joey Ryan booked and both won’t be able to wrestle on the shows so they are looking at getting another international star in, but said it wouldn’t be announced until the first day of the tour.
Truth Martini will be back on a number of Michigan indie shows including 12/7 in Royal Oak, MI where he will be getting an Ambassador Award presentation by Eddie Venom.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Team WWF vs. The Alliance

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Israel’s primary centrist challengers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday they were joining forces, a dramatic move that rocked the country’s political system and created the first credible alternative to Mr Netanyahu’s decade-long rule.

Retired military chief Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, said they would present a joint list for the upcoming Israeli elections that "will constitute the new Israeli ruling party." In a joint statement, the two said they were "motivated by national responsibility."

"The new ruling party will bring forth a cadre of security and social leaders to ensure Israel’s security and to reconnect its people and heal the divide within Israeli society," they said. A formal announcement is expected later in the day.

Recent polls suggest that together, the two could surpass Mr Netanyahu’s ruling Likud to become Israel’s largest faction after the April 9 vote.

Under their unity arrangement, the two agreed to a rotation leadership should they come to power under which Mr Gantz would first serve as prime minister and would then later be replaced by Mr Lapid.

Profile | Benjamin Netanyahu

Following them in the joint list would be a pair of other former military chiefs, Gabi Ashkenazi and Moshe Yaalon. MR Ashkenazi announced he was joining the new party because of the "pivotal moment and the national task at hand."

Even if the joint list surpasses Likud at the ballot box, it is not guaranteed to form the next government unless it can garner a parliamentary majority with other parties.

Mr Netanyahu, who is embroiled in multiple corruption allegations and faces a potential impending indictment, has taken a hard turn to the Right in recent days to shore up his nationalistic base.

On Wednesday, he said he reached a preliminary election deal with two fringe religious-nationalist parties in a bid to unify his hard-line bloc.

Click:chinese lantern film prop
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UFC kicks off their final stretch of 2018 with a two show weekend, highlighted by two interesting main events with younger fighters looking to take the spot of veterans.

Helping me look at some of the highlights of both shows are our MMA staff writers Ryan Frederick and Paul Fontaine.

UFC TUF Finale Friday / UFC Fight Night Saturday

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Kamaru Usman (Friday)
Pedro Munhoz vs. Bryan Caraway (Friday)
Joseph Benavidez vs. Alex Perez (Friday)
Junior dos Santos vs. Tai Tuivasa (Saturday)
Mark Hunt vs. Justin Willis (Saturday)
Tyson Pedro vs. Shogun Rua (Saturday)

What are you most looking forward to?

Paul: For the weekend to be over, honestly. Between two UFC shows and two Bellator shows, it’s a full time job keeping up with everything. Seriously though, there’s some good fights all around. I’m always down to see Mark Hunt fight and Tyson Pedro could take another step toward stardom with an impressive win over former champion Shogun Rua.

Ryan: It’s a super packed weekend for combat sports with two UFC events, two Bellator events, and the Wilder-Fury boxing match. For UFC, the fight I’m looking forward to the most is tonight’s Dos Anjos vs. Usman fight. I have long thought that Usman is going to be the champion at 170 pounds, and this is a test he must pass to obtain that goal. I think he should be given a title shot with a win in this one, especially if he finishes Dos Anjos. It is a big fight for him.

Josh: Usman-RDA because it will answer a lot of questions (hopefully) about both guys. On paper, Usman should have already got a title shot, but we all know how that goes. RDA looked great in a dominant win over Robbie Lawler, but equally got dominated against Colby Covington after a lot of talk between the two. He needs an impressive win, but this is way more important for Usman who has pushed his chips in the middle of the table again.

Anything being slept on?

Paul: The debut of Antonina Shevchenko kicking off the Fight Pass prelims on the TUF Finale show. The older sister of the future women’s flyweight champion Valentina looked great in her fight on the Dana White Contender Series and adds to what it fast becoming the deepest division for women in UFC.

Ryan: I don’t know if it is being slept on considering it is the main event of Saturday’s UFC event, but Dos Santos against Tuivasa is kind of flying under the radar. Tuivasa has a lot of charisma and is getting to a headline spot pretty quickly, and this is a really tough test against a former heavyweight champion. Dos Santos hasn’t finished an opponent in a long time, and his best days may be behind him…or he could just be gearing up for another title run. Either way, this is a big spot for both.

