July 2020 – Page 9 – BLOGGERPARUNG

Overnight ratings are in for last night’s SmackDown on FOX, WWE’s last television show before WrestleMania 36, which starts airing later today and continues tomorrow.

The episode averaged 2.374 million viewers, the same overnight number as last week. The opening hour did 2.407 million viewers, with the show then falling 2.7 percent in hour two to 2.342 million.

SmackDown was, by far, the lowest viewed show on the major networks, with ABC’s 20/20 being the closest with an average of 3.34 million.

In the demos, SmackDown averaged a 0.6 in 18-49, down 14.3 percent from last week. It’s the lowest number the show has done in that demo since debuting on FOX and it tied several other shows for the lowest on network TV last night. When SmackDown debuted on FOX, it was routinely winning in that demo.

In 18-34, SmackDown averaged a 0.4 rating, identical to last week and also matching the series low. It tied a few other shows behind Hawaii 5-0 and Shark Tank for third on network TV in that category.

Here’s a look at the last 10 weeks of SmackDown viewership and ratings in the key demos:

By Dave Meltzer
[email protected]”>[email protected]

Smackdown tonight on Syfy

Paige vs. Brie Bella

Gauntlet involving Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Stardust and Luke Harper

Los Matadores & Torito vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd & Natalya

Handicap match: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins & Kane

The NCAA Division I wrestling tournament from St. Louis opens tonight with coverage live on ESPN U and ESPN 3 at 7 p.m. Eastern tonight. Tomorrow had the quarterfinals at 11 a.m on ESPN U and ESPN 3, and the semifinals are live on ESPN at 8 p.m.

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The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a look at whatever is going on with NXT, plus notes on the upcoming WWE Jerry Lawler DVD as well as all of the usual reviews and international news.

The Kindle edition for non-subscribers isn’t up yet, but you can still get the February 6th issue, featuring a a eulogy for the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Almanac and Book of Facts (which Kappa Publishing announced it is no longer producing) as well as all of the usual reviews and international news. It’s available on the American, UK/Ireland, Canadian, and Australian Amazon Kindle stores, as well as various other regional Kindle stores that I’m probably forgetting.

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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We’ve got a jam packed issue of news this week in the Observer, with the fallout of UFC 185 and the two title changes, The New Japan Cup and where the booking is going, the build toward Invasion Attack, more comments on the Bill DeMott situation in WWE, more on Rampage Jackson’s Bellator contract and Scott Coker, under oath, goes through what happened in negotiations and why Bellator is suing, , plus we’ve got features on Larry Zbyszko and Tatsumi Fujinami and the WWE Hall of Fame, New Japan attempts to rebuild NOAH with a storyline that has gotten mainstream ink and the bus accident and problems leading to the Rey de Reyes show.

The latest issue of the Observer: Mar. 23, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Two upset title changes at UFC 185, New Japan Cup, Bill DeMott notes, Bellator/Rampage injunction update

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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.

The lead story covers UFC 185, the two surprise title changes, a look at the future for the fighters on the show, business notes on the show, early PPV notes, bonuses and match-by-match coverage with poll results.

We also look at the New Japan Cup, as well as the Invasion Attack show, changes in the original card and why, plus other New Japan World shows coming up, and full coverage of the New Japan Cup finals, with match-by-match coverage, star ratings and poll results.

We’ve got more on the Bill DeMott situation including more comments by different people, as well as DeMott’s first defenses.

We’ve got more from the deposition of Scott Coker on the Rampage Jackson lawsuit. We look at how much Jackson earned while in UFC, how much he had earned in his tenure in Bellator, business notes on Jackson’s fights and how the relationship with Bellator fell apart, including Bellator’s plans for Jackson going forward.

We also look at the career of Larry Zbyszko, including notes on the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, who is inducting who, how Larry Zbyszko started his career, what 90s feud was a copy of Sammartino vs. Zbyszko, a look at the feud, and why Zbyszko was never as hot again, how he got the AWA title, his lawsuit against WWE, what happened to Ray Stevens, notes on Tatsumi Fujinami, the politics of wrestling in the early 80s and where Fujinami fit in, the Fujinami vs. Choshu feud, the Fujinami vs. Flair matches and other WWE Hall of Fame notes.

We also have an update on Brock Lesnar and where he currently stands as far as what is next, how much Vince McMahon, HHH and others earned this past year, who are WWE’s biggest stockholders and how much of the company does Vince McMahon own, how much McMahon and HHH have earned the past several years, great incentives given for key WWE officials to stay, WWE video game notes, Notes on WWE ticket sales, WrestleMania ticket selling update, Vince’s stolen car found, updates on Kevin Owens and Jey Uso, and why others mised shows this past week.

We also look at fan behavior, DVD sales, lots of new WWE signees, WWE network changes, new WWE character, Cena movie, WWE night in Phoenix and Justin Gabriel talks leaving WWE.

We also have lots of updates from NXT, NXT house shows, WWE house show coverage and business notes.

We also look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s first major show of the year, how well it did, coverage, angle hints, booking of the show as well as match-by-match coverage.

We also look at AAA’s attempt to put on Rey de Reyes, the problems with the show, the bus accident, injuries in the accident and more.

We also have more on PPV numbers for UFC, WWE and ROH.

The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.

We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.

Also in this week’s issue:

–Notes on CMLL’s first big show of the year

–More on plans for the AAA World Cup

–Wrestlers to get pushed in AAA

–Dragon Gate has iPPV coming up

–New Japan ticket sale notes

–More on Lisa Varon and the crazy story of the Squared Circle restaurant

–Lots more on WrestleMania week activities around the San Jose area

–A look at the NCAA championships, biggest stories and Hodge Trophy top contenders

–Lots of foreign stars head to England for Preston Championship Wrestling, including a star return from injury and a champion leaves

–Update on the Lucha Underground promotion

–More on Rey Mysterio and his leaving WWE

–More on Spike TV and pro wrestling going forward

–ROH tries to sign major act

–Update on the ROH show over WrestleMania week

–A look at the ROH weekend shows and business

–TNA makes decision to strip Wolves of tag title

–Who the new champions are and how it happened

–Also notes on X title change

–TNA TV schedule

–TNA ratings in Germany

–Lots of newcomers in AN and two new factions

–TNA star misses TV for a while due to movie filming

–A look at what will happen on TNA television between now and early May

–UFC plans for New York state

–Next UFC show

–Lots of new UFC dates

–New UFC TV deal

–More on Rousey vs. Cyborg

–Why former TUF winner seems to have disappeared

–UFC fighter places in Jiu Jitsu tourney

–Two former Bellator champions test positive

–PBC signs a huge TV deal

–Notes on Phoenix Jones and his MMA debut

–Gracie vs. Hughes rematch signed

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

Our most requested issues in our history are:

*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)

*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)

*August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)

*March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a

*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)

*July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)

*February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)

*May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)

*January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)

*February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)

*March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)

*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)

*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)

*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)

*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)

*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)

*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)

*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)

*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)

*January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)

*February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)

*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)

*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)

*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)

*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)

*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)

*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)

*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)

*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)

*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)

*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)

*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)

*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)

*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)

*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

*August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)

*September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)

*October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)

*November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

*December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)

*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)

*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)

*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)

*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)

*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)

*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)

*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)

*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)

*November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)

*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)

*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)

*January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

*February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)

*March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)

*March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)

*March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)

*April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)

*July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)

*August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)

*October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)

*November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .

*December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)

*January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

*March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)

*March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)

*April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)

* September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)

* September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)

* September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)

You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.

We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..

To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.

THURSDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

– T-shirts for the WWE Hall of Fame list Diesel as going in and not Kevin Nash, so that’s the way the decision went down.

– NXT moved its weekend shows in Florida to mid-week after WrestleMania. The next show will be the 3/27 show in San Jose.

– Kevin Owens won’t be defending his title in San Jose due to his recent knee surgery.

– Anderson Silva asked for a delay in his hearing before the Nevada Athletic Commission. There is a meeting on 3/23 which will include talking about the cases of Nick Diaz and Hector Lombard, who also failed drug tests on UFC shows in Las Vegas. Silva is expected to have his hearing in April.

– The U.S. named its team for the 2015 World Cup which takes place 4/11 and 4/12 at the Forum in Inglewood, CA. Among those on the team are 2012 gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, and former Olympic medalists Jake Varner and Coleman Scott, as well as 143 pounder Aaron Pico of Bellator, who is only 18 years old. The team as of right now is:

125 – Tony Ramos and Andrew Hochstrasser
134 – Coleman Scott and Matt McDonough
143 – Brent Metcalf and Aaron Pico
154 – Nick Marable and James Green
163 – Jordan Burroughs and Moza Fay
189 – Ed Ruth and Clayton Foster
213 – Jake Varner and Ed Kilgore
275 – Tervel Dlagnev and Zach Ray

– John Cena and Daniel Bryan will headline a 7/2 show at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, which is one of the home arenas of the ONE Championships promotion.

– There is a pre-sale going on for tickets to the Raw taping on 5/25 at the Nassau Coliseum with the code LASTWWE.

– While they may be gone now, WWE had opened up some tickets today for the 3/30 Raw show in San Jose.

– While not yet official, Mick Foley on Twitter hinted at adding another show in San Jose next week. The idea is for it to be 3/25. I don’t know the location but it won’t be the San Jose Improv, where he has a 3/27 show that is sold out.

– The 3/28 Wrestlecon show in San Jose headlined by Hardys vs. Sabu & Rob Van Dam, ACH vs. John Morrison and Jushin Liger & Ricochet & AR Fox vs Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian & Roderick Strong has also sold out.

– The Go Fund Me drive for former UFC champion Mark Coleman, who needs hip surgery after an infection, has raised more than $42,000.

– Bobby Jones, a Winnipeg wrestler in the 50s, 60s and 70s, passed away on 3/12 at the age of 84. Jones appeared on AWA TV tapings in the 60s and 70s doing jobs as well as working the Winnipeg house shows. He was later a TV announcer for Tony Condello in the 90s.

– Jeremy Borash appeared on the TV show Restaurant Impossible in an episode recorded in Bowling Green, KY. He was a restaurant guest who was interviewed. Borash has toured with Robert Irvine, the famous chef who is married to Gail Kim. (thanks to Brian Hoops)

– Jeff Hamlin, a regular correspondent to this site who does the great Impact reports, is now the play-by-play announcer for the Charlotte Independence of the United Scocer League.

– UFC’s FS 1 schedule tonight (all times Eastern):

8 p.m. Special on TJ Dillashaw
9 p.m. Premiere of special on TJ Dillashaw
9:30 p.m. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao
10 p.m. Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber

Tomorrow night has

9 p.m. Special on Conor McGregor
9:30 p.m. Premiere of special on Cub Swanson, Ricardo Lamas, McGregor and Jose Aldo
10 p.m. Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar

– UFC tickets go on sale to the public tomorrow for UFC 188,which takes place on 6/13 at Arena Ciudad in Mexico City headlined by Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum for the heavyweight title plus Eddie Alvarez vs. Gilbert Melendez. Tickets are priced from 375 pesos to 7490 pesos.

– The Fight Network in Canada will be airing the prelims and pre-and-post fight coverage for Saturday’s UFC show from Brazil.

– Several time Observer guest Shayna Baszler fights on Saturday’s show against Amanda Nunes.

– WWE stock went up 47 cents per share to $16.32, likely on the news that a network number will be released a week from Monday.

– Norm Connors at [email protected] is looking to see if anyone has an extra Cauliflower Alley banquet ticket.

– FTW Wrestling tomorrow night in Pigeon Forge, TN at the Armory.

– A BBC video on British wrestling

– A WWE video game promotion for WrestleMania season

– Superkick’d Unstable on Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Toronto at The Great Hall headlined by Roderick Strong vs. Brent Banks, plus Cheeseburger, Tommaso Ciampa, J Diesel, Seleyzia Sparks, Romantic Tough and Will Ferrara of ROH all appear. They also run 4/18 in the same building with Michael Elgin, Matt Morgan and Tommy End.

– A woman bit a boy’s foot because he wouldn’t move while she was watching Raw

– For anyone in the U.S. looking to get tickets for New Japan shows

– An article on Ted DiBiase

– Devon Dudley talks his future

– Shawn Michaels will be doing a book signing on 3/26 in San Jose at 6 p.m. at the Barnes & Nobles on Stevens Creek Blvd.

– Kenny Omega’s match with a nine-year-old girl in Japan aired Wednesday night on Comedy Central’s @ Midnight TV show. They also aired the Shockmaster entrance. One of the guests, Ron Funches, knew who Kenny Omega was (thanks to Leonardo Mendez Toledo)

– The world premiere of the film “Shock the World,” on how Jesse Ventura became Governor of Minnesota, will debut next month at the Tribeca ESPN Sports Film Festival.

– On the Netflix sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, there is a flashback scene where one of the girls comes down with a severe case of Hulkamania in which she jumps on a table and stars doing Hogan promos. The only way to get her off the table was for Kimmy to do Randy Savage promos. Said to be pretty funny (thanks to Emerson Witner)

– Charity Appeal Wrestling on 3/29 at The Hightown Club in Luton, UK with Jonny Storm.

– ASW on Saturday in Lewisburg, TN at 2224 Mooresville Highway.

– Extreme Midget Wrestling on 3/27 at the AM Vets Post 101 in Smithville, TN for a 21 and older show.

– A correction from a report earlier in the week on the In Your Face Wrestling show, JP Black on the show was not Justin Gabriel. Gabriel is PJ Black.

– Also, to stop a rumor going around, TNA is not signing Kota Sekifuda of Big Japan Pro Wrestling as has been reported all over the place. Sekifuda, 19, is coming to the U.S. to attend a wrestling school and learn. What he said when he left Japan is that his goal would be to work for a major company like TNA. Nobody in TNA even knew who he was.

– Northern Championship Wrestling on 3/21 in Montreal at Centre Brussels.

– Alpha-1 Wrestling on 4/12 in Hamilton ONT at 4 p.m. with Ricky Shane Page vs. Mike Bailey, Eddie Kingston vs. Seleyzia Sparks, The Beaver Boys, Ethan Page and more.

– CHIKARA reports that its 4/6 show in London, UK at The Garage is almost sold out. The main event is Icarus vs. Hallowicked.

– Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling results from Saturday night in Webster, TX before 300 fans: Rob Barnes b Rockstar Robbie, Alex Reigns b Brendan Sky, Brian Keith b Andrew Jackson, Gino b Bu Ku Dau, Mario Bokara b Ryan Davidson-DQ, Pump Patrol b Tigers, Sean Studd (son of John Studd) b Cameron Cole, Rex Andrews b Steel-DQ, Pride b Purple Haze, Erik Lockhart b Andrew Lockhart-COR Fallah Bahh b Mysetrious Q. Next show is 4/11 with Ricky Steamboat and Bret Hart attending. Brenday Sky, in his second pro match, got great reviews (thanks to Scott Williams)

– AAW on 3/21 in Berwyn, IL at the Eagles Club has Eddie Kingston vs. Silas Young, Dick Justice vs. Gregory Iron in a blindfold match, Jimmy Jacobs vs. Ethan Page, Jake & Dave Crist vs. Zero Gravity, Johnny Gargano vs. Josh Alexander and more.

– UCW on Saturday night in Union City, TN at 308 South First St.

– OCW on Saturday night in Coshocton,OH at the Hopewell School with Shane Douglas.

– NWF on Saturday night in Fairfield, OH at the UAW Hall with a ladder match. They also run 3/27 in Ludlow, KY at the Ludlow Theater with Chris Harris.

– Crossfire Wrestling on Saturday in Niagara Falls, ONT at the Scotiabank Convention Centre from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a convention that includes Bret Hart, Kevin Nash and Dan Severn as well as Grant Fuhr and Cito Gaston. There will also be a wrestling show that night headlined by Cody Deaner.

– Maryland Championship Wrestling on Saturday night in Frederick, MD at the Indoor Sports Center with a fan fest at 5:30 p.m. with Matt Hardy, Boogeyman and Terri Runnels and a wrestling show with Hardy and Boogeyman.

– Canadian Wrestling Federation on 3/28 in St. Catherines, ONT at the Haig Bowl Arena headlined by Rhino vs. Shaunymo in a tables match.

– Lucha Libre VIP on 3/22 in Cudahy, CA at the Clara Street Sports Complex is headlined by Volador Jr. vs. La Sombra.

– A podcast talking Premier Wrestling, NXT in San Jose, and WrestleMania weekend news

– A story on Matt Riviera NWA Mid South Wrestling to feature reality star Saturday

– Wrestling Outsiders podcast with Emerson Witner and Bruce Tharpe

– An interview with crime fighter superhero turned MMA fighter Phoenix Jones

– C.M. Punk talks UFC

– Two Montreal Canadians do a stone cold stunner on the ice

– A podcast on the WWE developmental system

– Hulk Hogan met Irish Prime Minister Enda Kelly on a flight this past week

– Paige talks about wanting an extreme rules match with Stephanie McMahon, Emma or anyone else

– Absolute Intense Wrestling tomorrow night in Cleveland at Our Lady of Mt Carmel School with 2 Cold Scorpio, Jimmy Jacobs, Raymond Rowe, Johnny Gargano, Tyson, Dux, Candice LaRae and Chris Sabin.

– XICW on Saturday night in Clinton Township MI with Rhino vs. Tommy Dreamer and Davey Richards vs. Orlando Christopher.

– TAW on 3/28 in Dunstable, UK at the Leisure Centre headlined by Robbie E.

– Tennessee All Pro Wrestling on Saturday night in McMinnville, TN at 191 Industrial Drive.

– 4th Generation Wrestling on 3/28 at Castleford, West Yorkshire, UK at the Fryson Miners Welfare Club.

– Reno Wrestling Factory on 3/27 in Sparks, NV at the Spanish Springs High School with Martin Casaus of Tough Enough and Lucha Underground.

– Pro Wrestling Ulster on 3/29 at the Europa Hotel in Belfast, Northern Ireland headlined by Shelton Benjamin.

– Great North Wrestling on 5/29 in Ottawa, ONT at the Earl Armstrong Arena with Brutus Beefcake, Hannibal, Alex Silva and Jeremy Prophet.

– ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Greame Cameron)

1965 – Ray Stevens beat Domenic DeNucci in Brisbane to win the IWA title

1968 – John DaSilva beat George Gordienko in Auckland to win the British Commonwealth title

1994 – Canek beat Yamato (Kim Duk) to win the UWA heavyweight title

2011 – Mesias beat Jeff Jarrett in Mexico City to win the AAA heavyweight title

By Bryan Alvarez | [email protected] | @bryanalvarez

— Very sorry for the very late update today. With all the craziness of WrestleMania we never got it hammered out who would have time to do it, and I think in the end it was supposed to be me, so I apologize. A quick update on everything and we’ll have more tomorrow.

— From Ronda Rousey’s Twitter:
The night: Historic.
The moment: Electric.
The Rock, Ronda & the WWE Universe: Magic.
We’re just gettin’ started…

— Regarding Raw, I haven’t seen the show on TV tonight but I was there live, and the last hour was nothing like what you saw on television. I saw the end of the main event and they turned the crowd audio down to a ridiculous degree. Tonight on Observer Radio Dave and I will talk the entire show in full detail from both a live and TV perspective. It’ll be the fourth of four straight shows so make sure you go back from the last few days to check out all the live coverage from the weekend.

— For those who didn’t see the post-show on the Network, Sting was interviewed and was non-committal about his future. Fans completely drown him out with chants for Undertaker. He acknowledged them but then said he didn’t know what the future held. They brought out Bo Dallas for the happy ending spot with Sting laying him out with the death drop.

— Vince McMahon is super high on Lana and apparently has big plans for her.

— Dave’s notes on the WWE conference call today are up here. They announced over 1.3 million subscribers and are clearly confident that the number is going to continue to rise since they’ve earmarked a ton of new Network shows, not to mention hiring names such as Jerry Springer and Seth Green to work on various programs.

— WWE stock had a roller coaster day, finishing at $14.09, down over two dollars.

— Latest on Global Force Wrestling here. They have July, August and October dates, but have not yet announced any sort of television affiliation.

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— TNA also announced a new deal with the Fight Network, details of which you can check out here.

— All of the drug tests from UFC 184 and UFC 185 came back clean.

— There is one week left to register for the trials to be on the first ever US World Combat Wrestling team! This is your chance to represent the U.S. at the first Combat Wrestling World Championship in Varna, Bulgaria. DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR THE.U.S. TRIALS April 4th! Don’t miss out! Questions about pre-registration? E-mail Stephen Koepfer at [email protected] with any questions.

— If you haven’t heard Jeremy Borash on the Howard Stern Show yet, there are some clips available up here.

— Today in history with Brian Hoops:

1870 – James H. McLaughlin defeated Homer Lane to win the American Collar-and-Elbow Champion in New York City, New York

1957 – Miguel Perez and Antonino Rocca defeated Wildman (Jackie) Fargo and Don Stevens (Fargo) in New York City, New York to win the Capitol Wrestling NWA World Tag Team Title.

1971 – Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk defeated Jack and Jerry Brisco to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Tampa, Florida.

1973 – Ron Miller and Larry O’Day defeated Don Carson and Dick Dunn for the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Title in Sydney, Australia.

1976 – Rick Gibson defeated Duke Miller in Mobile, Alabama for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title

1977 – Bob Roop and Alexis Smirnoff defeated Pepper Gomez and Pat Patterson to win the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Title in Sacramento, California.

1981 – Eric Embry defeated El Solitario in Puebla, Mexico to win the UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Title.

1981 – Ron Bass defeated Ken Lucas for the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title in Birmingham, Alabama.

1981 – Masa Fuchi and Mr. Onita (Atsushi Onita) defeated The Dream Machine and Bill Dundee to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

1984 – Bad News Allen defeated The Dynamite Kid to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title in Calgary, Alberta

1984 – Cien Caras won the Mexican National Heavyweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico, by defeating Rayo de Jalisco, Jr.

