Daily Update: AEW Rampage, WWE SmackDown, weekend schedule

Daily Update

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Friday News Update

Garrett Gonzales and I will be doing a show later today covering the news of the week and Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night after Survivor Series.

A note that Rampage already aired at 4 p.m. Eastern due to TNT airing two NHL games tonight. Coverage is up on the site but they did announce Claudio Castagnoli getting a shot at Chris Jericho’s ROH title as the main event for Final Battle on 12/10, and that Bryan Danielson, still listed as a member of the Blackpool Combat Club, faces Dax Harwood on Wednesday’s Dynamite from Indianapolis. That should be a killer in-ring show given it also has match three of The Elite vs. Death Triangle in the best-of-seven series.

Smackdown for the Survivor Series go-home show is in Providence, RI. As of this morning there were 5,300 tickets out for the show at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. The final member of Team Belair will be announced, with Becky Lynch the name most expect although Beth Phoenix was also teased. The Usos face Drew McIntyre & Sheamus for the man advantage in tomorrow’s War Gamesl plus Braun Strowman vs. Ricochet and Butch vs. Santos Escobar in the World Cup tournament semifinals and Shotzi & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler.

We’re looking for reports this weekend from the WrestleCade shows in Winston-Salem, NC and the Sunday WWE house show in Portland, ME to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

We’ll be doing polls this weekend on tomorrow’s Survivor Series so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

The New Japan tag team tournament show on Saturday from Fujisawa airs on New Japan World at 4 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow morning with Alex Coughlin & Gabriel Kidd vs. Tetsuya Naito & Sanada, Mickey Nicholls & Shane Haste vs. Great O’Khan & Aaron Henare, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens vs.. Evil & Yujiro Takahashi, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yanoo vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer and Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Aussie Open. 

Sunday morning at 3 a.m. Eastern (midnight Saturday Pacific) has one of the biggest shows of the tour at Dolphins Arena in Nagoya with both junior heavyweight and heavyweight tag team tournament matches The Super Junior matches are Kushida & Kevin Knight vs. Bushi & Titan, Alex Zayne & Lindaman vs. Sho & Dick Togo, Clark Connors & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Ace Austin & Chris Bey, Lio Rush & Yoh vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Douki and Tiger Mask & Robbie Eagles vs. TJP & Francesco Akira. The heavyweight tournament bouts are Coughlin & Kidd vs. O’Khan & Henare, Aussie Open vs. Suzuki & Archer, Tanahashi & Yano vs. Fale & Owens, Nicholls & Haste vs. Evil & Yujiro Takahashi and Sanada & Naito vs. Goto & Yoshi-Hashi.

The PFL is crowning its 2022 champions with six fights where the winners will get $1 million. The show takes place at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. The show airs at 8 p.m. Eastern as the first PFL PPV show on ESPN+ PPV:

      • Robert Wilkinson (204.6) vs Omari Akhmedov (202.8)
      • Sadbou Sy (169.6) vs. Dilano Taylor (169.4)
      • Olivier Aubin-Mercier (154.6) vs. Stevie Ray (154.6)
      • Ante Delija (241.8) vs. Matheus Scheffel (256.4)
      • Brendan Loughnane (144.8) vs. Bubba Jenkins (145.0)
      • Kayla Harrison (154.4) vs. Larissa Pacheco (154.2)
      • Plus there will be a non-title women’s featherweight fight
      • Aspen Ladd (145.4) vs. Julia Budd (146.0)

Prelim bouts are airing at this time on ESPN+ on the regular service and switches to PPV at 8 p.m. for the main card.

Tomorrow’s Stardom in Showcase show will be airing as a PPV. Previously the Stardom in Showcase shows were free on YouTube. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)

Impact is doing a comedy PPV tonight from WrestleCade in Winston-Salem, NC. It will be Impact wrestlers doing an old school Southern Rasslin style show with characters out of that time and place. It will air as a PPV next Friday on FITE and Impact +.

UFC’s Tecia Torres is pregnant with her first child from her relationship with Raquel Penington. The two fighters announced this yesterday and said the birth date is expected in June. Pennington will next fight on 1/14 against Ketlen Vieira in a key bantamweight fight. She’s ranked No. 6 p.m. Torres has been a top-ten strawweight for the past eight years.