Josh: Pedro vs. Rua. ‘Shogun’ got crushed by Anthony Smith, but that was coming off a three fight win streak. He’s 4-4 in his last eight, but is unpredictable even after all these years. After a buzzworthy stat, Pedro has lost two of his last three and got submitted in the first by Ovince Saint Preux in his last outing. Given their recent propensity to get finished, this could be a fun one. I could also add that former flyweight title contender Benavidez is essentially a ghost on this show, buried in the prelims, and can’t be thrilled about it. Plus, his opponent is a very good fighter riding an eight fight win streak.

Anything not doing it for you?

Paul: The TUF matches. This has been the lowest rated season of he show in history and there is next to no buzz about any of these fighters. I’ve been watching almost since the beginning and every episode of every season….until this year. I’ve watched less than half his year and Pannie Kianzad is the only fighter I’m familiar with and that’s from seeing her fight five times in Invicta.

Ryan: I’m not really interested in the TUF finals. The women’s featherweight finals has Macy Chiasson in just her third professional fight, and the heavyweight finals has a 38-year-old in Juan Espino. The TUF concept is dead, and while it is going to continue, so they say, it doesn’t need to. The Contender Series is a much better way to find new talent.

Josh: Agreed. TUF got me into the sport and I even wrote a 10-year history piece on the show for Fight Magazine back in the day. But the Contender Series is far superior and it feels like the only reason the show exists at this point is to troll fans and media who rail against it.

What will be people talking about most after the show is done?

Paul: Not a lot, probably. The Australia shows are usually pretty fun with a lot of finishes so maybe they’ll be talking about the quality of that card. Possibly a new prime time low on FS1 for one of the UFC’s last shows on that network Friday or Saturday night….or both.

Ryan: That there was just too much MMA this weekend and that we’re glad it’s over with, that next weekend’s UFC card looks like one of the best of the year, that Kamaru Usman is definitely the welterweight champion in waiting, and so long from the UFC Mark Hunt. It has been fun.

Josh: I think it will be where Hunt goes next, even with a loss. If Usman wins, it has to be that he’s next in line for the winner of Tyron Woodley-Colby Covington, assuming that fight happens as planned.

Who wins?

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Kamaru Usman

Usman: Josh, Paul, Ryan

Pedro Munhoz vs. Bryan Caraway

Caraway: Paul
Munhoz: Ryan, Josh

Joseph Benavidez vs. Alex Perez

Benavidez: Paul, Ryan
Perez: Nason

Junior dos Santos vs. Tai Tuivasa

JDS: Paul, Ryan
Tuivasa: Josh

Mark Hunt vs. Justin Willis

Hunt: Paul, Ryan
Willis: Josh

Tyson Pedro vs. Shogun Rua

Pedro: Paul, Ryan, Josh

Follow along with our coverage all weekend.

China’s ruling Communist Party warned party members on Wednesday to stick to Marx and Lenin and not believe in “ghosts and spirits”, in the latest effort to root out superstitious practices.

China officially guarantees freedom of religion for major belief systems like Christianity, Buddhism and Islam, but party members are meant to be atheists and are especially banned from participating in what China calls superstitious practices like visiting soothsayers.

There have been numerous scandals in recent years where senior party members have been accused of involvement in superstition.

A lengthy statement on how best to strengthen the party’s role and its leadership, issued on the official Xinhua news agency, said Marxism was the guiding thought for China and the party.

“Resolutely prevent not believing in Marx and Lenin and believing in ghosts and spirits, not believing in the truth and believing in money,” the party statement said.

In Dongfanghong Square, Nanjie Village, Mao's statue is flanked by portraits of Engel and Lenin

“Resolutely oppose all forms of mistaken thought that distorts, misrepresents or negates Marxism.”

President Xi Jinping said last year that the party’s decision to stick with the political theories of Karl Marx remained “totally correct”, to mark the 200th anniversary of the German philosopher’s birth.

Chinese people, especially the country’s leaders, have a long tradition of putting their faith in soothsaying and geomancy, looking for answers in times of doubt, need and chaos.

