Daily Update: Brian Cage/Melissa Santos, Aspen Ladd, Tyrus

DAILY UPDATE

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We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Augusta, ME and NXT in Largo, FL to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com

This is a crazy weekend so these are the polls we’ll be doing

  • NJPW G-1 day two on Saturday from Tokyo
  • NJPW G-1 day three from Sunday in Tokyo
  • Evolve from Saturday in Philadelphia
  • AEW from Saturday in Jacksonville
  • WWE Extreme Rules from Philadelphia

You can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle on all of these shows to dave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

BELLATOR AT 9 P.M. TONIGHT FROM THACKERVILLE, OKLAHOMA ON THE PARAMOUNT NETWORK

  • Ed Ruth (170) vs. Kiichi Kunimoto (170.4)
  • Juliana Velasquez (124.9) vs. Kristina Williams (125.8)
  • Rafael Carvalho (189.9) vs. Chidi Njokuani (189.6)
  • Julia Budd (145) vs. Olga Rubin (143.5) for featherweight title

CMLL TONIGHT AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN FROM ARENA MEXICO ON THE CMLL FACEBOOK PAGE AND CMLL YOUTUBE PAGE (after the show)

  • Halcon Suriano Jr. & Principe Diamante vs. Coyote & Grako
  • Microman & Gallito Tapatio & Atomo vs. Chamuel & Perico Zacarias & Guapito
  • Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. & Stuka Jr. vs El Hijo del Villano III & Mephisto & Ephesto
  • Rush & Dragon Lee & Mistico vs. Gilbert el Boricua & Mr. Niebla & The Chris
  • Ultimo Guerrero vs. Ciber the Main Man

IMPACT AT 10 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON THE PURSUIT CHANNEL

  • Jordynne Grace vs. Keira Hogan vs. Madison Rayne

NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX SATURDAY AT OTA WARD GYM IN TOKYO AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD AND 9 P.M. ON AXS TV

  • Kota Ibushi & Will Ospreay & Yuya Uemura vs. Evil & Sanada & Bushi
  • Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens vs. Lance Archer & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shota Umino & Ren Narita vs. KENTA & Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks
  • Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki
  • Shingo Takagi vs. Juice Robinson
  • Jon Moxley vs. Taichi
  • Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano
  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jeff Cobb
  • Jay White vs. Hirooki Goto

Saturday has WWE Raw in Springfield, MA and Smackdown in Petersburg, VA, plus NXT in Citrus Springs, FL.  We’re looking on reports from all of these shows to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com

UFC SATURDAY FROM THE GOLDEN WEST CENTER IN SACRAMENTO AT 5 P.M. EASTERN ON ESPN+

  • Benito Lopez (136) vs. Vince Morales (135.5)
  • Livinha Souza (116) vs. Brianna Van Buren (115)
  • Jonathan Martinez (136) vs. Lia Pingyuan (136)
  • Darren Elkins (145.5) vs. Ryan Hall (144.5)
  • Nicco Montano (135.5) vs. Julianna Pena (135.5)
  • Andre Fili (145.5) vs. Sheymon Moraes (146)
  • John Allen (203) vs. Mike Rodriguez (204.5)
  • Cezar Ferreira (185.5) vs,. Marvin Vettori (185.5)
  • Karl Roberson (185.5) vs. Wellington Turman (185)
  • Mirsad Bektic (145) vs. Josh Emmet (146)
  • Urijah Faber (135.5) vs. Ricky Simon (134.5)
  • Germaine de Randamie (136) vs. Aspen Ladd (135)

AEW FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN FROM JACKSONVILLE ON SATURDAY AT 7:30 P.M. EASTERN ON B/R LIVE IN U.S. AND FITE TV OUTSIDE THE U.S.

  • Sonny Kiss vs. Peter Avalon
  • Shawn Spears & MJF & Sammy Guevara vs. Joey Janela & Jimmy Havoc & Darby Allin
  • Dark Order vs. Jack Evans & Angelico vs. Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus
  • Dr. Britt Baker & Riho vs. Bea Priestley & Shoko Nakajima
  • Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky vs. Pentagon Jr. & Fenix
  • Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian
  • Brandi Rhodes vs. Allie
  • Kenny Omega vs. Cima
  • Young Bucks vs. Cody & Dustin Rhodes

EVOLVE 10TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW FROM THE 2300 ARENA IN PHILADELPHIA AT 8 P.M. EASTERN ON THE WWE NETWORK

  • Josh Briggs vs. Anthony Greene
  • Shotzi Blackheart vs. Brandi Lauren
  • Curt Stallion vs. Sean Maluta vs. Stephen Wolf vs. Harlem Bravado
  • Babatunde vs. Colby Corino
  • Arturo Ruas vs. Anthony Henry
  • Matt Riddle vs. Drew Gulak
  • Eddie Kingston & Joe Gacy vs. A.R. Fox & Leon Ruff for tag titles
  • Austin Theory vs. J.D. Drake for Evolve and WWN titles
  • Adam Cole vs. Akira Tozawa for NXT title