1985 – Jimmy Golden won the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title in Dothan, Alabama by defeating Boomer Lynch.

1991 – TNT (Savio Vega) defeated Action Jackson to win the WWC Television Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico

2003 – Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle to win the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania XIX in Seattle, Wash.

2007 – At the ROH All Star Extravaganza III at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Expo Center in Detroit, Michigan; FIP Tag Team Champions The Briscoes (Jay and Mark) defeated ROH World Tag Team Champions Naruki Doi and Shingo to win the title.

2008 – Undertaker defeated Edge to win the World Title at Wrestlemania 24 and Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair in Ric Flair’s retirement match in Orlando, Florida.

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By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

Last week, the “bell to bell” episode of Impact delivered yet another excellent Angle-Lashley match, and some solid action between Magnus and Bram and EY and Bobby Roode. They also debuted goofy artwork for the graphics that certainly stood out, even if it was quite amateurish. TNA’s now doing a crossover with the crew of Ghost Asylum and the Revolution. Hopefully, we get some shadow activity! Tonight, we get the “Live Tweets” edition of the show.

They hyped up no matches, but did bring that point up – which a shame since we get Gail Kim vs. Kong in a rematch of one of the company’s biggest ratings-drawing programs ever.

The show begins with a recap of the BDC’s destruction that ties into the debut of Galloway and The Rising – we’ll hear from Galloway and his two presently-unnamed allies tonight. We go to Taz and Josh in the booth reading their scripts. Josh talks about the controversial ending to the title match and they show a graphic of it. Kurt Angle comes out and says he wants to deal with the Lashley issue face to face. Lashley comes out and we get a full view of the revamped set with vertical video walls on both sides of the set. TNA should stick with this set whenever possible because it looks good.

Lashley says he looked at the tape and Kurt didn’t win. A brief “roll the tape” chant breaks out and and the fans chant “rematch”. Lashley asks over and over if that’s how Kurt’s going to win, and Kurt says he won’t back down from a defense. Lashley wants a third match, and much like the Angle-Samoa Joe deal, they’re going through way too many matches in this feud. Kurt wants the match, but EY comes out and screeches “no” over and over again. EY says he’s number 1 contender via the rankings. Well, since Unlocked no longer airs before Impact, there’s no way we could know that.

EY says he’s number 1 because he made Roode tap out and we see a tweet from him about how he won the World title one year ago and he’ll do it again tonight. EY rakes Lashley’s eyes, and he goes for a spear in response, but a low blow and escape leaves Kurt in the spear’s path instead. This was pretty good stuff overall, even though this EY character doesn’t do much for me.

A Sting DVD ad airs and we get a replay of the Lashley spear to Angle. Angle once again says he’ll fight Lashley and says he’ll take on both guys tonight. We see a replay of the prior Awesome Kong killing spree video, but with more footage of Gail Kim matches included. Gail is out first in this number one contender’s match. Kong comes down and both Josh and Taz put Kong over huge.

Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong

Gail rushes Kong with forearms and gets bullied into the corner. Gail gets a dropkick to the knee and some forearms to the chest. Outside-in sunset flip by Gail is countered with a sitdown splash and the referee pulls her off. Kong gets a camel clutch and modifies it into a sleeper. Gail lands some leg kicks, but Kong clotheslines her down. Kong lands the chokeslam and it only gets 2. Kong looks ready to destroy her, and it’s clear that Kong still has “it” no matter what. Kong goes to expose the buckle and Gail attacks, but gets shrugged off and Kong finally gets the pad off.

Gail counters a chokeslam into a thing resembling a guillotine choke, but gets tossed into the corner and then to the floor. Gail gets a big dropkick to create space. They go into the ring and Gail gets 2 off of a blind crossbody block. Kong tosses her off for trying Eat Defeat, but she misses a charge into the exposed corner and gets schoolgirled for 2. Eat Defeat hits for a 2.5 count. Crowd chants “that was three” and Taz chants “no, it wasn’t!” That was Taz’s best call all year.

Kong lifts her up top, but gets locked into a triangle choke and turns it into an Awesome Bomb for the win! This was pretty good overall – Kong is physically limited, but has such a presence to her that she doesn’t need to do a lot to make the character work.

Mickie thanks James Storm for saving her last week. Storm says he does the right thing and no man is going to hit a woman on his watch. Manik comes up and asks him what’s up with Mickie, and Storm smothers him with his muffin and says you should never question them. I’m glad they did this, because 2012 babyface Storm being part of this 2015 cult leader didn’t make much sense, but now they’ve tied the two characters together somewhat. Storm told him to gather the crew for a fight. A graphic makes EY vs. Angle vs. Lashley for the title official for tonight’s main event.

Storm is mid-ring with his crew for the fight. Storm says he wanted a Revolution and gave them everything they desire, and they’ve all failed him. Sanada was kicked out for failing one too many times, and he berates Abyss for losing in the tag title match, while Manik lost in the Ultimate X match. Storm slaps Khoya and he tells him that he made him see the light. There’s always room for one more, and tonight, there will be room for one less.

Khoya vs. Abyss vs. Manik

Storm says that the winner will be his partner next week in the tag title tournament. Abyss attacks Khoya, and Abyss goes to pick up the walking stick, but he eats a chair to the back. Manik runs wild on him in the corner. Abyss fights back with a running elbow. Abyss tosses Manik into his rope pose, and just kicks him down to the floor – well, it’s about time someone does that. Abyss tosses Khoya over the top and Manik hits a missile dropkick down. Manik turns an Abyss chokeslam into an armbar.

Khoya hits Abyss with the stick before landing some shots to Manik too. Khoya gets the Sky High and earns a win. Khoya’s the right guy to win this because he needs the team situation, while the other two are better off outside of it. The Rising is next, but first, we get clips of the Storm/Ghost Asylum deal along with the conclusion. The crew goes around the barn before the Revolution threatens them and…they just leave. Well, that accomplished very little.

The Rising comes out with Eli Drake and MIka – so his crew finally gets names. Drew says he only wanted to be a wrestler and has been wrestling since he was 15 and will do it until he can’t walk. Drew thanks the fans and says he’ll give the fans the shirt off his back and does. Drew says they’re out to make wrestling better, and the fans chant “hashtag better!”

Drew says he couldn’t beat the BDC by himself, and he needed his brothers. The former Comacho says he’s MIka, the son of Haku – wrestling pumps this his veins and he cuts a good promo about needing to stand up because that’s what his father taught him. It’s a shame he never got a chance to talk in WWE, because he was impressive here.

Eli Drake is a big jacked-up dude with a five o’ clock shadow who has some physical charisma to him. He says The Rising isn’t a bunch of superstars – they’re a group of wrestlers and that if the BDC is smart, they won’t mess with any of them. So far, both partners in The Rising have been impressive with only one chance to really do so. Drew tells MVP that he doesn’t run TNA and it’s time for a war in Orlando.

The BDC comes down with a new red-heavy lighting scheme and a pair of flags. MVP says The Rising is more like bread or dough, while Ki and MVP says it’s more like a yeast infection. MVP says punks jump up to get beat down, and that The Rising will have a tragic fall tonight. Drew does a 3,2, 1 countdown before a brawl breaks out.