The practice has grown more risky amid a sweeping crackdown on deep-seated corruption launched by Xi upon assuming power in late 2012, in which dozens of senior officials have been imprisoned.

The founder of modern China, Mao Zedong, banned fortune telling and superstition in puritan, communist China after the 1949 revolution, but the occult has made a comeback since the still officially atheist country embraced economic reforms and began opening up in the late 1970s.

In one of the most famous recent cases, China’s powerful former security chief Zhou Yongkang was jailed for life in part due to accusations he leaked undisclosed state secrets to a fortune teller and healer called Cao Yongzheng, known as the “Xinjiang sage” after the far western region where he grew up.

DAILY UPDATE

Latest news

Hiroshi Tanahashi wins Tokyo Sports MVP Award
WWE SmackDown ratings up slightly, still below two million viewers
UFC cancels January’s UFC 233 after main event fails to materialize
Title challengers announced for NWA pop-up event
ROH TV results: Final Battle go-home show
WWE SmackDown video highlights: Asuka stands tall, Bryan vs. Ali
WWE Mixed Match Challenge results: Finals are set
Mixed Match Challenge finals official for WWE TLC
WWE SmackDown live results: Bryan vs. Ali, Charlotte vs. Asuka

Latest Audio

WOL: RAW ratings, Madison Rayne talks ROH, more! 12/12
B&V&C: Retro Raw and Nitro from 19 years ago this week! 12/11

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: The revitalization of the new Daniel Bryan

When Daniel Bryan announced his emotional return to the ring, it was fairly inconceivable that he’d end up being a vicious and pompous environmentalist heel just eight months later. But the character change has revitalized Bryan and taken him to the highest points since the immediate aftermath of announcing his comeback. With Bryan completely buying into the change, “the new Daniel Bryan” has been far better in execution than it would have sounded on paper.

WON NEWSLETTER: December 10, 2018 Observer Newsletter: Death of Dynamite Kid

A look at the life of Dynamite Kid is the lead story in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer.

Look at his influence on the industry, his in-ring sacrifices, read comments from Bret Hart & Julie Hart, a look at his early days and his arrival in Stampede Wrestling, and his explosion of popularity in Japan.

Also look at Vince McMahon’s latest stock sale, as well as co-President George Barrios selling stock.

Read about the decision to flip flop Takeover and the Hall of Fame ceremony in April. Look at awards given to Cena, wrestlers and charity work, and more on the restrictions placed on U.K.

Look more at the XFL and the battle with the AAF that Vince McMahon is going to have starting next spring.

Examine UFC’s decision to sign Greg Hardy and debut him on the same show as Rachael Ostovich and the marketing behind both fights.

Read the update on the New Japan tag team tournament tour with results, business notes, lineups, the Tanahashi & Okada tag team and more.

This issue has an update on the WWE TLC show, with the card, plus ticket sale updates.

Read full coverage of both UFC shows from the past week, with match-by-match coverage and business notes on both shows.

Also look at the PPV numbers for Liddell vs. Ortiz what lessons is teaches.

There is also coverage of AAA’s Guerra de Titanes and ICW’s Fear and Loathing.

Read more on the MMA debut of the former Jack Swagger.

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.

WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE
Despite being announced, Naomi vs. Mandy Rose didn’t take place on last night’s episode of SmackDown. A segment where Jeff Hardy was going to address Samoa Joe’s “public service announcement” from last week was also advertised, but Hardy & Rusev instead faced Joe & Shinsuke Nakamura in a tag match. In a post-show video, Paige gave a storyline reason for Naomi vs. Rose not happening. She blamed it on Miz & Shane McMahon’s tag match and said Naomi and Rose’s feud isn’t over. Rose’s storyline explanation was that she had a photoshoot. Naomi and Rose have also continued their storyline on Twitter.
WWE uploaded a video on Instagram where Jeff Hardy, The New Day, and The Usos greeted and praised Mustafa Ali after his match with Daniel Bryan on SmackDown.
Jeff Jarrett was backstage at SmackDown in Las Vegas. WWE posted video of an interview Jarrett did with Mike Rome, talking about TLC and promoting SmackDown coming to Fox at last week’s Tennessee Titans game.
Vanilla Ice responded to Cesaro and Sheamus’ “Ice Ice Sheamy” rap from SmackDown: “This is so bad it’s awesome. Love it”
WWE posted a video with John Cena after he received the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award at last night’s Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Awards. Cena said he accepted the award on behalf of all the wrestlers in WWE because he believes they would make the same choices as him if they were put in his shoes. Cena said he’s sending the award to Connecticut so it can be displayed in WWE headquarters.
Responding to a tweet where Bryan Alvarez called this week’s Raw ratings embarrassing, Jimmy Jacobs wrote: “Writing a 3 hour wrestling tv show every single week is f*ckin hard.” Seth Rollins then responded to Jacobs: “That’s the one thing I don’t think people understand. 5 hours of live TV every week. EVERY WEEK. Add in all the extraneous variables that affect the final outcome….and it’s a modern miracle that the shows come together as well as they do.”
The Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio officially announced that WWE Fastlane will take place at the venue on March 10, 2019.
Curt Hawkins wrote about the toy drive that he and Zack Ryder partnered with Toys for Tots for: “I really can’t put into words what happened yesterday. It was special. I can say that the fans, friends, & family of the @majorwfpod are absolutely amazing. Together we donated over 2,600 wrestling toys to @toysfortots.nassaucounty. Unbelievable. Thank you!”
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose in a 30-minute Iron Man match for the FCW 15 Championship (from FCW’s September 18, 2011 show) will be added to WWE Network’s Hidden Gems section tomorrow. Hidden Gems will be added on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week.
Pro Wrestling
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The tiny Pacific nation of Cook Islands plans to change its name to drop the reference to the British explorer Captain James Cook in favour of a title that reflects its “Polynesian nature”.

The group of small islands, about 1,900 miles northeast of New Zealand, was spotted by Captain Cook in the 1770s and became a British protectorate in the late 1800s. Since 1965, it has been autonomous but electively deemed to be in free association with New Zealand.

The Cook Islands government initially set up a committee to find an indigenous name that would sit alongside its existing title. But the committee members backed abandoning the honour to Captain Cook and adopting a standalone name in the local Maori language.

"When the committee members, which include Cook Islands historians and people with deep traditional knowledge, met we decided it was time we change the name of the country," committee chairman Danny Mataroa told AFP.

Mark Brown, the deputy prime minister, supported the change but said it would need to involve the nation’s 12,000 residents. In 1994, the Cook Islands held a referendum to change the name to Avaiki Nui but the proposal was resoundingly defeated.

A committee has decided to replace the association with Captain Cook in the archipelago's name with an alternative in the Maori languageCredit:
James D. Morgan/Getty

"I’m quite happy to look at a traditional name for our country which more reflects the true Polynesian nature of our island nation," Mr Brown told Radio New Zealand.

“I think the first steps are to find out what the public appetite actually is for a change of name.”

The opposition also supported a name change but said voters were likely to be evenly split on the proposal.

"Whether or not it’s going to command a support of the majority, it’s very hard to tell," said the opposition leader, Tina Browne.

Captain Cook first spotted Manuae, a southern atoll that forms part of the islands, from his vessel The Resolution in 1773 and charted other islands in the group over the next four years. He initially called the atoll Hervey’s Island to honour Augustus Hervey, a Lord of the Admiralty and politician.

The southern group of islands later became known as Hervey Islands, but this was changed to Cook Islands in 1824 by a Russian explorer and navigator, Adam Johann von Krusenstern.

Captain Cook first spotted the islands from his ship The Resolution in 1773 Credit:
Archive Photos

Cook Islanders are Polynesians who first settled there around 1,500 years ago after voyaging in large canoes from French Polynesia.

The government committee is considering a list of 60 new names from public submissions and will present one to the government in April. Avaiki Nui, a popular though not universally accepted name for the islands, would be a strong contender for the new title.

Mr Mataroa said the current push for a name change was more likely to succeed than the previous referendum because traditional leaders from all of the main islands had been involved.

He said the new name would have to incorporate the nation’s strong Christian faith and Maori heritage.

“And it must instil a sense of pride in our people, and unite our people,” he said. "It must also be easy to say.”

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Cook Islands to choose new indigenous name and remove any association with British explorer