MLW ON BEIN SPORTS AT 9 P.M. EASTERN

  • Ace Austin vs. Air Wolf
  • Hart Foundation vs. MJF & Richard Holliday in a ladder match for tag titles

NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AT 2 A.M. EASTERN (11 P.M. PACIFIC) ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Juice Robinson & Toa Henare & Yota Tsuji vs. Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura
  • Jeff Cobb & Ren Narita vs. Jon Moxley & Shota Umino
  • Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Jay White &Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
  • Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi & Bushi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Lance Archer vs. Bad Luck Fale
  • Will Ospreay vs. Sanada
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA

WWE EXTREME RULES ON SUNDAY AT 6:30 P.M. EASTERN ON THE WWE NETWORK

  • Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch vs. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans for Universal & Raw women’s titles vs. Corbin & Evans not being allowed to challenge for titles again in Extreme rules match
  • Undertaker & Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre no rules match
  • Kofi Kingston vs. Samoa Joe for WWE title
  • Ricochet vs. A.J. Styles for U.S. title
  • Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross for Smackdown women’s title
  • Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley last man standing
  • Daniel Bryan & Rowan vs. Big E & Xavier Woods vs. Heavy Machinery for Smackdown tag titles
  • Revival vs. Usos for Raw tag titles
  • Tony Nese vs. Drew Gulak for cruiserweight title
  • Aleister Black vs. Cesaro

EVOLVE FROM MELROSE, MA MEMORIAL HALL AT 7 P.M. EASTERN ON WWW.WWNLIVE.COM

  • Matt Riddle vs. Curt Stallion
  • Austin Theory & Arturo Ruas vs. Josh Briggs & Orange Cassidy
  • J.D. Drake vs. A.R. Fox
  • Joe Gacy vs. Babatunde

NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX TOURNAMENT ON MONDAY FROM SAPPORO AT 5 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Kota Ibushi & Jushin Liger & Shota Umino vs. Will Ospreay & Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura
  • Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare & Ren Narita vs. Evil & Sanada & Bushi
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & KENTA & Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. & Lance Archer & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Bad Luke Fale & Chase Owens
  • Toru Yano vs. Shingo Takagi
  • Juice Robinson vs. Hirooki Goto
  • Jeff Cobb vs. Jon Moxley
  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White
  • Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi

Raw is Monday at NYCB Live (the former Nassau Coliseum).

Smackdown and 205 Live are Tuesday in Worcester, MA.

F4W NEWSLETTER: First Raw of the Paul Heyman Era

Before this week’s return to the norm, Joseph Currier looked at Heyman’s promising start in his new role.

Though it was only the beginning of him easing into the role, the first Raw of the Paul Heyman era showed promising signs for his future as executive director.

It was surprising that — during the build to a pay-per-view where the top of the card has already been announced — Heyman’s presence was so obvious. Even if WWE didn’t announce his executive director role, it still would have been easy to tell that something was different about the episode.

It started with a literal bang that doubled as a statement of intent. Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley’s falls count anywhere match kicked off the show and ended in a no contest. Strowman charged at Lashley, with explosions going off as they crashed through the stage. The angle was treated with complete seriousness. Corey Graves even let out an uncensored “holy sh*t” on commentary.

WON NEWSLETTER: July 15, 2019 Observer Newsletter: Death of Paco Alonso, G1 Opening, more

A look at Paco Alonso and his role in running the most traditional of all pro wrestling promotions, and what happens next with CMLL, is the lead story i the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

We look at Alonso’s death, an update on who will be running the company, how things will stay the same, what could change, the 2008 Hall of Fame election,  and the career of Alonso as a promoter including the wrestlings wars he was in and the boom periods he presided over.  We also look at where things stand and why Alonso is the only promoter with so much tenure in the business who has never lost money promoting wrestling.

We look at the first show of the G-1 Climax tournament, including unique aspects of the crowd, the business notes and what was good and bad about the crowd, this week’s G-1 bouts, Dallas coverage with star ratings and poll results and will AEW and NJPW promote together any time soon.

We also look at a Saturday with five major shows, running down all of them and the story behind the change in WWE policy.

We also look at Dwayne Johnson and Conor McGregor earnings, Reigns winning award, new signings, Reigns talks why AEW isn’t competition, WWE’s latest network strategy, ideas that were nixed of late that were pitched, Eric Bischoff update, Stock price notes, new WWE television show, most-watched shows of the week on WWE Network as well as a rundown of all the arena events of the past week with results, highlights and business notes.

We’ve got full coverage of UFC 239, with all the different stories that came out of the show, the judging of Jones vs Santos, the future of several fighters, all of the business notes regarding the show as well as match-by-match coverage, fighter pay, and poll results.

We also look at the changes in All Japan Pro Wrestling and what it means going forward.

We also have coverage of the Impact PPV show, where Impact stands, how the PPV did, the crossover in buyers of Impact with other companies as well as match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

We also run down the ratings of all the major TV shows, along with detailed demo info for the WWE shows.

