Daily Update: Amann & Punk, Mae Young Classic, BOSJ

THE ROUND-UP

THE LATEST NEWS

THE LATEST AUDIO

F4W NEWSLETTER: An early look at how April’s NXT call-ups have fared

Over a month removed from the days after WrestleMania and the Superstar Shakeup, the most recent round of NXT call-ups have been — at best — a mixed bag in their first few weeks on the main roster. As has become tradition, the post-WrestleMania episodes of Raw and SmackDown saw new arrivals from NXT: Ember Moon, No Way Jose, The Authors of Pain, and Peyton Royce & Billie Kay. The wave continued the next week, with Drew McIntyre joining Raw and Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega and SAnitY (Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain) being announced as the newest members of SmackDown.

WON NEWSLETTER: (June 4, 2018) More details on Raw and Smackdown TV deals, more

An update on both the WWE & UFC television deals with how they went down and were intertwined in more details is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Look at actual finalization of the deals, how the contracts pay out, when the numbers figured and reported on actually come into play, and who negotiated the WWE’s deal. Also look at what UFC had offered for both shows and just how differently things worked out.

Look at what both deals mean for the long-term perception of WWE and UFC, and the difference in air time on television between the two properties. 

Find out the new value of WWE, and one analyst talks about what he feels the stock value will be when the new deals come into play. Look at different estimates of WWE profit margins with the new deal, update UFC profit margins, and a look at the future.

This issue also has an update on news on both Money in the Bank, Extreme Rules and the return of Brock Lesnar.

Also, rundown week two of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament with match-by-match coverage, standings, schedule and star ratings for every show.

Have a look at the Dr. Christopher Amann lawsuit against C.M. Punk and Colt Cabana and early testimony, the Mauro Ranallo documentary, what was the key to Ranallo’s career, the U.K. tournament and slow ticket sales, and John Cena’s message to the locker room.

Look at what appears to be the final pro wrestling show at American Legion Post 308 in Reseda.

This issue runs down Io Shirai signing with WWE, the story behind it, her departure from Stardom, who she is, her link to Asuka, and two other Stardom women who are WWE-bound.

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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE

WrestleZone has an update on the C.M. Punk/Dr. Christopher Amann trial.

The most notable testimony was from Larry Heck, the WWE trainer, who said that he taped up Punk regularly, and Punk never told him about a lump or cyst and he never saw it.

This is a video of Darren Till attempting to make weight last week. Aside from the fact they had to stop his cutting (none of which was shown), this is the usual insanity that most fighters do. If you ever saw the Cris Cyborg piece on ESPN on her cutting, I saw a couple of women fighters in UFC the next week and they said that pretty much everyone does that and it wasn’t unusual.

WWE has confirmed the dates of the Mae Young Classic to be 8/8 and 8/9 at Full Sail University in Orlando.

WWE has also announced a 12/1 return to Arena Ciudad in Mexico City with the Raw brand. Tickets go on sale Monday.

The next to last day of the A block in Best of the Super Juniors earlier today in Hachinohe:

  • Bushi (3-3) beat Flip Gordon (3-3)
  • Taiji Ishimori (4-2) beat ACH (2-4)
  • Will Ospreay (4-2) beat Tiger Mask (3-3)
  • Yoh (3-3) beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru (2-4)

If Ishimori beats Yoh on Sunday, he will win the block and goes to the finals. If Will Ospreay beats Flip Gordon on Sunday and Yoh beats Ishimori, then Ospreay goes to the finals. If Ishimori and Ospreay both lose, then it becomes more complex. 

WWE

  • The Huffington Post has a story that the guy negotiating Middle Eastern deals for WWE has a wife with a major anti-Muslim Twitter account.
  • Jim Murphy has put out the first odds for Money in the Bank:
    A.J. Styles at -150, Ronda Rousey at -170, Asuka at -150, Roman Reigns at -350, The Bludgeon Brothers at -750 are all favored. In Money in the Bank, the top favorites are Braun Strowman at +350,The Miz at +500 and Rusev at +500. In the women’s match they are Ember Moon at +300, Alexa Bliss at +450 and Charlotte Flair at +450.
  • The over/under for betting on star ratings as of right now are:
    Men’s MITB ***1/2
    Women’s MITB **1/2
    Styles vs. Nakamura ***1/2
    Rousey vs. Jax **1/2
    Harper & Rowan vs. Anderson & Gallows ***
    Asuka vs Carmella ***
    Reigns vs. Mahal **1/2
  • The WWE Network has uploaded a Ric Flair vs. Jack Brisco NWA title match from April 7, 1984. This would be right before Brisco sold his stock in GCW and went to WWF. 
  • In the time slot that Smackdown will be in, FOX debuts a reality show called Phenoms and it was a ratings disaster, doing 662,000 viewers. 
  • The Miz appeared on the Challenge Mania podcast, with a bunch of MTV/Challenge stuff talked about, it’s more of a general career retrospective and there is tons of wrestling stuff. Mike talks about John Morrison doing Survivor, who he thinks would make a good wrestler from the Challenge folks, which wrestlers watch The Challenge, bouncing back and forth from WWE to MTV to movies and now his new show, breaking in and his time in indies/developmental, getting cheered as a heel, his experience at Barclays and Manhattan Center for RAW25 and his thoughts on a potential Wrestlemania match with Daniel Bryan.