The Rising vs. The BDC

During the break, Drew makes a challenge for a match. Eli Drake and Kenny King start it off. King gets a headlock and a shove off leads to a stalemate. King runs into a powerslam for 2. Mika tags in and lands a shot to the ribs of King. MVP, in new black and red Punisher gear comes in. Mika punches him down, and MVP misses the corner kick and eats a neckbreaker for a 1 count. Kenny attacks Mika’s knee on the floor and MVP hot shots Myka’s chest into the guardrail. MVP goes for three covers and gets 2 off of them. MVP gets a front facelock and tags in Low-Ki for a Mongolian chop to the back.

Josh applauds the BDC for cheating in creative ways, and then Taz is called jaded for having the same view. King gets a tag that the ref didn’t see. MVP tags in and lands a shot to Mika’s ribs. MVP gets a cocky cover for 2. Mika gets a Samoan drop and tags in Galloway for a big comeback. He runs wild while the crowd goes crazy, but he distracts himself and eats a double boot. Drake comes in and gets a running powerslam setup inverted Codebreaker!

Mika dives onto the heels on the floor. Homicide comes in with his head covered and attacks with a telescopic nightstick. This was a good showcase for newcomers and we get another replay of the Lashley spear to Angle earlier. Angle cuts a promo on his opponent before EY jumps him and says “my” over and over before saying the title goes through him. I get the idea of EY being nuts with this character, but the act is more annoying than anything else.

The trainer meets with Kurt about his neck and asks if he feels okay. Kurt says he’s fine, but acts a bit dazed. DJZ is mid-ring to face Davey Richards. Given how this ties into the tag title feud before Eddie’s injury, this isn’t nearly as random as it appears on the surface. Josh says that the tag titles are in a state of abeyance and the tag team champions will be crowned next week after a series and an Ultimate X match – so it should be a busy night of action.

DJZ vs. Davey Richards

Basic collar and elbow to start before a tumbling exchange and a Davey dropkick gives him an edge. Apron punt prevents DJZ from coming in. DJZ comes in and gets a pop-up dropkick sending Davey to the floor. DJZ only gets 1 before stomping a mudhole in him. Crowd chants “DJ reject” at him. Josh says that DJZ is a popular DJ in Florida. DJZ lands a flapjack, but misses a corkscrew dive. Back and forth punch and forearm exchange is won by Davey with a lariat sending DJZ to the floor and a suicide dive sends them both into the barricade. Missile dropkick leads to a nip up and a kick combo.

Handspring high kick gets 2. DJZ gets a jaw breaker and mocks Davey with a howl. Davey avoids a superplex and misses the double stomp, but gets the Alarm Clock and the Creeping Death spinning buzzsaw kick for the win. After Josh mocked a fan’s “The Wolfs” sign, they show it in close-up.

MVP tells the camera guy that if he wants to eavesdrop, he’ll give them news – Homicide was always a member and they all make threats to The Rising. They’re the Beat Down Clan and they do what they do because they can – this was short and sweet. Kenny King still doesn’t quite fit in as a badass, but he’s fine in the Buddy Roberts role of resident goofball.

A creepy skit with Jade and Marti Bell airs where they spin around and crush dolls with their heels. It was a Dollhouse Production and they’re coming. This was silly in theory, but in execution, they came off as nuts and it worked – TNA’s putting a bit of a budget behind things again and it helps vignettes like this. The Hardys come down and Josh talks about how they’ve never held the TNA World Tag Team titles.

Jeff talks about having his revenge and it’s time to something he’s never done – become the TNA World Tag Team Champions! Matt says it feels damn good to be in the ring with his brother and it’s time for them to be the TNA Tag Team Champions for the first time ever. I thought they should’ve made more of that during the 3D-Hardys-Wolves series, but at least they’re doing it now. Matt says it’s time to win the titles and face the best in Impact Wrestling.

EC3 and Tyrus come down. EC3 addresses Matthew and Jeffrey by saying he is the best in TNA and while the Hardys have had a fairly adequate career, he has been undefeated for 18 months and yet has no title shots to show for it. Since he can’t get a World Title shot, he’ll be interrupted by a loud “Hardy” chant and he’ll go for the tag titles instead because he deserves gold. He’ll be teaming with a man who just wants to hurt people – Bram. Well, that’s a surprise.

You’d expect Tyrus, but Bram should make for better matches. Bram says he’s in a bad mood and the thought of teaming with someone makes his skin crawl, and he hates everyone. Another massive “Hardy” chant breaks out and he says that he hates EC3 the least, so he’ll just batter the Hardys and the rest of the losers in the back. EC3 says that they’re the favorites before Mr. Anderson comes down.

Given his past pairings, he should team up with Chris Melendez for this or Spud. EC3 and Anderson get into an “uh huh/nuh” exchange and Ken just randomly says he’s 39. Spud comes down in his new-ish shirt and bowtie-printed shirt. Great bit with Anderson doing his intro and Spud saying “AND ROCKSTAR SPUD!”, leading to Ken saying he doesn’t go out and wear a bowtie when he’s out there. This is a cluster of a tournament and we badly need graphics for it.

Aries comes down saying that a lot of people are saying they’re great and deserve to be champions, but he’s got a case to prove it and he’s the greatest man that ever lived. He’ll team up with his former partner, the other half of the Dirty Heels, Bobby Roode. This should be a good tournament…and if you were excited by the thought of it, then surely the clips of the Hardys against a couple of other teams in the Ultimate X match should be entice you to watch it, right? Because otherwise, spoiling the entire tournament would just be stupid.

They show the Tag Team Gold graphic and it’s just all of the teams in a cluster. This made it seem like it was just every team in the Ultimate X except for the graphic saying that was the end-game. EY comes out first and Josh says he respects EY for attacking Kurt. Isn’t Josh a babyface? Why is he supporting all of these heels being cowards? Lashley comes out to JB hyping him up as THE DESTROYYYYERR. Angle comes down and Taz says that Kurt excels being hurt and proved it by winning an Olympic gold medal with a broken neck. Josh says Kurt passes the eye test and doesn’t look banged up. Taz says that Kurt hides it really well.

Eric Young vs. Lashley vs. TNA World Champion Kurt Angle

EY starts by stalling on the floor. Angle gets a go-behind on Lashley while Josh uses WWE math on the percentage Kurt has to retain. Overhead belly to belly by Kurt to Lashley sets up corner uppercuts and punches. EY tells them to fight and they just go out and beat him up with ping pong punches a Hart Attack. EY goes on the floor and Lashley tosses him into a Kurt clothesline for a break.

DA once again airs the Tag Team Gold spoiler video and we get another Sting DVD ad. EY slides under Lashley on the apron, but eats a German. Angles lariats him down in the corner and sends Lashley to the floor. Angle snap suplexes EY down and gets 2. Hector Guerrero @Lazortron tweets about how good Kurt is and EY gets a piledriver for 2 thank to Lashley coming in for a save. Lashley gets a delayed vertical suplex to Kurt and he lands a spear for 2 before EY comes in. EY punches Lashley, who leapfrogs over him before favoring his knee and low bridging EY.

Rolling Germans to Lashley from Kurt mid-ring. Rolling Germans to EY as well. Kurt snaps the strap and locks on the ankle lock to Lashley. Given the leg damage, this move has that much more meaning now. Lashley rolls through and sends him to the floor before EY gets the figure four. Josh says Lashley was in the ankle lock for three minutes and now he’s in the figure four. Well, he might’ve been in both things for a total of three minutes. Lashley gets the rope and forces a break. EY gets a chair and puts it in the corner while the ref is looking at Lashley on the mat.

