Daily Update: Colt Cabana, Dominion press conference, Bret Hart

THE ROUND-UP

THE LATEST NEWS

THE LATEST AUDIO

We’re looking for reports on all of the weekend NXT shows at the Download Festival in Derby, UK, which start tomorrow and continue through Sunday to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

IMPACT ON POP TV TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. EASTERN

  • Andrew Everett & DJZ vs. Drago & Aerostar
  • Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan in a fight in the woods

PROFESSIONAL FIGHTS LEAGUE DEBUT SHOW TONIGHT FROM THE THEATER IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN AT 9 P.M. EASTERN ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK

  • Francimar Barroso (240.2) vs. Danie Gallemore (255.2)
  • Alexandre Almeida (145.8) vs. Lee Coville (143.8)
  • Magomed Idrisov (145) vs. Steven Siler (145.2)
  • Caio Alencar (243.2) vs. Kelvin Tiller (265.4)
  • Marcos Galvao (145.4) vs. Nazareno Malegarie (145.8)
  • Josh Copeland (258.4) vs. Jack May (262)
  • Jared Rosholt (245) vs. Valdrin Istrefi (248.2)
  • Alex Nicholson (214.6) vs. Jake Heun (224)
  • Timur Valiev (146) vs. Max Coga (145.6)
  • Lance Palmer (145.6) vs. Bekbulat Magomedov (145.2)
  • Andre Harrison (145.2) vs. Juma Tuerxun (144.8)

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: CM Punk stepping back into the octagon

With Dr. Chris Amann’s defamation lawsuit against him and Colt Cabana still being tried at the start of fight week, CM Punk’s return to the UFC has almost become an afterthought. But in his hometown of Chicago on Saturday night, Punk will be stepping back into the Octagon just a few months short of the two-year anniversary of his loss to Mickey Gall. His opponent, Mike Jackson, is a 33-year-old photographer and combat sports personality with more fighting experience than Punk but just as many professional MMA bouts. 

WON NEWSLETTER: WON Preview (June 11, 2018) CM Punk and Colt Cabana win lawsuit, more

The most in-depth look at the Dr. Christopher Amann vs. C.M. Punk and Colt Cabana trial is the lead story in the new issue of the Observer.

Look at the background of the case, the real reasons it happened, key moments that tipped the jury in the direction, testimony that came out that made WWE look bad and the lack of reaction to it.

Find out the effect on Punk’s fight preparation, Punk’s feelings on the timing, the moral victory aspect, the goal, and why it went to trial. Look at the major mistakes made by Amann’s attorney, and holes in WWE medical practices that are likely to be closed that current talent may not like.

This issue goes into detail on Punk’s last pro wrestling match, the 2014 Royal Rumble, what was planned what went wrong, how it went wrong, and how everyone reacted.

Look at the Dominion show, the card, the build, the storylines, who should win and how the decisions should take place, as well as looking at the Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori match, Chris Jericho’s return to WWE, and full details of the last two nights of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

Find out about UFC weigh-ins after Dana White wants them moved back to the afternoon, with a look at the direct statistics saying what has changed over the past two years and comments from White about why he thinks it’s not working.

Look at the Shawn Michaels comeback talks, a rundown of Money in the Bank, value of WWE stock and why it rose this past week, Cena storyline, WWE pushing for an Emmy nomination, and new wrestlers that are signed and others who are getting tryouts. 

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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE

A very interesting podcast has Colt Cabana’s daily diary of his trial.

Here’s the Dominion press conference from today. The comments from Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega are gripping, Ospreay because of the emotions he’s going through based on comments I made about him, and Omega with his pushing the story that he is actually not the best in the world, Okada is.

With English subtitles, this is Okada’s interview prior to Saturday’s Omega match.And here’s more from Omega on the match with Okada.

Bret Hart talks about storytelling and Eric Bischoff. It’s pretty clear at this point Bischoff has been saying stuff hoping to get a response just as publicity so it’s not worth taking him too seriously.

Renzo Gracie, who is 51, will have an MMA fight with Yuki Kondo, the former Pancrase star, who is 42, on the 7/27 ONE show in Pasay, The Philippines at the Mall of Asia Arena. Other fights announced are Shinya Aoki vs. Shannon Wiratchai and Kevin Belington vs. Martin Nguyen for the interim bantamweight title.    

WWE

  • An interview with Glenn Jacobs talking about Donald Trump, The Rock, and Vince McMahon.
  • NXT’s shows at the Download Music Festival in Derby, UK, which includes most of the first round of the UK tournament, takes place Friday at 1 p.m., Saturday at 11a.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. local time. NXT also runs Monday night in Paris, France and Tuesday night in Antwerp, Belgium.   
  • For the 6/26 Smackdown show in Ontario, CA at the Citizens Bank Arena, they are doing a buy three tickets and get one free late promotion. They are also doing a similar offer for the 6/24 Raw house show at the Honda Center in Anaheim. 
  • For the 7/3 Smackdown TV taping in Omaha, they are advertising Jeff Hardy & A.J. Styles & Daniel Bryan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Samoa Joe & Big Cass. That really doesn’t mean anything because that should change weekly before show time.
  • Bovada.lv has put up odds on whether or not the XFL will fold by July 4, 2021, which would be two seasons in:
    Yes +200
    No -300
  • One of the original homes of Raw, the Rec Center at the Fernwood Resort in Pennsylvania, burned down this past week. They taped Raw several times in the building in 1994 and 1995. Afa used to promote his WXW shows there as well. (thanks to Tom Richards and others).
  • A story on Rugby League player Luke Menzies signing with WWE. (thanks to Lee Wall)
  • A story on James Drake, one of the new U.K. signees.

