THE ROUND-UP
The Latest from the F4W Staff
NEWS
UFC’s Josh Barnett debuting at tonight’s TNA TV tapings
TNA Wednesday TV tapings results: Cody returns; Vanguard 1 gets new powers
Lucha Underground mid-season finale results: Main event deathmatch
WWE NXT results: DIY put their titles on the line against The Revival
SmackDown ratings down slightly for this week’s episode
WWE SmackDown video highlights: John Cena takes on Baron Corbin
Rich Swann vs. Neville set for the Royal Rumble
Mark Hunt files lawsuit against the UFC, Brock Lesnar & Dana White
AUDIO
WOL: Michael Elgin and Dave Meltzer interviews, news, more! 1/12
WOR: Smackdown, 205 Live, Impact, New Japan, Hunt vs. UFC, more! 1/12
F4D: Smackdown, Impact, Geek of the Week, tons more! 1/11
FREE WOL! Smackdown, Royal Rumble, Mark Hunt vs. UFC, more! 1/11
We’re looking for reports from the NXT shows tonight in Indianapolis and Tampa as well as the TNA tapings tonightin Orlando (Josh Barnett appears and they are doing an angle built around a Laurel Van Ness/Braxton Sutter wedding) to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.
IMPACT TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ON POP TV
Braxton Sutter vs. Mike Bennett
Robbie E & Swoggle vs. Aron Rex & Rockstar Spud
Abyss & Crazzy Steve vs. Bram & Eddie Kingston
Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards for TNA tag team titles
FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 1/9/2017 Chris Hero’s unlikely road back to WWE
Chris Hero returned to NXT as Kassius Ohno last week after a little over three years away from WWE developmental. All that happened in between is that he became arguably the best professional wrestler in the world. It’s not that Hero didn’t enter developmental in 2012 as an excellent performer. He was a genuine independent wrestling star even then, having worked for Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling NOAH, and seemingly everywhere else across the globe… Subscribers click here to continue.
WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: January 16, 2017 The conundrum of Kenny Omega, 2016 in retrospect, more
Tweets by Kenny Omega and an Instagram post by John Cena created a major stir coming off the New Japan Wrestle Kingdom show at the Tokyo Dome. Omega wrote on Twitter that “I will be stepping away from Japan to reassess my future. The path of my journey may change, but my goals will not.” Later he wrote, “There is no plan. My schedule is cleared and I’m weighing all options. I’ve got a lot to consider.”
2016 ended up a monumental year with a number of themes. UFC was sold for $3,995,000,000 and key architects of the company’s success left in the wake of the sale. The company also set a number of PPV records and was, by far, the most successful promotion of its kind in modern history when it came to PPV and profit margin this past year. But with new ownership, and in a business reliant greatly on creating major drawing stars, we’ve already seen cracks in the foundation.
There have been some changes made in WrestleMania plans as noted in recent weeks, with the major thing being that the proposed Undertaker vs. John Cena match is off the boards. Vince McMahon changed his mind on the match, which was to be one of the two biggest matches in 2016, and at one point one of the top matches for the 4/2 show in Orlando. The card will be clearer coming out of the Royal Rumble, on 1/29 in San Antonio… Subscriber click here to continue.
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WON BACK ISSUE: December 19, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWF Armageddon review, more – The one thing I can say for WWF Armageddon is, it was a weird show. When it was over, I couldn’t say that I liked or disliked it, and based on the response here, a lot of people has similar reactions. Some of the undercard wrestling was decent. Nothing was particularly good. A few matches were pretty bad. But that’s to be expected both from the line-up, which didn’t promise on paper one good match, and from the WWF PPV undercards in general… Subscribers click here to continue.
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
WrestleCon has a ridiculous list of talent this year with events at both the Hyatt Regency in Orlando and the Wyndham Resort and will include a number of live shows in a 1,400-seat arena including the first Revolution Pro show in the U.S. and CZW’s Best of the Best tournament. Among those appearing are Ric Flair, Sting, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Terry Funk, Gene Okerlund, Bobby Heenan, Road Warrior Animal, Paul Orndorff, Barry Windham, Rocky Johnson, Ted DiBiase, Jake Roberts, Abdullah the Butcher, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Vickie Guerrero, Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, Eric Bischoff, Bruce Prichard, Honky Tonk Man, Rick Steiner, Scot Steiner, Ken Shamrock, Sandman, Vader, Jacques Rougeau, Billy Gunn, Sabu, Fenix, Rick Martel, Trevor Lee, Joey Ryan, Masato Tanaka, Bob Orton Jr. Lita, Tito Santana, Sexy Star, Maria Kanellis, Tatanka, Jeff Cobb, Eve Marie Torres Gracie, Ryback, Marc Mero, Raven, Ricochet, Pentagon Jr., Taya and tons of others.