Lashley clotheslines him down and gets a delayed vertical suplex. Lashley goes for the chair, but EY sidesteps it and Lashley spears the chair with his head. Angle Slam to EY and then to Lashley before hitting the moonsault and winning! Well, if he’s going to bust that move out, I’m glad he’s at least hitting it and winning with it. This wasn’t a classic, but was really good and fun to watch from beginning to end. Kurt holds the title high while his red and blue lighting goes off behind him on the ramp.

EY grabs the chair and attacks before Pillmanizing the left leg of Lashley. He locks on the figure four, and Taz says that EY could be ending Lashley’s career. Well, the mere idea of that sounds insane, but they at least did an awesome job of building EY up. This isn’t quite the right character to give this kind of push to, but EY is the right guy to get the push. They close the show with more footage of Tag Team Gold. It will be a tournament (still without brackets) and the winning teams go onto Ultimate X. We get a cool close-up of the World Tag Team Titles to close the video out.

This was a pretty good edition of Impact overall. None of the matches were bad, and they were all entertaining and story-furthering. The Rising came off as a bigger deal tonight than ever before and the increased emphasis on the tag team titles was done about as well as could be expected given how rushed this whole situation is. The main event took Lashley out of the main event for a while, but does set up more Lashley-EY matches down the road, and some EY-Angle stuff now. Both of those should result in good matches, so while EY’s current character isn’t the best, he’s a great worker to have in the main event mix.

President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that there would be no deal to save hundreds of thousands of "Dreamers" from deportation, as he warned of "caravans" of migrants heading to the US border.

"Dreamers" are illegal immigrants brought to the US as children by their parents. There are approximately 800,000 in the United States, while the name stems from the Obama-era Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (Dream) Act.

During a series of immigration-related Easter Sunday tweets, Mr Trump suggested that negotiations on preventing the deportation of "Dreamers" had failed.

He wrote: "Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border [sic] because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. “Caravans” coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!"

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However, when questioned by journalists about what exactly he meant by "no more DACA deal" he was more circumspect.

"Mexico has got to help us at the border," he said as he arrived at a church service in Florida with the first lady, Melania Trump.

"If they’re not going to help us at the border, it’s a very sad thing. Mexico has got help us at the border. And a lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of DACA," he said.

Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. “Caravans” coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2018

The president added: "And we’re going to have to really see. They had a great chance, the Democrats blew it. They had a great, great chance. But we’ll have to take a look. But Mexico has got to help us at the border. They flow right through Mexico. They send them into the United States. Can’t happen that way anymore."

Mr Trump, who announced the end of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals last year, had always indicated his willingness to protect the "Dreamers" but has so far rejected several Democrat proposals.

White House sources said the president was angered by a report on Fox News showing a march by more than 1,000 migrants heading through Central America hoping to cross the border into the US.

When he refered to the “nuclear option” in his tweet, he was encouraging Republicans to end the Senate rule that requires 60 votes for legislation to be passed.

In a further tweet, he threatened to dismantle the North America Free Trade Agreement to punish Mexico for failing to prevent illegal immigration.

"Mexico is doing very little, if not NOTHING, at stopping people from flowing into Mexico through their Southern Border, and then into the U.S. They laugh at our dumb immigration laws. They must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL!"

By Ryan Frederick for WrestlingObserver.com

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is back on the UFC 186 card on Saturday and fighting Fabio Maldonado in a 215-pound catchweight bout.

Jackson (35-11) and Maldonado were originally scheduled to fight, but Bellator won an injuction, claiming Jackson was still under contract. Jackson filed an appeal and the injunction was overturned Tuesday by the Superior Court of New Jersey’s Appellate Division. Thus, he is back on the show, bolstering a lineup that had been plagued by injuries.

Maldonado had been rebooked to fight Steve Bosse, a former NHL player, who was talked out of retirement to fight on the show. Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson vs. Kyoji Horiguchi main events with Michael Bisping vs. C.B. Dollaway as the co-main event. Bosse is no longer on the card, but is expected to get his show money.

Jackson returns to the UFC for the first time since January 2013 and has competed in Bellator three times since then, winning all three of his fights.

From Bellator: “We are gratified that the Appellate Division did not disturb part of the Chancery Division order enjoining Jackson, but are disappointed that they reversed the injunction as to the April 25 fight. We continue to believe that Judge Suter’s decision was thorough, well reasoned and correct, and are evaluating our options.”

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We haven’t heard the last of this one.

Police in Germany were on Sunday morning trying to make sense of why a 48-year-old local man with no known links to terrorism drove a minivan into a crowded open-air restaurant terrace, killing two people before shooting himself dead.

Although the perpetrator has not been officially named, he has been identified locally as Jens R, a German citizen born about an hour south of the city of Münster, where the attack took place.

“So far there are no indications of a possible motive. The investigation is being conducted at full speed and in all directions,” Martin Botzenhardt of the local prosecutor’s office said.

Authorities are believed to have all but ruled out Islamist extremism as a motive, after establishing Jens R had no links to the Islamist scene.

Instead they are said to be working on the theory the attack may have been a form of “extended” suicide.

A body is loaded into a vehicle in front of the restaurant in Muenster, GermanyCredit:
David Young/dpa via AP

Jens R is believed to have had a history of mental illness, and had reportedly made an earlier attempt at suicide. He also reportedly spoke of committing suicide in a “spectacular” manner.

Complicating matters further, he is also said to have had links with the German far-Right scene, though it is not clear how close these alleged links were. According to some reports he had been in touch with far-Right groups over the internet, but was not politically active.

He was also reportedly known to police for a number of petty crimes, such as stealing cell phones and car radios.

Police have now ruled out earlier reports of two possible accomplices escaping from the minivan at the scene of the attack.

A car drove into a group of people in the western German city of Münster

Explosives teams were called in overnight to defuse what was at first feared to be a booby trap in the minvan, but it turned out to be fireworks.

A second gun was also found inside the car. A search of Jens R’s flat uncovered a Kalashnikov assault rifle, but it had been deactivated and was unable to fire.

The two people killed in the attack were both German. They were identified on Sunday as a 65-year-old man from Borken, about an hour west of Münster, and a 51-year-old woman from Lüneburg, 180 miles to the north.

Around 20 people were injured in the attack, and several were still in critical condition on Sunday morning according to the authorities.

Who was the driver?

Police said the driver, named locally as 48-year-old German national Jens R, shot himself dead after ramming into the crowd.

According to a report by Süddeutsche Zeitung, the German newspaper, he had a history of mental health issues.

Münster locator

What happened?

A van ploughed into people sitting outside on a warm afternoon in Münster, crashing into tables outside of the Grosser Kiepenkerl restaurant in the historic centre of the city. The restaurant is a popular tourist attraction in the picturesque city of 300,000 residents.

Forensic experts work at the scene on SaturdayCredit:
David Young/dpa via AP

Lino Baldi, who owns an Italian restaurant in Münster near the scene of the crash, told Sky TG24 that the city centre was packed due to a Saturday market and summer-like temperatures.

The vehicle struck at 3.27pm as tourists and students basked in the sunshine.

People light candles in tribute to the deadCredit:
Friso Gensch/dpa via AP

A witness told Germany’s NTV: "There was a bang and then screaming. The police arrived and got everyone out of here. There were a lot of people screaming. I’m angry, it’s cowardly to do something like this."

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "This was a serious act of violence. My deep sympathy goes to all those who have lost a loved one."