UFC

  • Tickets for the 7/28 show in Calgary for FOX go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. local time priced at $320.25 down to $56.25 Canadian. This is the show with Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier, Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens, Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Tecia Torres and Alexis Davis vs. Katlyn Chookagian as the top fights.
  • Georges St-Pierre is doing talk shows on 8/7 in Sydney, Australia and the Star Event Centre and 8/11 in Melbourne at Pienary 2 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. This is his first trip ever to Australia (thanks to James Stanios)
  • Danny Roberts vs. Alan Jouban was announced for a 7/22 show in Hamburg, Germany.
  • Luke Sanders vs. Rani Yahya was announced for an 8/25 show in Lincoln, Nebraska.
  • Kelvin Gastelum debuts as an analyst on tomorrow night’s UFC show from Utica, NY, headlined by Jimmie Rivera vs. Marlon Moraes. Gastelum will be on the desk with Tyron Woodley, Kenny Florian and Brendan Fitzgerald. Jon Anik and Jimmy Smith will be the announcers for the show.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • AAA is taping television tonight in Pachuca and it will air live on the AAA’s Twitch Channel at 10 p.m. Eastern.
  • Heroes of Lucha Libre on 6/2 at the Galen Center on the campus of USC in Los Angeles has Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Trumposo (Aaron Aguilera) as the main event and El Hijo del Dr Wagner Jr. & Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. L.A. Park & El Hijo de L.A. Park. The promoters were expecting a huge crowd at the USC campus. We shall see.
  • Cody and Nick Aldis are focused on in the NWA’s latest Ten Pounds of Gold video.
  • MLW is pushing the Tom Lawlor vs. Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) match on its 6/7 show in Orlando as a UFC vs. Bellator match. They also pushed a 40 wrestler Battle Riot match for 7/19 in Queens, NY at the Melrose Ballroom. It’ll be Rumble style with eliminations by pin, submission or to rope elimination. The winner gets a title shot whenever they want. 
  • Impact is taping TV Friday and Saturday night in Windsor, ONT at the St. Clair College gym.
  • CZW Tournament of Death takes place on 6/9 in Berlin, NJ at Tansboro Dek Hockey at 2 p.m. with Rickey Shane Page, Drew Parker, Mance Warner, Brandon Kirk, Casanova Valentine, Dan O’Hare, Conor Claxton, Dale Patricks, Stockade, Josh Crane, Jimmy Lloyd, and Kit Osbourne, plus Matt Tremont vs. Toby Klein a non-tournament fans bring the weapons match. They also run 6/29 in Asbury Park, NJ at House of Independents with MJF vs. Dezmond Xavier for the CZW title and John Klinger vs. Josh Briggs.
  • MCW on 6/9 in Joppa, MD headlined by The Bruiser & Christian York vs. Joey Mercury & Corporal Punishment.
  • Unholy Warfare on 6/30 in Reidsville, NC at the National Guard Armory.
  • Championship Wrestling from Hollywood’s Coastline Clash on 6/10 in Port Heuneme, CA is a free TV taping with Willie Mack vs. Tito Escondido, Nick Aldis vs. Crimson vs. Jocephus for the NWA title, MJF vs. Suede Thompson for the CZW title, Scorpio Sky vs. Ray Rosas for the UWN TV title and Tyler Bateman vs. Dicky Mayer in an I Quit match.
  • Classic Pro Wrestling ha a free show on 6/2 in Spotsylvania, A at the Indian Acres Campground.
  • WSU Breaking Barriers on 6/16 in Voorhees, NJ at the Colossal Sports Academy at 8 p.m. with Mercedes Martinez vs. Tessa Blanchard for the WSU title and Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace for the Spirit championship.
  • Alpha 1 Wrestling on 7/15 in Colbourne, ONT at 2 p.m. featuring Bushwhacker Luke Williams
  • Nick Bury vs. Tajiri takes place for BCW in Melbourne, Australia on 8/31.
  • Adelaide Championship Wrestling in Adelaide, Australia on 6/16 has Nick Bury vs. Gabriel Wolfe plus Orlando Jordan appears.
