THE ROUND-UP
THE LATEST NEWS
Impact Wrestling viewership up one percent this week
AXS TV to air NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed on delay
Tony Ferguson to return at UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe confirmed for WWE Hell in a Cell
Impact Wrestling results: Mexican Death Match
NXT TV taping spoilers: TakeOver fallout, title vs. title match
THE LATEST AUDIO
F4D: LANCE STORM returns to talk Performance Center, Becky Lynch, storytelling and more! 8/24
WOL: Road Dogg, Mike Quackenbush, news, feedback, more! 8/24
Wrestling Weekly: Bullet Club pact, Becky & Charlotte, Roman 8/24
Left My Wallet: Joey Ryan 8/24
B&V&G: Granny, NXT, THURSDAY NIGHT POTPOURRI! 8/23
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s NXT show in Bartow, FL to [email protected].
We’ll be doing a weekend poll for TripleMania, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING ON AXS TV AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TIME
Kenny Omega vs. Tama Tonga
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto
Sanada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
MLW ON BEINSPORTS AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TIME
Pentagon Jr. & Fenix vs. ACH & Rich Swann for tag titles
Dirty Blondes vs. Simon Gotch & Fred Yehi
Jason Cade vs. Jimmy Yuta
CMLL AT ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME
Angelito & Ultimo Dragoncito vs. Pequeno Nitro & Mercurio
Audaz & Triton & Templario vs. Virus & Kawato San & Esfinge
Angel de Oro vs. Titan
Flyer & Soberano Jr. & El Hijo de L.A. Park vs. Hechicero & Mephisto & Negro Casas
Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero & L.A. Park vs. Ciber the Main Man & Scharly Rock Star & The Chris
Volador Jr. & Matt Taven & Caristico vs. Rush & Cavernario & Bestia del Ring
On Saturday, we’re looking for reports from the WWE Smackdown house show in Halifax, Nova Scotia, ROH TV tapings in Philadelphia (Cody & Young Bucks defend six-man titles against Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas, Punishment Martinez defends TV title against Aaron Solow, Hurricane Helms vs. Marty Scurll, Kenny King vs. Hangman Page, Coast 2 Coast vs. Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan, The Boys vs. Baretta & Chuckie T), Cheeseburger vs. Will Ferrara, Sumie Sakai vs. Tasha Steelz non-title), NXT in Largo, FL and the WWE U.K.TV tapings in Birmingham, UK (which will include a tournament to crown the NXT UK women’s title) to [email protected].
UFC FROM LINCOLN, NEBRASKA ON SATURDAY
Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. Eastern
Rani Yahya vs. Luke Sanders
Jon Tuck vs. Drew Dober
Kalindra Faria vs. Joanne Calderwood
FS2 at 8 p.m. Eastern
Mickey Gall vs. George Sullivan
Andrew Sanchez vs. Markus Perez
Cory Sandhagen vs. Iuri Alcantara
Jams Krause vs. Warlley Alves
FS1 at 10 p.m. Eastern
Tim Williams vs. Erik Anders
John Moraga vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Jake Ellenberger vs. Bryan Barbarena
Angela Hill vs. Cortney Casey
Michael Johnson vs. Andre Fili
James Vick vs. Justin Gaethje
AAA TRIPLEMANIA AT 7:30 P.M. EASTERN FROM ARENA CIUDAD IN MEXICO CITY ON THE AAA TWITCH CHANNEL
Llave de Gloria match
Australian Suicide vs. Shane Strickland vs. ACH vs. Sammy Guevera for the AAA cruiserweight title
Nino Hamburguesa & Big Mami vs. El Hijo del Vikingo & Vanilla vs. Dinastia & Lady Maravilla vs. Angelikal & Hiedra for the AAA mixed tag team titles
Aero Star & Drago vs. Golden Magic & Laredo Kid vs. Bandido & Flamita vs. DJZ & Andrew Everett for AAA tag titles in a ladder match
Mamba & Maximo & Pimpinela Escarlata vs. Carta Brava Jr. & Mocho Cota Jr.& Tito Santana
Jack Evans & Juventud Guerrera & Teddy Hart vs. Averno & Chessman & Super Fly in a lumberjack match
La Mascara & Rey Escorpion & El Texano Jr. vs. Joe Lider & Pagano & Murder Clown in a street fight
Jeff Jarrett vs. Brian Cage vs. Fenix vs. Rich Swann for AAA heavyweight title
Lady Shani vs. Faby Apache mask vs. hair
El Hijo del Fantasma vs. L.A. Park vs. Psycho Clown vs. Pentagon Jr. in a cage match, ultimate loser gets unmasked
Sunday has WWE Raw in Rochester, NY, Smackdown in Saint John, New Brunswick and WWE UK TV tapings in Birmingham, UK (including the finals of the NXT women’s title tournament).