We also have the results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

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@wrestlingobserver.com or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

Brian Cage and Melissa Santos of Impact Wrestling were married yesterday.  That’s the reason there were two Bar Wrestling shows this past week, so the guests could work while in town.  A lot of Impact talent was at the wedding.  Among the names there were Joey Ryan, Keira Hogan, Sami Callihan, Jessicka Havok, Nevaeh, Jake Crist, Su Yung and rich Swann.  Many of them, including Cage and Santos, are wrestling tonight in  Baldwin Park, CA at the American Legion with Tessa Blanchard vs. Daga, Joey Ryan vs. Keira Hogan and a dollar dance with Santos.

The Aspen Ladd weigh-in situation earlier today in Sacramento was very scary.  She was shaking and having a hard time walking as she went to the scale.  She made weight, with a pound to spare,which was irresponsible of her team for her to cut that extra pound.  This is a tragedy waiting to happen.  Even though she was in that condition, she was cleared to fight tomorrow night.  Hopefully nothing bad happens.  Because if something bad does, this was far too public of a situation.

Here are the star ratings that you can bet over/under at Kambi for Sunday’s Extreme Rules show:

  • Ricochet vs. A.J. Styles ****1/4
  • Aleister Black vs. Cesaro ***1/2
  • Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley **1/2
  • Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese ***1/4
  • Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch vs. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans **1/2
  • The Revival vs. Usos ***1/4
  • Roman Reigns & Undertaker vs. Drew McIntyre & Shane McMahon ***1/2
  • Bryan & Rowan vs. E & Woods vs. Heavy Machinery ***1/2
  • Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross **
  • Kofi Kingston vs. Samoa Joe ***1/2  (thanks to David Taylor)

If there isn’t enough this weekend, The Fights Only MMA awards from last week will air at 9 p.m. Eastern tonight on CBS Sports Network.  Dolph Lundgren hosts the show.

The Huffington Post has a story about George Murdoch, the former Brodus Clay and Titus, and his text message to former Fox Nation co-host Britt McHenry.  They were on a show together until this story surfaced in April, noting Murdoch had sent inappropriate text messages to McHenry in late 2018 through January of this year.  Murdoch was not suspended and is still with the company, although he’s been moved to a different show.  I really don’t see how they didn’t can him over this.  Really, with the nature of the messages, it looks bad that he’s still there.

WWE

  • WWE is looking for women to be part of their “Fight Like a Girl” reality show that Stephanie McMahon will star in. The show has a woman and a WWE wrestler who helps them through struggles in life.

UFC

  • Lina Lansberg vs. Macy Chiasson and Ion Cutelaba vs,. Khalil Rountree Jr. have been added to the 9/28 show in Copenhagen, Denmark.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin in a street fight for the Impact title was announced for the 7/19 tapings in Windsor, ONT.
  • Cage has pulled out of 7/26 and 7/27 Defy shows in Seattle due to injury.  Christopher Daniels will take his place in the Super 8XGP and meets Schaff in the first round of the show.
  • Ace Austin vs. Austin Aries has been added to the 7/25 MLW show at the Melrose Ballroom in New York
  • AAW runs tonight in Milwaukee at the Turner Hall Ballroom.  Sami Callihan vs. Jacob Fatu headlines.  They were close to sold out but there are $25 tickets left.
  • C4 Wrestling on 8/14 at St. Anthony’s Hall in Ottawa, ONT.  Cody Rhodes will be at the show.
  • Greektown Wrestling on 8/8 in Toronto at 310 Danforth Ave.
  • CWE tonight in Craven, SK at the County Thunder Craven Festival with a free show with festival admission.
  • USA Championship Wrestling tomorrow night in Jackson, TN at Oman Arena with Doug Gilbert vs. Matt Riviera in a bunkhouse match, plus Tracy Smothers, Road Dogg, Bob Armstrong and Bill Dundee will be in attendance.
  • CWF on 7/27 in Niagara Falls, ONT at the Scotiabank Convention Centre with Tatanka, Cody Deaner,Sinn Bodhi and more.
  • Pro Wresting Ontario on 7/27 in Burlington, ONT .,
  • PWA on 7/26 in Kitchener, ONT at the Alpine Club with the Voros Twins.
  • Smash vs. Progress on 8/7 at 8 p.m. at the Mid Town Event Theatre in Toronto with Chris Brookes, Jordan Devlin and Toni Storm.
  • Neither Dann nor Emily Read, the promoters of Pro Wrestling Eve in the U.K. will be at their show this weekend.  The reason was due to Emily’s mental health situation.  We wish the best for both her and everyone in this situation.
  • An NWA video with James Storm vs. Colt Cabana for the National title.
  • A story on UK women’s star Heidi Katrina.
  • A look at the new book “The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame:  The Storytellers (from the Terrible Turk to Twitter).

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Vader wins WCW World title

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