Münster is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, to the west of Germany near the border with the Netherlands. Around a fifth of the population are students, and there are four universities within the city. It is also known as the bicycle capital of Germany.

Police officers and forensic scientists stand by the van used in the incidentCredit:
Alexander Koerner/Getty Images

A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "our thoughts are with the victims and their families" who were killed and injured in the incident.

Spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer on Twitter called the crash Saturday "terrible news."

Katarina Barley, the German justice minister, added: "We must do everything to clarify the background of the incident."

Markus Lewe, the city’s mayor, said the motive was unclear.

Let’s not jump to conclusions, but this doesn’t sound like a simple accident to me. https://t.co/SkjPZzFnoq

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 7, 2018

He added: "All of Münster is mourning this horrible incident. Our sympathy is with the relatives of those who were killed. We wish the injured a quick recovery. At this point we don’t know the background to the incident."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed that they are in touch with local authorities in Germany and "stand ready to assist any British nationals who may be affected."

Timeline of vehicle rampage attacks in Europe

Vehicle attacks in Europe

The incident happened on the one-year anniversary of a truck attack in Stockholm that killed five people and seriously injured 14 others.

Germany has experienced a number of terrorist attacks in recent years, including through the deadly use of vehicles.

In December 19, 2016, Tunisian national Anis Amri, 24, hijacked a truck and slammed it into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48.

Amri was shot dead by Italian police in Milan four days later after travelling through several European countries. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) claimed responsibility for that attack.

Isil also claimed several similar attacks in Europe, including a rampage along Barcelona’s Las Ramblas boulevard in August 2017 that killed 14 and left more than 100 injured.

The deadliest such incident in recent years was in the French resort city of Nice in 2016, where a man rammed a truck into a crowd on France’s national July 14 holiday, killing 86 people.

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By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

June is shaping up to be another big month in the UFC with events on all four Saturdays of the month as the Octagon will be in three different countries during the month. Up first will be UFC Fight Night 68 on June 6 in New Orleans, followed by UFC 188 on June 13 in Mexico City, then a trek overseas for UFC Fight Night 69 in Berlin on June 20, and ending the month in Hollywood, Florida for the The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4 Finale on June 27. With a full slate of fights coming our way this month, it is time to take a look at ten fights to keep an eye on during the month of June.

Honorable Mentions:
Tecia Torres vs. Angela Hill-UFC 188-June 13
Dennis Siver vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri-UFC Fight Night 69-June 20
Lorenz Larkin vs. Santigao Ponzinibbio-TUF Brazil 4 Finale-June 27

10. Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nate Marquardt-UFC 188-June 13

Gastelum is a former TUF winner who had some success competing in the welterweight division. However, he also had trouble making weight, missing weight in two of his last three fights, and having trouble making weight for other fights. He missed weight by ten pounds for his last bout, prompting UFC President Dana Whtie to force him to move up to middleweight. Marquardt is another fighter moving to middleweight from the welterweight division, though he fought at middleweight for the majority of his career. The move down to 170 pounds didn’t pan out for Marquardt, and it took a toll on him physically, so he moved back up. He is 1-1 since going back to 185 pounds, while Gastelum will be coming into this fight off of his first career loss. Gastelum scored the biggest win of his career the last time the UFC was in Mexico City, a first-round submission of Jake Ellenberger, and he is hoping that history will repear itself.

9. Tim Boetsch vs. Dan Henderson-UFC Fight Night 68-June 6

Tim Boetsch and Dan Henderson will headline UFC Fight Night 68 in New Orleans after the original main event, Daniel Cormier against Ryan Bader, was changed when Cormier was moved to a title fight, which he won last month at UFC 187. Boetsch and Henderson were tapped as the new main event despite the fact both men are coming in off of losses, and have only won a combined three fights in their last twelve combined fights. Henderson still has that vicious right hand power, but he has faded as he has entered the twilight of his career. He is better fit at 185 pounds, but Boetsch is a powerful middleweight fighter. Boetsch has had some knockout victories, and he gets the chance to compete in his first main event UFC bout. This fight probably isn’t even the best fight on the June 6 card, but it gets the chance to shine in the showcase spot.

8. Rick Story vs. Erick Silva-TUF Brazil 4 Finale-June 27

Story and Silva were originally supposed to headline the TUF Brazil 4 Finale when it was scheduled for Sao Paulo, but with the event moving to Florida, they were bumped down to the semi-main event in favor of a more marketable main event. That isn’t to say this won’t be a fun fight. Silva is known for exciting fights as he comes out quick and looking to finish. Story is a more methodical fighter, and he can be in some boring fights, but he has been in some exciting fights as well. Story is currently ranked at number eleven in the UFC’s welterweight rankings following a split decision win over Gunnar Nelson in October. Silva is looking to crack into the top 15 of the rankings after two straight wins, but he will need to get out of that first round as all of his UFC wins have come in the first round, having yet to win a fight that has gone past five minutes in the Octagon. This is a pretty underrated fight this month, and one to definitely keep an eye on.

7. Henry Cejudo vs. Chico Camus-UFC 188-June 13

This is a fight that could have title shot ramifications, and is the only fight currently scheduled for the preliminary card to make this list. Cejudo is being built as a flyweight contender as long as he can show he can continually make weight. After winning in his flyweight debut over Chris Cariaso at UFC 185 in March, Cejudo was open about wanting to fight on the UFC 188 card in Mexico City as he has a Hispanic heritage. It took some time to announce this bout as Cejudo was rumored to be dealing with an injury, but the fight with Camus that was in the works was finally announced in late April. Camus had a successful flyweight debut win over Brad Pickett in November, and he will be looking to score the upset and make it two straight wins. Cejudo is the guy buing built for Demetrious Johnson, and this is a fight made for him to use his wrestling to domiante in, but he shouldn’t take Camus lightly. This will be another interesting test for Cejudo.

6. Ben Rothwell vs. Matt Mitrione-UFC Fight Night 68-June 6
Honestly, this bout probably should have been named the main event of UFC Fight Night 68 when the original headliner was cancelled. Rothwell has won two straight, and three of his last four overall, and is coming off a big first-round knockout win over Alistair Overeem in September. He has been out of action for nine months and makes his return against Mitrione. Mitrione is coming in as perhaps the hottest fighter in the heavyweight division, having won three straight fights, all by knockout in the first round, and four of his last five overall. He has improved dramatically, and eight of his nine career wins have come by a finish. More importantly, this fight will have some title contention meaning as the UFC’s heavyweight division is open to all contenders at the moment. This is a big fight to watch, and one that probably will see a finish.

5. Dustin Poirier vs. Yancy Medeiros-UFC Fight Night 68-June 6
This fight has the chance to be the best fight on the UFC Fight Night 68 card on June 6 in New Orleans. Poirier gets what he wants, a chance to fight in New Orleans just two months after his last bout, and this will be his second fight since returning to the lightweight division. He scored a first-round knockout over Carlos Diego Ferreira in April, and he has looked strong with wins in four of his last five fights, the only loss coming to Conor McGregor. Medeiros will be coming into the bout with Poirier having won two straight fights by submission, scoring wins over Damon Jackson and Joe Proctor, and he has been honored with “Performance Of The Night” in both fights. Both men come out swinging in their fights, and both have solid submission skills. This has the makings of being the best fight in the month of June.