Monday has the live Raw in Toronto plus a Smackdown house show in Peterborough, ONT, which will contain a Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley match from Raw.
Smackdown and 205 Live are taped Tuesday in Toronto with Charlotte Flair vs. Carmella for the women’s title and Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Sheamus & Cesaro for a tag team title shot.
The Raw crew has a Wednesday night house show at the O2 Arena in London.
F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: ROH and NJPW sell out Madison Square Garden
With All In still a few weeks away, the second pro wrestling show in the United States to sell over 10,000 tickets since the death of WCW is already official. Tickets for Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden went on sale last week, with the April 6, 2019 event selling out in just a few days. Approximately 9,000 of the 15,000 tickets were sold after the first day of the HonorClub pre-sale, they were up over 12,000 after a second day of pre-sales, and they sold out shortly after being made available to the general public last Friday.
WON NEWSLETTER: (August 20, 2018) Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Jim Neidhart, ROH/NJPW sell out MSG
It’s a big news and history issue of the Observer out this week. Look at the decision to make Roman Reigns Universal champion, how WWE went about doing it, the Becky Lynch situation, the future of Brock Lesnar, the business of SummerSlam, and a rundown of All In ticket sales and Madison Square Garden ticket sales for ROH that has a very interesting lesson.
There is a long story on the career of Villano III, the famous match of the year with Atlantis and go back to 2000 for the atmosphere of that unique show.
Run down NXT Takeover Brooklyn, with business of the how, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Also run down plans for the NXT Evolution top of the card, exactly where the WrestleMania main events stand, how the Mae Young Classic finals had to be changed, the U.K. women’s tournament, and more on Matt Riddle signing with WWE.
Also look at L.A. Park vs. Rush, what happened to the match, the politics behind it, the CMLL anniversary show and Impact going head-to-head in Mexico City with the anniversary show.
Examine AAA’s TripleMania show and the controversy regarding Alberto El Patron and the show.
Read about New Japan’s biggest matches for the next seven weeks, including Long Beach and King of Pro Wrestling.
Also look back at the G-1 Climax tournament with a look at the consistency of work, the biggest matches and much more.
Read a huge history piece on Walt Harris and 1960s Northern California pro wrestling and the heyday of Roller Derby.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
For those asking, the 9/30 Long Beach New Japan show will air live on NJPW World. It won’t air on AXS TV until 10/5 in its normal Friday night time slot. Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly will be announcing since Josh Barnett will be at the Rizin show at the Saitama Super Arena cornering one of his fighters that night.
For this weekend, the Raw crew has off until Sunday because after Raw, they are flying to England immediately and then also running shows in both Osaka, Japan and Shanghai, China over the weekend.
Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton are off this weekend’s Smackdown house shows.
Secondary market tickets for UFC 229 are going at one of the higher rates in history, second only to the first MSG show as far as MMA goes and behind only the biggest sports events in recent years. The lowest price to get in right now going at $712.50.
Vince McMahon turned 73 today.
The UFC 25th anniversary short films will debut on 9/17 on Fight Pass. They will release new films every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern time with the final film being released on 11/12, which is the actual 25th anniversary of UFC. A number of 30 for 30 directors and producers are involved including Jason Hehir, who did the Andre the Giant HBO documentary, and Rory Karpf, who did the Ric Flair ESPN documentary.
The actual first episode will be released on YouTube on 9/14 about Matt Hughes called “Country Boy Can Survive: The Story of Matt Hughes’ Fight for Survival.” The 9/17 show is called “Octo: The Disputed Origin Story of the UFC Octagon.” The 9/19 story is “The Lion’s Den: The Story of the First Mixed Martial Arts Team.”