  • Nick Aldis vs. Robbie Eagles for the NWA title takes place on Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore show on 7/14 in Sydney, Australia.
  • Aldis defends the NWA title against Jonah Rock on 7/13 in Melbourne, Australia (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
  • Damian Slater was on Australian TV on Monday night in a story about a school teacher with a second career.
  • MCW on 7/28 in Brantford, ONT at the Dunsdon Legion.
  • Tessa Blanchard vs. Madison Eagles has been announced for the 7/8 Rise TV tapings in Naperville, IL.
  • Gouge has a free show on Saturday in Raleigh at American Brewmaster headlined by Jimmy Jack Funk Jr. vs Blade Brown.
  • C4 Championship Combat on 6/29 in Ottawa, ONT at St. Anthony’s Hall. 
  • Ryback is taking indie dates through Bill Behrens at showbis@aol.com. He’s based in Las Vegas.
  • Superkick’d on 6/8 in Toronto at the Great Hall.
  • Defy Wrestling returns to Washington Hall in Seattle on 6/9 with MVP, Dezmond Xavier, Scorpio Sky, Kimber Lee, Shane Strickland and Brody King.
  • Evolve on 6/23 in Queens NY at La Boom has Matt Riddle vs.; Shane Strickland in a no rope break match for the Evolve title, Austin Theory vs. DJZ in an anything goes match for the FIP title, Walter vs. Darby Allin, Chris Dickinson & Jaka & Dom Garrini vs. Tracy Williams & Timothy Thatcher & Anthony Henry and John Klinger and AR Fox appear.
  • Chelsea Green has pulled out of the Bar Wrestling show next month and is being replaced by Shotzi Blackheart.
  • AAW on 6/23 at Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago has Kimber Lee vs. Kylie Ray, Trevor Lee vs. Trey Miguel and Su Yung vs. Hudson Envy. 
  • Tuff N Uff on 6/1 in Henderson, NV at the Henderson Events Plaza with an MMA show.
  • Deonna Purrazzo, in what looks like her last Japan tour for a long time, was announced for 6/3 in Sapporo teaming with Toni Storm & Zoe Lucas vs. Io Shrai (also on the way out) & Momo Watanabe & Konami.
  • The Professional Fighters League debuts on Thursday night at 9 p.m. Eastern on NBC Sports Network, featuring Andre Harrison (17-0) vs. Juma Tuerxun (20-6) and Lance Palmer (12-6) vs. Bekbulat Magomedov (19-1) in first round matches in a featherweight tournament with a $1 million ultimate prize.
  • City Beat has a story on the Northern Wrestling Federation.
  • Here’s a story on the Bare Knuckles boxing show built around former UFC fighter Bec Rawlings. (thanks to Chris Cruise)
  • Here are notes on a history of pro wrestling graphic novel.

Daily Professional Wrestling History: Owens defeats Cena at Elimination Chamber 2015

12th Annual F4W Empire Vegas Convention

Greetings friends and fans of the F4W / Wrestling Observer website. It’s time to announce the details of the 12th annual F4W / Wrestling Observer Empire Las Vegas Convention~!

This year’s event will be taking place in Las Vegas from August 16th to the 20th and will again be in conjunction with WWE’s SummerSlam weekend a.k.a. Super China Buffet Day~! There will still be the usual events, but our big draw will be WWE’s summer blockbuster PPV, SummerSlam. As per tradition, we will all gorge ourselves at a Las Vegas buffet, and then watch SummerSlam in a rented out movie theater. All information and ticketing prices are available now. Sign up ASAP as spots are limited for some events. 

This year will also feature a Future Stars Wrestling show which will include the first ever Gladys Gibson Doubles Match Classic! Already booked for the show are the teams Mia Yim & Leva Bates, Hudson Envy & Shotzi Blackheart, Samantha Heights & Brittany Blake, and Miranda Alize & Kylie Rae. Kris Wolf will also be appearing along with many more future stars. There may even be a classic star or two making an appearance. You won’t want to miss this show! Check out the convention’s Facebook page for all additional information.

CONTACT INFORMATION