Today is the 46th anniversary of the match where Jack Brisco defeated world champion Dory Funk Jr. in a non-title match in Tampa which was the key in really kicking off the Brisco vs Funk Jr. feud that was legendary in wrestling. It was this match, and match on 1/1 in St. Louis that drew an overflow crowd that really established the program and Brisco as a top babyface draw, that resulted in him finally winning the NWA title in 1973.
Michael Cole is already in the U.K. doing promotional work for Saturday & Sunday’s U.K. tournament in Blackpool on the WWE Network.
There is a very sad video message from Perry Saturn regarding his various health issues. He’s attempting to raise money to pay medical bills and keep him from being homeless.
I saw a preview of tomorrow night’s AXS show, which has the Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega match. The show airs the match in its entirety, including the pre-into video, the intros and the Okada post-match promo with subtitles. If you haven’t seen the match, you really should as it will likely be the most talked about match of this year.
WWE
Shawn Michaels did a TMZ interview where he said what is pretty clear, that he will never wrestle again.
WWE got a buy recommendation from Guggenheim earlier today, its second in recent weeks, and the stock is starting to grow again, finishing today at $19.14 per share.
There will be a one-day XFL Exhibition on Saturday at the Cooper Union in New York, which has free admission and some former players are being brought in. This is a promotion for the 30 for 30 special on the XFL that airs on 2/2 . You can see the premiere of the documentary on Saturday at 11 a.m. 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at Cooper Union.
Steve Corino has started working for WWE this week at the Performance Center.
While there are no details Fred Ottman (Typhoon/Tugboat) was hospitalized for several days this past week.
There is a pre-sale for tickets to the 3/20 Raw show from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn using the code BKRAW. Tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday.
2K today announced that WWE 2K17, the latest addition to the flagship video game franchise, will be available worldwide for Windows PC on February 7, 2017. In addition, all WWE 2K17 DLC released to date for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will be available for PC immediately at launch. Any future DLC released after the February 7 PC launch will be available on PC at a later time. For more announcement details, including links to pre-order retailers, check out the blog post here. Download assets supporting today’s announcement here.
UFC
A new TV commercial featuring UFC’s Bruce Buffer is here.
This is a very good article on UFC pay.
MISCELLANEOUS
Hardcore Lucha Libre on 4/9 at the Rockpile in Toronto.
CZW Awakening on Saturday night in Voorhees, NJ at Flyers Skate Zone headlined by Joe Gacy vs. Rickey Shane Page for the CZW title plus Dezmond Xavier, Sami Callihan, Dave Crist, Tim Donst, Matt Tremont and David Starr.
Hardcore Hustle Organization on 2/17 in Williamstown, NJ at 1041 Glassboro Road with a series of Hardcore rules matches.
Grand Slam Wrestling on Saturday night in Old Forge, PA at 1 Maxson Dr. featuring Chuck Taylor.
AAW on 1/20 in Merrionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street features Dave & Jake Crist vs. Eddie Kingston & Homicide in a cage match, Mercedes Martinez vs. Angelina Love, plus Andrew Everett, Sami Callihan, ACH, Drew Galloway, Moose, Matt Sydal, Brian Cage, Silas Young, Abyss, Jack Evans, AR Fox, Davey Richards, Colt Cabana, Rey Fenix DJZ and Dezmond Xavier. They’s also got a 2/4 show in LaSalle, IL at the Knights of Columbus with ACH vs. Trevor Lee announced.
There will be a fundraiser on Jan. 20 at Foley’s NY sports bar-and-restaurant to raise money for Associated Press hockey writer Ira Podell and MLB Network’s Matt Yalloff as they recover from strokes at
Sonja Sims, a former Roller Games star, passed away on 1/9. No other details are available.
There will be a Shine show at www.FloSlam.tv live tomorrow night with this lineup:
Ivelisse vs. LuFisto for the Shine championship
Santana & Raquel vs. Thea Trinidad & ACR vs. Amber O’Neal & Kennadi Brink for the tag titles
Allysin Kay vs. Mercedes Martinez
Rachel Ellering vs Chelsea Green (Laurel Van Ness)
Leva Bates vs. Candy Cartwright
Xandra Bale vs. Aerial Monroe
Malia Hosaka vs. Brandi Lauren
Su Yung vs. Jayme Jameson vs. Jesse Bell Smothers vs. Angel Rose
Bellator announced the complete TV lineup for its 1/27 show in Mulvane, KS. The complete TV lineup is
Melvin Guillard (32-16-2, 3 no contests) vs. Chidi Njokuani (16-4,1 no contest)
Dave Rickels (17-4, 2 no contests) vs. Aaron Derrow (14-8)
A.J. McKee (6-0) vs. Brandon Phillips (6-2)
Jessica Middleton (1-0) vs. Alice Yauger (4-4)
Today in Professional Wrestling History (1/12): The Outsiders win WCW tag team gold
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