Daily Update: Brian Christopher, Total Bellas ratings, McGregor

THE ROUND-UP

THE LATEST NEWS

THE LATEST AUDIO

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Looking at 205 Live two years after Cruiserweight Classic

While this month marks the two-year anniversary of the premiere of the Cruiserweight Classic, the division that the tournament spawned is still one of the most puzzling parts of WWE programming. From a rough start, to it becoming the Enzo Amore show, to it being rebooted when Paul “Triple H” Levesque took over as showrunner, 205 Live has been constantly changing and never able to fully find its footing since it debuted in November 2016.

WON NEWSLETTER: (July 30, 2018) Wrestling Observer Newsletter: All women PPV WWE Evolution announcement, more

The WWE’s heavily promoted all women’s’ PPV show is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Look at the announcement made on Raw, whether this will be a regular event, the actual first women’s PPV in the U.S., and thoughts on the business of this.

Look at SummerSlam, with both the matches announced thoughts on those matches, and several other bouts that will either be added, are being pushed and the one match that hasn’t been teased at all that has been talked about a lot this past week.

Get in-depth notes on Matt Riddle and expectations of his coming to WWE and his prospects in NXT and on the main roster, names WWE is after, Dwayne Johnson’s annual income, Rock and wrestling again and what the holdup would be.

Look at the state of Impact Wrestling after its most well received major show of the year. Look at the change in the hardcore stigma of the company, and look at injuries on the show, the next month of television and the direction, as well as match-by-match coverage and star ratings of Slammiversary.

This issue has detailed coverage thus far of the G-1 Climax tournament. Look at the standings, the business, match quality; the ridiculous level of tournament matches thus far, injuries, this week’s schedule, plus match-by-match coverage and star ratings for all the shows of this past week.

Look at the Dragon Gate promotion after its biggest show of the year.

Read about the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony and Ronda Rousey, as well as a look back to 2013 when women were first signed to the promotion and the immediate decision for them to headline on PPV the first night in.

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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Jerry Lawler told WMC Action News 5 in Memphis that he’s overwhelmed by the support he’s received after the death of his son, Brian Christopher Lawler. Jerry said that, while it wasn’t easy, he was glad that he was able to make it to the hospital to “hold his son’s hand when his heart stopped beating around 3:30 p.m.” On the subject of the investigation into how Christopher was able to hang himself in jail, Lawler suggested that “there may be more to this than meets the eye.”
  • Dave Brown also spoke to WMC Action News about Christopher’s death.
  • Christopher’s visitation and funeral service will be held at Hope Church in Memphis this Friday. Visitation starts at noon local time and the service starts at 2 p.m.
  • Scott Garland (Scotty 2 Hotty) paid tribute to Christopher in a post on Instagram: “This is from the last time that the three of us were in the ring together. Brian and I were different people outside of the ring. We never traveled together, never roomed together, and never really hung out together. But, EVERY single time that we went through that curtain, we made magic together. Magic that will never be replaced. We were TOO COOL. I will miss ya BC”
  • Last night’s Raw opened with graphics for Nikolai Volkoff and Christopher. WWE also posted a tribute video for Volkoff, and The Ringer published an obituary on him.
  • Sunday’s Total Bellas season three finale averaged 617,000 total viewers and a 0.29 rating in the 18-49 demo. While the rating was down, viewership was slightly up from last week. The finale was down from the past two years, but average viewership for the season was up from season two and only down slightly from season one.
  • Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander vs. Brian Kendrick in a non-title match is set for tonight’s 205 Live.
  • In addition to Ronda Rousey making her Raw in-ring debut against Alicia Fox, Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley has been announced for next Monday.
  • Zack Ryder defeated Mike Kanellis and Tyler Breeze defeated Curt Hawkins on this week’s Main Event tapings.
  • WWE posted video of Scott Hall talking about guest coaching at the Performance Center and working with less experienced wrestlers like Babatunde Aiyegbusi.
  • Peter Segal is set to direct “My Spy,” which will star Dave Bautista as a “hardened CIA operative who finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.” “Get Smart,” “The Longest Yard.” and “50 First Dates” are among Segal’s credits as a director.
  • Kurt Angle posted about today being the 22nd anniversary of is Olympic gold medal win: “22 years ago today, I made my lifelong dream come true… when I won Olympic Gold. I was a quiet kid from the city of Pittsburgh who thought that winning a gold medal was unattainable. But I never quit. On July 31, 1996 I went from being ordinary, to being extraordinary. I realized early on in my life that if I didn’t attain the gold, someone else would. So why not me? So if you are doubting yourself of what you’re capable of, you’re depriving yourself of something that’s possible. Make your dream a reality by accepting the fact that it CAN be you. #itstrue”
  • WWE and Foxtel have extended their agreement for the company’s programming air live in Australia.
  • WWE touted that their YouTube channel has reached 30 million subscribers.
  • 2K Sports announced a new tower mode for WWE 2K19.

Pro Wrestling

  • Kota Ibushi will face Hirooki Goto in the main event as the G1 Climax comes to Ibushi’s hometown of Kagoshima overnight. The B Block show will start at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time and will also feature Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr. Here’s the full card:
    Kota Ibushi vs. Hirooki Goto
    Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
    Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano
    Juice Robinson vs. SANADA
    Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tama Tonga
    Kazuchika Okada & Gedo vs. Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado
    Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay vs. EVIL & BUSHI
    Jay White & Yoh vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Sho
    Togi Makabe & Toa Henare vs. Hangman Page & Chase Owens
    Michael Elgin & Shota Umino vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tanga Loa
  • PWinsider reported that Flip Gordon has signed a two-year deal with ROH and that Joey Mercury has signed with ROH to work as a trainer and behind-the-scenes producer.
  • A GoFundMe has been started to help with funeral expenses for Tracy Caddell, the father of Trevor Lee and a former wrestler and promoter. The campaign has reached more than its goal, with Lee writing that any extra will go to having a tombstone made and to support Caddell’s fiancee.
  • LA Park has been announced for MLW’s War Games show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on September 6.
  • Daisuke Sekimoto is set for Fight Club: PRO’s August 31 show in Wolverhampton, England.
  • The band Downstait are releasing the official theme song for All In this Friday.

UFC/MMA

Daily Professional Wrestling History: WWF Wrestlefest 1988

12th Annual F4W Empire Vegas Convention

Greetings friends and fans of the F4W / Wrestling Observer website. The 12th annual F4W / Wrestling Observer Empire Las Vegas Convention~! is just around the corner.

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 Granny’s Doubles Match Classic! Already booked for the show are the teams Mia Yim & Leva Bates, Shotzi Blackheart & ???, Samantha Heights & Brittany Blake, and Miranda Alize & Kylie Rae. Also just booked for the show is a tag team Grappling Battel~! featuring Bryan Alvarez & Jack Jamieson vs. The Beach Bums (PeachMachine & Mikey G), You won’t want to miss this show! Check out the convention’s Facebook page for all additional information.

CONTACT INFORMATION