Daily Update: Battleground, first B Block G1 show, Johnny Mundo

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FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: Figure Four Weekly 7/17/2017: Mayweather vs. McGregor hype fails to meet expectations

While the superfight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor was bound to endlessly be compared to something out of WWE, the grandiose four-show world tour of press conferences to promote it felt more like a parody of pro wrestling. They made stops in Los Angeles, Toronto, Brooklyn, and London in an attempt to get the hype for their boxing match seen in as many relevant media markets as possible.

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WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: July 10, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: NJPW in Long Beach reviewed, TNA becomes GFW, tons of news

New Japan’s expansion into the U.S. with the shows over the weekend in Long Beach is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Look through the business of the show, the positives, the negatives, the complaints about using ex-WWE talent, the U.S. title tournament, views on the U.S. title, as well as the New Japan plans for early 2018 in the U.S.

Read about examples as to why the early success may not lead to long-term success, indications of how well the show did, where the show was the strongest, which wrestlers had the most mainstream interest on the show, the Omega vs. Rhodes dynamic, and all the controversy regarding the announcing is covered. Plus, there is match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results of both the shows.

Check out Impact’s rebranding to GFW, the good and the bad of the Slammiversary show, the interesting politics involved, the debut of DeAngelo Williams as well as match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

This issue talks the WWE security breach reported by Forbes, MSG notes, ideas for big events in 2018 in WWE, new TV show idea, Iron men of 2017 plus who never wins and who never loses, lots of updates on the Mae Young Classic, why Randy Orton will be out for a couple of weeks, experiences of a woman on the WWE writing team, plus the most-watched shows on the WWE Network this past week, WWE company market value, and notes on all the WWE and NXT arena events the past week with highlights and business notes.

Also inside, notes on the pending case against Jim Breaks, the death of his ex-girlfriend, and the details of the case, and notes on the career of Vic Faulkner of the Royal Brothers tag team, who passed away this past week.

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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 Dave@WrestlingObserver.com. 

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 moonsault@mediaplusint.com. 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.

WON BACK ISSUE: June 26, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Birth of NOAH, Vince Russo quits WCW, tons of news

Mitsuharu Misawa announced officially the formation of his new promotion, Nippon TV officially announced cancellation of the All Japan television show and Toshiaki Kawada talked about attempting to go to New Japan were highlights of the aftermath of the All Japan split. Misawa held his press conference on 6/16 at Diffa Ariake, the new building in the Ariake suburb of Tokyo, which was built specifically for pro wrestling to replace Korakuen Hall as the small show mecca in the Tokyo area and which, ironically enough, has its first show on 7/1 booked by the All Japan promotion.

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WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • A rematch between Sami Zayn and Mike Kanellis has been added to the card for Battleground. That will be Kanellis’ first match on pay-per-view after signing with WWE. The pre-show will have Aiden English vs. Tye Dillinger, which was also the kickoff match for Backlash in May. A potential resolution in the storyline of who has been attacking Breezango and Carmella threatening to cash-in her Money in the Bank briefcase have also been teased.
  • ABC 7 in New York has some video of Shane McMahon and the pilot of the helicopter that he was in speaking to the media after today’s crash-landing scare.
  • Dave Meltzer appeared on this week’s episode of The Ross Report to discuss the Mae Young Classic, the Kurt Angle/Jason Jordan storyline, Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor, and more.
  • Melbourne City Wrestling released a mini-documentary on Mae Young Classic competitor Dakota Kai (who was formerly known as Evie).
  • Daniel Bryan joked about starting a pirate version of Talking Smack with Renee Young: “Don’t worry folks, next week after #SmackdownLive, @ReneeYoungWWE and I will host a pirate version of #TalkingSmack on TOUT #fakenews”
  • AJ Styles will be the guest on this week’s episode of the Edge and Christian podcast.
  • Today is Jinder Mahal’s 31st birthday and the one-year anniversary of the WWE draft and brand extension.
  • John Cena tweeted a promo urging fans to go to Battleground.
  • Fortune interviewed Stephanie McMahon about how social media helped convince WWE to drop the “divas” name for their women’s division.
  • Charlotte Flair spoke to the Fan Theory podcast about her career, her family, and what’s next for her in WWE.