WWE

Here are the Survivor Series Odds from BetOnline:

Bloodline -160
Brutes & McIntyre & Owens +120

Team Damage Ctrl -350
Team Belair +225

Seth Rollins -150
Austin Theory +150
Bobby Lashley +400

Ronda Rousey -4000
Shozti +850

A.J. Styles -400
Finn Balor +250

Other Notes

All Japan continues its tag team tournament on Sunday with Shuji Ishikawa & Cyrus vs. Jun & Rei Saito, Shotaro Asino & Ryuki Honda vs. Koji Doi & Kuma Arasi and Kento Miyahara & Takuya Nomura vs. Jake Lee & Yuma Aoyagi

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special where Dave Bautista plays Drax is currently streaming on Disney Plus.

The 14th annual World MMA Awards will take place live on 12/8 from the Sahara in Las Vegas.

AIW tonight from Eastlake, OH at Force Sports with Matt Cardona and Masha Slamovich.

Kinguin Prime Time Wrestling from Warsaw, Polandtakes place tomorrow night with Marty Scurll, Xia Brookside, Joe Hendry vs. Trent Seven for the Impact Digital Media titel, Matt Sydal vs. Samuray del Sol and an appearance by Santino Marella.

Future UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar will be the special referee for Nova’s last match on 12/3 in Toms River, NJ. Donnie B, Nova’s brother, is putting the show together which will also include an appearance by Sting. Nova’s retirement match is Nova & Frankie Kazarian & Aron Stevens vs. Matt Cardona & Pat Buck & Brian Myers, plus Jerry Lawler (managed by former MLB All-Star Todd Frazier) vs. Rik Ratchett (with Prince Nana), Eddie Edwards & Davey Rirchards vs. The Graysons, Nick Aldis vs. Shawn Donovan, Tommy Dreamer vs. Warhorse plus the SATs, Anthony Greene, LS, Dan Maff and others.

AAW presents the Windy City Classic tonight at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette ARK, l AT 7:30 p.m. local time. Jake Something defends the AAW title against Gnaris Garvin, the winner of the Jim Lyman tournament. Chrsti Jaynes defends the women’s title against Sierra. Jah-C & Calvin Tankman defend the tag titles against Alex Hammerstone & Ace Perry. Fred Yehi faces Manders in a dog collar match. Mike Bennett faces Hartenbower in a street fight, plus Blake Christian vs. Zachary Wentz, Mance Warner vs. Silas Young and a ladder match with a Heritage title shot at stake with Ren Jones, Nate Webb, Gringo Loco, Levi Everett, Gar Jay and Shane Hollister.

The family of the late Kirk White present Big Time Wrestling on 12/2 at the Newark, Ca Pavilion with Bobby Fish vs. Aaron Solo, The Freaks vs. The Ballard Brothers and more. They are asking fans to bring an unwrapped toy as a donation for a toy drive.

Cris Cyborg will be boxing on 12/10 against Gabrielle Holloway as part of the Terence Crawford vs. David Avanesyan PPV show. Cyborg, the Bellator featherweight champion, will face Holloway in a four-round fight at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, NE.

Defy in Washington Hall in Seattle tomorrow night has a ladder match for the Defy title with Randy Myers, Swerve Strickland, Christopher Daniels, Schaff, Artemis Spencer and Davey Richards plus Nick Wayne vs. Wheeler Yuta, Rocky Romero vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, Mance Warner & Matthew Justice vs. The Bollywood Boyz for the Defy tag titles and Viva Van defends the PCA Ultra women’s title against Amira.

United Wrestling Coalition has a Toys for Tots drive show tomorrow night in Bordenton, NJ at the lower banquet hall of the Bordenton Elks Lodge with a 7 p.m. show. Admission is free with a donation of a new unwrapped toy, with a suggested minimum value of $15. The toys are collected by the U.S. Marine Corps reserves and stay in Burlington County

Sami Callihan’s Pro Wrestling Revolver has its final show of the year on 12/3 in Clive, IA with Revolver champion JT Dunn defending against Trey Miguel, Swerve Strickland vs Rich Swann, Alex Shelley vs. Masha Slamovich, Rey Fenix vs. Zachary Wents, Allie Katch vs. Jessicka in a death match plus Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Rocky Romero, Mike Bailey, Steve Maclin, Jake Manning, Dad the Dad, Manders and Billie Starkz.