WWE
Advertised for the 10/8 Raw in Chicago is Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins & Finn Balor & Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin & Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre & Kevin Owens plus Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle appearing. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything give the track record.
Robin Leach, best known as the host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, which did a few episodes with WWE talent including a worked episode with Ted DiBiase putting his gimmick over, passed away today. Leach also appeared at WrestleMania IV.
OTHER
The movie “I Am Vengeance” starring Stu Bennett, the World of Sports authority figure and formerly known as Wade Barrett, has a very limited U.S. theatrical release this weekend starting tonight, airing in places like New York, Los Angeles,Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Houston, Phoenix, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Miami.
Jack Swagger on Submission Radio regarding a fight with Brock Lesnar that will never happen:
“By compare wrestling techniques you mean that I can take Brock Lesnar down at will? Yes, then we compared wrestling techniques. I could close my eyes and tie one hand behind my back and I could bounce Brock Lesnar’s forehead off the mat if he ever, ever tried to wrestle with me (laughs).”
When it comes to pro wrestling, things sometimes don’t go to plan, Jake explained how he had to teach a couple of lessons from time to time in the WWE ring:
“Oh yeah, absolutely. Sometimes the amateur wrestling doesn’t send the right message. Like, if you squeeze someone down and put the clamps on and they’re still like squirming a little bit, sometimes you just gotta use the old right hand to get them to calm down. You can ask Cesaro about this. I’m friends with Brodus Clay, but we were tagging with him on Raw one day and he just wasn’t getting the message. And like, Cesaro was hitting him pretty hard and tagged me in, and I started hitting him hard and he still wasn’t getting the message. So me and Tony just kind of looked at each other, and I mean, I hit him with everything I had and I’m pretty sure he went down (laughs).”
And although he hasn’t had a chance to fight twice in 2018 as promised, he still plans on making his debut at the end of the year:
“I think I absolutely will fight in 2018. It’s too late now to fight twice in 2018. I got real busy with professional wrestling with Lucha Underground back at the beginning of the year. Bellator’s been great to work with. They allowed me to do that and continue making a name for myself outside the octagon, which just goes for miles and miles for someone that I want to work with. You know, it really means a lot when they make it easy and they make you feel like you’re wanted there.”
“We’re still planning on November, December of 2018 for Bellator.”
“In my mind, I’m gonna fight at the end of 2018. I’m gonna make a statement and then in a couple of months I’m gonna fight again since I’m already in the shape, I’ve already got the camp going.”
Pro Wrestling Revolver on 10/20 in West Des Moines, IA at the Val Air Ballroom with Sami Callihan & Jake & Dave Crist & Larry D vs. Shane Strickland & Matthew Palmer & Jason Cade & ?, Walter vs. PCO, Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs. Mat Fitchett & Davey Vega vs. Dustin Rayz & Aaron Williams, JT Dunn vs. Jimmy Jacobs, Rich Swann vs. David Starr vs. Trey Miguel and Marko Stunt vs. Ace Romero.
Rise on 10/19 in Berwyn, IL with Rise champion Tessa Blanchard vs. Mercedes Martinez in a 60 minute Iron woman match and Dust & Raven’s Ash defend the tag titles against Delilah Doom & Shotzi Blackheart.
USA Championship Wrestling on 8/24 in Selmer, TN at the Community Center headlined by Matt Riviera vs. Brandon White.
Millennials Wrestling Organization on 9/1 in Port Colborne, ONT with Josh Alexander vs. Beautiful Beaa.
AAW’s shows on both 8/30 and 8/31 at the Logan Square Arena in Chicago before All In are sold out.
Powerslam.tv this past week released Over the Top’s Scappermania 4, New Zealand’s Southern Pro Wrestling’s Southern Rumble and Spain’s White Wolf Wrestling’s Noruels Day. They now have 90 promotions on deals and have 2,900 hours of content.