Pro Wrestling

  • The G1 continues overnight with the first B Block show taking place at Korakuen Hall at 5:30 a.m. ET. It has an interesting styles clash in the main event with Kenny Omega taking on Minoru Suzuki. The full card is:
    Omega vs. Suzuki
    Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano
    SANADA vs. EVIL
    Michael Elgin vs. Tama Tonga
    Satoshi Kojima vs. Juice Robinson
    YOSHI-HASHI & Jado vs. Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI
    Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
    Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask IV vs. Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo
    Kota Ibushi & Hirai Kawato vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & El Desperado
  • Hot Topic is adding NJPW Lion Mark and Los Ingobernables de Japon shirts to select locations next month. They plan to expand to all locations in September.
  • Kenny Omega got CM Punk to make a video for a friend of his who lost in the finals of a video game tournament.
  • Johnny Mundo went off on Vampiro over how AAA handled Taya being stripped of the Reina de Reinas title and Sexy Star returning and winning it: “The locker room thinks you, @vampiro_vampiro are a 2 faced lying d*uche bag who believes his own lies- #OfficeStooge -RT if you’re with us”
  • Mundo, Taya, and Drago of AAA will be wrestling at Global Force Wrestling’s house shows in the northeast in August.
  • GFW will be debuting a post-show for Impact with Josh Mathews and Tyrus on their website this week.
  • The Splash Report posted details about a Hulk Hogan biopic script that has yet to find a buyer.

UFC/MMA

  • Jon Jones trolled Daniel Cormier by posting a picture making fun of the weight-cutting issues that Cormier had prior to UFC 210.
  • Jones spoke to FloCombat about facing Cormier and changing the narrative after the issues that he’s had.
  • Michael Bisping responded to Yoel Romero calling him out.
  • Joseph Duffy said that the UFC’s USADA program contributed to him re-signing with the company.
  • Referee Mario Yamasaki stands by his stoppage of the Kevin Lee vs. Michael Chiesa fight.
  • A story on Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya and an MMA promoter, was featured on this week’s episode of Real Sports on HBO. The story spotlighted atrocities Kadyrov’s regime has reportedly committed against gay people and his friendship with MMA fighters and boxers. On the Luke Thomas Show, Karim Zidan discussed covering Kadyrov.

Today in Pro Wrestling History: Minus Five Stars

F4W Online / Wrestling Observer Vegas Convention Event Info

August 17-21; All times are TBA; Full information on the group Facebook page; Activities subject to change

For ticketing information go to https://f4wvegas.brownpapertickets.com/

  • Thursday: Meet at the High Roller for Bowling at the Link; Party at Carnival Court at Hurrah’s
  • Friday: Kiss Mini Golf tournament at the Rio; Dinner at Texas de Brazil; Suite party (location TBA)
  • Saturday: Burgers with Granny for lunch; Future Stars of Wrestling show featuring Stephan Bonnar & Phil Baron, and co-main events: 3-way match with Leva Bates vs. Mia Yim vs. Hudson Envy, and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Thomas Santell (f.k.a. Antonio “The Promise” Thomas); NXT viewing party at the Sci-Fi Center
  • Sunday: SUPER CHINA BUFFET DAY at the Wicked Spoon Buffet at 1pm; SummerSlam viewing party at the Sci-Fi Center
  • Monday: Goodbye lunch at Chen Chen at NY NY
  • All website members will also receive a 15% discount on any purchases from the Las Vegas Fight Shop for the entirety of the convention

Texas de Brazil, Wicked Spoon, NXT and Summer Slam will all be sign up and pre-paid events, prices and collection begin in mid July~!

Pro Wrestling Tees is now carrying our latest line of F4W shirts. Support the Empire~! Grab yours today!

CONTACT INFORMATION

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