Daily Update: Dominion fallout, Raw ratings, UFC notes

THE ROUND-UP

THE LATEST NEWS

THE LATEST AUDIO

We’re looking for reports on WWE Raw in Monroe, LA, Smackdown in Huntsville, LA and NXT in Derby, UK to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

UFC 225 ON SATURDAY FROM THE UNITED CENTER IN CHICAGO

Fight Pass at 6:15 p.m. Eastern

  • Dan Ige (146) vs. Mike Santiago (145)
  • Clay Guida (154) vs. Charles Oliveira (155)
  • Joseph Benavidez (125.5) vs. Sergio Pettis (126)
  • Rashad Evans (205) vs. Anthony Smith (206)

FS 1 at 8 p.m.

  • Rashad Coulter (247) vs. Chris De La Rocha (261)
  • Mirsad Bektic (146) vs. Ricardo Lamas (145)
  • Carla Esparza (116) vs. Claudia Gadelha (116)
  • Curtis Blaydes (254) vs. Alistair Overeem (244)

PPV at 10 p.m.

  • C.M. Punk (169) vs. Mike Jackson (170.5)
  • Andrei Arlovski (249) vs. Tai Tuivasa (261)
  • Megan Anderson (146) vs. Holly Holm (146)
  • Rafael dos Anjos (169) vs. Colby Covington (169) for interim welterweight title
  • Robert Whittaker (185) vs. Yoel Romero (185.2) non-title

Sunday we’re looking for reports from Raw in Bossier City, LA Smackdown in Tupelo, MS and NXT in Derby, UK.

Monday has the live Raw from Little Rock with Sasha Banks vs. Natalya vs. Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor vs. Bobby Roode plus a face-to-face confrontation with Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey. There is also a Smackdown house show in Jonesboro, AR, and an NXT show in Paris, France.

Tuesday has Smackdown and 205 Live in Memphis with Andrade Cien Almas vs. Sin Cara and Jack Gallagher & Drew Gulak & Brian Kendrick vs. Gran Metalik & Kalisto & Lince Dorado announced. There is also an NXT show in Antwerp, Belgium.

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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SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • With the Golden State Warriors sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA finals, Raw won’t be facing competition from what would have been game five of the series on Monday night. Given that last week’s low number came without competition from an NBA game, it will be interesting to see how much ratings bounce back now that the NBA and NHL playoffs are over.
  • WWE sent customized title belts to the Warriors and Washington Capitals for their championship wins.
  • WWE has announced that Ronda Rousey will be wrestling at their European tour house shows in Madrid on November 3rd, Barcelona on the 4th, Bologna on the 9th, and Rome on the 10th.
  • A new episode of WWE Photoshoot, which will focus on Goldust, will be airing on the WWE Network after Raw on Monday. A new WWE 24 featuring The Hardys is set to premiere following Money in the Bank on June 17th.
  • Money in the Bank is listed as running from 7 p.m. Eastern to 10:30 p.m. There will also be a one-hour pre-show before the main card starts.
  • Shawn Michaels sounded more pessimistic about coming back for one more match during an interview with Red Carpet Report at WWE’s For Your Consideration Emmys event, saying he’s more excited about watching the young wrestlers who are taking the company into the future.
  • In addition to today’s United Kingdom tournament matches at Download Festival, Pete Dunne retained his WWE UK title against Tommaso Ciampa in what was said to be a standout match.
  • WWE looked at “extreme Money in the Bank ladder match moments” for this week’s video top 10 list.
  • Big E tweeted that he did voice work and is going to be a series regular on the upcoming Adult Swim show “Lazor Wulf.”

Pro Wrestling

  • One of the greatest title reigns of all time ended with another all-time classic match as Kenny Omega won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Kazuchika Okada in just under 65 minutes at Dominion this morning. Omega took the last two falls after Okada pinned him in the first one. Omega then closed the show united with The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi.
  • Chris Jericho’s time in NJPW will be continuing past Dominion as he won the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Tetsuya Naito. The Young Bucks also won the Tag Team titles from SANADA & EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi beat Will Ospreay for the Junior Heavyweight title, and Michael Elgin defeated Hirooki Goto and Taichi for the NEVER Openweight Championship.
  • Hiromu Takahashi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado are currently the only Japanese wrestlers to hold titles in NJPW.
  • Jericho vs. EVIL for the Intercontinental title, Jay White vs. Juice Robinson for the IWGP US title, and Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomohiro Ishii appear to be matches that NJPW is setting up for the near future. Goto also wasn’t pinned in the triple threat match for the NEVER title. Cody Rhodes came out after Omega’s win but only teased getting into the ring.
  • T-shirts for Omega, The Young Bucks, and Kota Ibushi’s Golden Elites stable are already on sale on Pro Wrestling Tees.
  • Omega tweeted after his title win: “Changing the world (together). A new story begins. @MattJackson13 @NickJacksonYB @ibushi_kota #njdomininon #GoldenElite”
  • Xavier Woods congratulated Omega and hyped up their upcoming Street Fighter video game face off at E3: “Congrats to @KennyOmegamanX for making history and becoming IWGP Heavyweight Champion! But Kenneth, please remember that wrestling has absolutely nothing to do with video games. So June 14th @e3 im still running through you”
  • Matt Hardy also congratulated Omega, Jericho, and The Young Bucks.
  • Shane Helms gave his thoughts on Dominion: “NJPW Dominion was a prime example of Pro Wrestlers understanding who they are and what pro wrestling is, better than any writer ever could. Sometimes you just gotta let the artists be artists.”
  • Before Dominion, Rey Mysterio was interviewed by ESPN and said negotiations with WWE have been going back and forth. Mysterio said he can only wrestle once or twice a week at this point but is more than open to returning with a part-time schedule.
  • Tetsuya Naito will be facing Jonah Rock at Melbourne City Wrestling’s MCW 100 show on August 18th.
  • Following up on Spring Break II, Joey Janela’s Lost in New York will be taking place at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens on August 17th, which is the Friday before SummerSlam. The show is in conjunction with Game Changer Wrestling.
  • Impact averaged 296,000 viewers and a 0.07 rating in the 18-49 demo on Thursday night. Both numbers were up a bit from last week’s 283,000 viewers and 0.06 rating. Impact was going against what ended up being the final game of the NHL playoffs on Thursday.
  • Knockouts Champion Su Yung is set to defend her title against Saraya Knight at RISE 9 on July 7th.
  • Tyler Bate vs. Will Ospreay has been announced for Fight Club: PRO’s International Tekkers in Wolverhampton on June 29th.
  • Kagetsu won the World of Stardom Championship from Toni Storm this morning.

UFC/MMA

Daily Professional Wrestling History: AJ Styles wins TNA X Division 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