4. Lyoto Machida vs. Yoel Romero-TUF Brazil 4 Finale-June 27

This fight was announced kinda out of nowhere in the middle of May as the new headliner for the TUF Brazil 4 Finale on June 27. That event was originally scheduled to be in Sao Paulo, Brazil and to be headlined by Rick Story against Erick Silva, but the event was moved to Florida and needed a bigger main event, and this bout was made. It is a very interesting fight and a chance for Romero to prove if he can be a contender at 185 pounds. Romero was supposed to fight Ronaldo Souza in April but was forced out due to a ligament and meniscus tear in his knee. He may be coming back too soon from that injury, especially against an opponent like Machida. Machida is coming off a disappointing submission loss to Luke Rockhold in April, and it was the worst loss of his career. He will be looking to bounce back, and a second straight loss would likely end any chance Machida would have of fighting for the championship again. Romero winning would put him in the same group as Rockhold and Souza looking for the next crack at Chris Weidman.

3. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Jessica Penne-UFC Fight Night 69-June 20
For the first time in the history of the UFC’s digital network, UFC Fight Pass, a championship will be on the line when the Octagon returns to Germany on June 20 for UFC Fight Night 69. UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrezjczyk will make her first title defense against the challenger, Jessica Penne, in the headliner in Berlin. Jedrezjczyk won the championship at UFC 185 in March in a dominant win over former title holder Carla Esparza, finishing her with punches in the second round. Penne was selected as the challenger when the original main event for this card was cancelled and they needed a fill-in, and she was probably the best available opponent for Jedrzejczyk. Penne is a former Invicta Atomweight Champion, but she is probably still a little undersized for the strawweight division. She defeated Randa Markos in a close fight in her UFC debut, and has won five of her last six fights.

2. Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez-UFC 188-June 13

This is a fight that has been years in the making since when Melendez was the Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and Alvarez was the Bellator Lightweight Champion. There was talk of an inter-promotional bout between the two six years ago, but it went nowhere as their was little chance of it even happening. Now, both are in the UFC, both are no longer champions, and both are looking to get to the title fight. Melendez has surprisingly had two title shots in three UFC bouts, but has come up on the short end to Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis. Alvarez has only fought in the Octagon once so far, losing a decision to the red-hot Donald Cerrone. Both men have Hispanic heritage, and they get the semi-main event slot on UFC 188 in Mexico City on June 13. This has the makings of a great fight, and Melendez and Alvarez are both known for putting on great fights. This is another potential fight of the month.

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1. Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum-UFC 188-June 13

It looks like we will finally get the long-awaited heavyweight championship battle between current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum as we will finally get an undisputed champion. They will headline when the Octagon returns to Mexico City on June 13, just like they were scheduled to in November when the UFC went to the city for the first time for UFC 180. Velasquez was forced out due to injury, and Werdum went on to defeat Mark Hunt for the interim belt. Velasquez hasn’t fought since defending the title against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 166 in October 2013, and he has a bad history of injuries. He has seen his teammates do well in his absence, with Daniel Cormier becoming a champion and Luke Rockhold becoming the top contender. Velasquez wants to return with a statement and make himself the undisputed champion. With this being the biggest fight of the month, it rightfully takes our top spot as the fight to watch in June.

The day before Bill Cosby’s chief accuser was to take the witness stand at his sexual assault retrial, a former model and TV personality on Thursday gave jurors her own harrowing account of being drugged and raped by the comedy star in 1982.

Janice Dickinson, one of five other accusers who testified against Cosby, told jurors that the comedian gave her a pill he claimed would ease her menstrual cramps but instead left her immobilised and unable to stop an assault she called "gross".

"I didn’t consent to this. Here was ‘America’s Dad,’ on top of me. A married man, father of five kids, on top of me," Dickinson said. "I was thinking how wrong it was. How very wrong it was."

Dickinson’s testimony helped prosecutors tee up a climactic courtroom appearance by Andrea Constand, the former Temple University women’s basketball administrator whom Cosby is charged with drugging and molesting at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004. Constand was expected to testify Friday – the second time she will face a jury after Cosby’s first trial ended without a verdict.

Cosby says his sexual encounter with Constand was consensual, asserting through his lawyers that she set him up to score a big payday. Cosby settled her civil suit for $3.4 million in 2006.

Andrea Constand is due to give her testimony on FridayCredit:
Reuters

On Thursday, it was Dickinson’s turn to tell jurors that Cosby had taken advantage of her after knocking her out with drugs. She said he smelled of cigars and espresso as he got on top of her in his Lake Tahoe, Nevada, hotel room.

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Dickinson, 27 at the time, testified she felt vaginal pain and, after waking up the next morning, noticed semen between her legs. She said Cosby looked at her "like I was crazy" when she confronted him about what had happened.

"I wanted to hit him. I wanted to punch him in the face," she said.

A former reality TV personality who has called herself the "world’s first supermodel," Dickinson became one of the first women to go public with her allegations against Cosby when she told her story on "Entertainment Tonight" in 2014.

Cosby’s musical director left, Dickinson said, and Cosby told her, "We’ll continue this conversation upstairs."

Dickinson had a Polaroid camera with her, she said, and snapped photos of Cosby in the room wearing a colorful robe and talking on the telephone. Then Cosby pounced.

Bill Cosby with the cast of the Cosby ShowCredit:
NBC via Getty Images

"Shortly after I took the pictures and he finished the conversation, he got on top of me," Dickinson said. "His robe opened up. … I couldn’t move.

"I didn’t fly to Tahoe to have sex with Mr. Cosby," she said.

Dickinson, the only celebrity accuser to testify against Cosby, parried with defence attorneys who seized on discrepancies between her testimony Thursday and what she wrote about their encounter in her 2002 autobiography.

She told jurors she wanted to include details about the assault, but wound up telling a highly sanitised version in which there was no sex at all, let alone a rape, because her publisher told her the legal department would never let the allegations against Cosby make it to print.

Dickinson said she went along because she needed the money – and feared Cosby would ruin her career.

Lise-Lotte Lublin told jurors she lost consciousness and doesn’t remember anything else about that night in 1989 – a time when Cosby was at the height of his fame starring as sweater-wearing father-of-five Dr Cliff Huxtable on America’s top-rated TV show, The Cosby Show.

"I trusted him because he’s ‘America’s Dad,’" Lublin said. "I trusted him because he’s a figure people trusted for many years, including myself."

Dickinson and Lublin were among five additional accusers whom prosecutors called to the stand to show Cosby had a history of drugging and molesting women long before he was charged with violating Constand.

The defence has dismissed the other women’s testimony as "prosecution by distraction."

"These women proved that they were here to back up their sister – they got their sister’s back," Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt said Thursday outside court.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand and the other women have done.

Kenny Omega recently made an appearance on the Busted Open radio show on SiriusXM. Bully Ray was serving as guest co-host and asked Omega how he managed to become so popular without the WWE media machine behind him.
“I think the digital age helped a lot,” Omega explained.

Kenny Omega: I’m Using My Life to Tell Stories in the Ring
Omega discussed the impact streaming services have had on wrestling. Omega believes advances in this technology has helped more fans discover different types of wrestling.
“Now with everything one-click away, they are able to see whatever they want. I think, I really don’t know, I, perhaps through word-of-mouth or whatever, somehow my matches became a topic of conversation outside of what happens in WWE. ”
Kenny Omega will team with Kota Ibushi to take on the Young Bucks this weekend. Strong Style Evolved takes place March 25th, 2018 from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.

Month: July 2020

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Janice Dickinson says she wanted to ‘punch Cosby in face after rape’

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