Gary Cappetta has his “Beyond Bodyslams” talk shows on 8/25 in Atlantic City, 9/21 in Chicago, 10/6 in Pittsburgh and 11/23 in Winston-Salem, NC. Joel Gertner will appear at the Atlantic City show while Brian Pillman Jr. will be in Chicago. He talks about people like Steve Austin, Bruno Sammartino, Undertaker and Dusty Rhodes. Tickets for all shows are here and you can get 20 percent off tickets using the code: GMC20
Pro Wrestling Phoenix on 9/19 in Omaha at the Waiting Room Lounge.
Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Vandal Ortagun has been added to the 9/6 War Games MLW show in Fort Lauderdale at the War Memorial Auditorium.
Toa Henare vs. Will Power on 9/1 for SPW in New Zealand.
ONE has announced its debut in Tokyo with a show on 3/31. They announced a 30-show schedule for next year, with 24 dates announced:
1/19 in Jakarta, Indonesia
1/25 in Manila, Philippines
2/16 in Bangkok, Thailand
2/22 in Kallang, Singapore
3/8 in Yangon, Myanmar
3/31 in Tokyo
4/5 in Manila
5/4 in Jakarta
5/11 in Bangkok
5/17 in Kallang
6/7 in Beijing, China
6/15 in Macau
6/28 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
7/20 in Guangzhou, China
8/2 in Manila
8/17 in Bangkok
9/6 in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
10/11 in Tokyo
10/26 in Jakarta
11/9 in Shanghai, China
11/22 in Kallang
12/6 in Kuala Lumpur
12/13 in Manila
12/20 in Seoul, South Korea
IWA vs. MCW tomorrow night in Sydney, Australia with Gino Gambino vs. Mehmet for the MCW title and Slex vs. Mick Moretti for the Intercommonwealth title.
Evolve on 9/7 in Joppa, MD
Joey Janela vs. Penelope Ford in a no DQ match for WWN title
Chris Dickinson vs. AR Fox
Jon Davis vs. Josh Briggs must be a winner
Evolve on 9/8 in Queens,NY
Shane Strickland vs. Tracy Williams for Evolve title
Chris Dickinson & Jaka vs. the Skulk for Evolve tag titles
AR Fox vs. Austin Theory
Joey Janela vs. Trey Miguel
Darby Allin vs. Josh Briggs
Combate Americas on 9/14 in Phoenix with Levy Saul Marroqin (11-2) vs. Jose Alday (11-3-1) and Tracy Cortez (3-1) vs. Karen Cedillo (1-0). The show will air live on both Univision and Univision Deportes at midnight Eastern time.
Rico Verhoeven faces former UFC fighter Guto Inocente for the Glory heavyweight title on 9/29 at the Johan Cruijff Arena soccer stadium.
There will be a red carpet world premiere of the documentary movie “Journeyman,” a movie about journeymen wrestler Francisco Ciatso and wife Stormie Lee, at the Full Moon Cineplex in Nashville on 8/30. Showtime is 7 p.m. All seats are $8.
XICW announced a 10/13 show at Cobo Hall in Detroit. The show will honor Malcolm Monroe Sr. and The Sheik. To honor The Sheik, they are reviving the old Detroit territory’s U.S. championship belt.
D-Lo Brown headlines for Alpha One Wrestling on 11/4 at 2 p.m. on Oshawa, ONT at 219 Olive Ave.
Melboune City Wrestling will be running a show called WrestleBrunch, a 10/6 Saturday morning show at the Corner Hotel before the WWE show at MCG later that day. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
The CWL promotion out of Detroit which has local TV on WADL-TV announced Matt Striker and James Campbell as the announcers.
Chris Jericho is doing a TV special called “Chris Jericho: Monster Hunt” on 10/10 on The Travel Channel at 10 p.m. The show is about Jericho looking for the swamp creatures of Southern Louisiana.
Combat Zone Wrestling on 9/8 at the Colossal Sports Academy in Voorhees, NJ with a ladder match for a title shot at Zachary Wentz’s title, Alex Reynolds vs. John Silver and BLK OUT vs. The Rep.
Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson wrestle on 8/31 in Franklin, KY at the New South Arena for New South Wrestling, challenging AWA tag team champions Arrick Andrews & Derek Neal.
The documentary Ring Warriors about CWE’s Danny Duggan. This will air on Canadian national television on CBS tomorrow night.
Daily Professional Wrestling History: WWE SummerSlam 2003
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