UFC

  • CM Punk didn’t train at this week’s UFC’s open workouts. He claimed to be suffering from anxiety. 
  • UFC announced a 10/27 show in Moncton, New Brunswick. That would be the company’s first-ever show in New Brunswick.
  • The Jessica Aguilar vs. Jodie Esquibel fight that was scheduled for this past Friday in Utica, NY, called off by the commission for medical reasons, has been booked for 7/14 in Boise, ID. The official word was that the commission ruled Aguilar had a medical condition that would not allow her to fight. Aguilar claimed publicly the commission wouldn’t let her fight due to chapped lips, which led to people railing on the commission. The reality was obviously different, as common sense would tell you that wasn’t the reason the fight was canceled. It was also both the commission and UFC doctors who agreed on her not being allowed to fight.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • A ticket give away for the 7/7 New Japan show at the Cow Palace. 
  • MLW TV on Bein Sports tomorrow night at 8 p.m. has MVP vs. Leon Scott, ACH vs. Rey Fenix and Fred Yehi vs. Tom Lawlor
  • KSW has a show on Saturday in Gdansk, Poland on iPPV. The show features top draw Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. former heavyweight champion Karol Badorf as well as a crossover celebrity battle with Polish action movie star Tomasz Oswiecinski against bodybuilder and fitness model Erko Jun. There is a great video promoting the show.
  • CZW Tournament of Death on Saturday night in Berlin, NJ at Tansboro Dek Hockey with first round matches of Rickey Shane Page vs. Drew Parker in a light tubes match, Mance Warner vs. Dale Patricks vs. Josh Crane in a four corners of pain elimination match, Casanova Valentine vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Stockade in a blocks, bat, and bundles match and Conor Claxton vs. Kit Osbourne vs. Brandon Kirk vs. Dan O’Hare in a four corners of pain barbed wire madness elimination match.
  • MCW on Saturday night in Joppa, MD at the MCW Arena with Bruiser & Christian York vs. Joey Mercury & Corporal Punishment.
  • SKIM Promotions on 6/29 in Hagersville, ONT at the Community Centre.
  • Battlarts Pro Wrestling on Saturday at the Don Kolov Arena in Mississauaga, ONT.
  • NFC MMA on Saturday night at Center Stage in Atlanta has an all BJJ rules show headlined by Diego Saraiva vs. Tracy Conner and Phillipe Gentry vs. Gui Cury. 
  • Mark Cometti challenges Nick Aldis for the NWA title on 7/11 in Perth, Western Australia on the House of Hardcore show. Cometti is the son of Australian Rules football announcer Dennis Cometti and Mark does stats for the radio commentators and also is in a television commercial.
  • Jack Bonza will challenge Aldis for the title on 7/15 in Queensland, Australia for House of Hardcore.
  • Chelsea Green pulled out of her 6/23 date for the Future Wrestling Australia group in Sydney.
  • Angelico vs. Mitch Waterman vs. Nick Bury headlines for Battle Championship Wrestling on 6/30 in Adelaide, Australia. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
  • PCW tomorrow night on FITE TV has Penta 0M vs. Sami Callihan in a cage match for the heavyweight title, Rachael Ellering vs. Tessa Blanchard, for the women’s title Shane Strickland vs. Dragon Lee for the light heavyweight title. Warbeast vs. Dave & Jake Crist for the tag titles, Hammerstone vs. ACH, Brody King vs. Jeff Cobb, Stephan Bonnar vs. Steve Madison, Eli Everfly vs. Ace Romero vs. Darby Allin vs. Jake Atlas and a meet and greet with Meng.
  • Shine 51 on Saturday night as LuFisto vs. Su Yung and Candy Cartwight vs. Santana.
  • Defy Wrestling on Saturday in Seattle at Washington Hall is headlined by MVP, Dezmond Xavier, Kimber Lee, Shane Strickland and Brody King. You must be over the age of 21 to attend this show.
  • Innovative Wrestling on 6/16 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium. All of the proceeds will go to the The Patriot Foundation.
  • Smash Wrestling on 9/16 in Toronto at the Rec Room.
  • Chuck Liddell will be filming an upcoming series for social media at the Fight Club OC show tonight in Orange County, CA at The Hangar at the OC Fair & Events Center. The show will have three MMA fights and three boxing fights.
  • Dynamo Pro Wrestling on 6/15 in St. Louis at Fubar Fubar. Doors at 7:00, show starts at 8:00. Tickets are 12 dollars at the door.
  • Acclaim Pro Wrestling on 7/7 in Ottawa at Dom Polski Hall.
  • Tuff N Uff MMA on 6/30 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The show is free but you have to get a ticket. They are doing free tickets in an attempt to set an attendance record for amateur MMA in the U.S. 
  • Courage Pro on 8/5 at 4 p.m. in Hamilton, ONT at the RHLI Veterans Association.
  • PWE on Sunday in Port Perry, ONT at Goreski’s Landing for a 2 p.m. show.
  • Old footage of Pat Patterson vs. Moondog Mayne from the Cow Palace. (thanks to Dave Doyle)
  • A story on women’s wrestling in Bolivia. (thanks to Han Hwee Yeo)
  • Alec Baldwin will be coming to Calgary soon to do An Evening With Alec Baldwin show as a benefit for the Owen Hart Foundation.
  • Mid States Wrestling on 6/23 in Harrison, AR and the Youth Center with Jerry Lawler vs. Matt Riviera with Bill Dundee and Tim Storm also on the show.

Daily Professional Wrestling History: CM Punk cashes in to win World title

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