Daily Update: Enzo Amore, NJPW, UFC 226 notes

THE ROUND-UP

THE LATEST NEWS

THE LATEST AUDIO

For this weekend, we’ll be doing two polls, one for Saturday’s NJPW show at the Cow Palace and one for Saturday’s UFC 226 in Las Vegas., so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from both events to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

We’re looking for reports from tonight’s WWE house show in Philadelphia to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com. Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax with Alexa Bliss as referee is on the show.

UFC ON FS 1 FROM THE PEARL IN LAS VEGAS

Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern

  • Bryce Mitchell vs. Tyler Diamond
  • Oskar Piechota vs. Gerald Meerschaert

FS 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern

  • Matt Bessette vs. Steven Peterson
  • John Gunther vs. Allan Zuniga
  • Richie Smullen vs. Luis Pena
  • Rachael Ostovich vs. Montana de la Rose
  • Julian Marquez vs. Alessio Di Chirico
  • Roxanne Modafferi vs. Barb Honchak
  • Martin Bravo vs. Alex Caceres
  • Jay Cucciniello vs. Brad Katona for the TUF featherweight tournament final
  • Joe Giannetti vs. Mike Triazano for the TUF lightweight tournament finale
  • Brad Tavares vs. Israel Adesanya

NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING AT 8 P.M. EASTERN ON AXS TV

  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega 2/3 falls no time limit for IWGP heavyweight title
  • Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Young Bucks

MLW ON BEIN SPORTS AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT

CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN ON THE CMLL FACEBOOK PAGE

  • Robin & Starman vs. Apocalipsis & Inquisidor
  • La Guerrera & Jarochita & Marcela vs. Dalys & Metalica & Tiffany
  • Esfinge & Guerrero Maya Jr. & Triton vs. Puma & Tiger & Virus
  • Atlantis & Flyer & Soberano Jr. vs. Cuatrero & Forastero & Sanson
  • Ciber the Main Man & Scharly Rock Star & The Chris vs. Euforia & Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero
  • Penta 0M & Rush & El Terrible vs. Caristico & Volador Jr & Valiente

APW/REVOLUTION PRO WRESTLING KING OF INDIES FROM DALY CITY, CA AT 10 P.M. EASTERN ON FITE TV

  • One-night tournament first round matches
  • Brody King vs. Timothy Thatcher
  • Flip Gordon vs. Titan
  • Jeff Cobb vs. Jacob Fatu
  • Dragon Lee vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
  • Nicole Savoy vs. Taya Valkyrie for PWR women’s title
  • Karl Fredericks & Syker Ngonguseke vs. Reno Scum for APW tag titles

We’re looking for reports from Saturday night’s Madison Square Garden show (Undertaker & Roman Reigns & Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens & Elias & Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins for IC title, Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax with Alexa Bliss as referee) to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com. This is Undertaker’s first match in MSG in eight years as well as Rousey’s debut.

UFC 226 ON SATURDAY NIGHT

Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern

  • Emily Whitmire vs. Janie Moyle
  • Dan Hooker vs. Gilbert Burns

FS 1 at 8 p.m.

  • Curtis Millender vs. Max Griffin
  • Lando Vannata vs. Drakkar Klose
  • Rob Funt vs. Raphael Assuncao
  • Paulo Costa vs. Uriah Hall

PPV at 10 p.m.

  • Gokhan Saki vs. Khalil Rountree
  • Anthony Pettis vs. Michael Chiesa
  • Mike Perry vs. Paul Felder
  • Derrick Lewis vs. Francis Ngannou
  • Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier for heavyweight title

NEW JAPAN FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO COW PALACE AT 8 P.M. EASTERN ON AXS TV

  • Yoshi-Hashi & Gedo & Rocky Romero & Sho & Yoh vs. King Haku & Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa & Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kushida vs. Hangman Page & Marty Scurll
  • Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb for Never Open weight title
  • Young Bucks vs. Seiya Sanada & Evil for IWGP tag titles
  • Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & Bushi
  • Hiromu Takahashi vs. Dragon Lee for IWGP jr. title
  • Jay White vs. Juice Robinson for U.S. title
  • Kenny Omega vs. Cody for IWGP heavyweight title

Sunday has WWE Raw in Bridgeport, CT. Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax is also on this show.

Monday has Raw in Boston. There is also a Smackdown house show in Augusta, ME.

Tuesday night is Smackdown and 205 Live from Manchester, NH including Asuka vs. James Ellsworth in a lumberjack match and Cedric Alexander vs. Hideo Itami for the cruiserweight title.

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Looking at WWE’s Universal title picture

Three months removed from the crowd rejecting the main event of WrestleMania, the Universal Championship picture is still a bit of a mess. It seemed like things were finally starting to fall into place with the announcement of a multi-man number one contender’s match for Extreme Rules. But, without all that much of a real explanation, the match was canceled the next week.

WON NEWSLETTER: (July 9, 2018): Death of Matt Cappotelli

A look at the life and brief wrestling career of Matt Cappotelli is the lead item in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Learn in this story why Cappotelli, who only had 37 matches in the WWE in his career, was so well liked by the people who knew him best. Find out about his battles with cancer, how fate got in the way of three different WWE startups and the plan for him to win a championship immediately after his call-up.

Look at the back story behind his interview after he learned he had cancer, his second battle with cancer, the Bob Holly situation and what could have been with the angle, his grudge match with Holly in OVW, plans for him in WWE and more.

Read more on Oscar De La Hoya and his MMA plans for Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell and the money deal and business involved.

Find out about Max Holloway being pulled from this week’s UFC show.

This issue has full coverage of the ROH Best in the World PPV as well as Jay Lethal’s ROH title win, including star ratings and poll results.

WWE’s Extreme Rules is updated.

 Read more about the Leslie Smith case and how this could affect pro wrestling and MMA going forward and which companies it likely will and won’t affect.

Coverage of WWE’s return to Japan this past week is in this issue.

There are notes on a Daniel Bryan interview, a show during SummerSlam week, as well as a list of talent at the recent WWE tryouts and their backgrounds. Look at a new WWE Network special, next week’s TV, and the most-watched shows on the WWE Network this past week. Also, Seth Rollins talks the Shield reunion that never seems to happen.

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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

We will be having a ton of audio this weekend including shows with Bryan and Dave everyday through Monday. We will also have a show today with Hiroshi Tanahashi. You can send questions to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com.

If you are in the San Francisco area, Bryan and Dave will be doing a live show on Saturday morning at the Westin Hotel by the San Francisco Airport. There are still a few GA tickets remaining for the show.

WWE

  • After announcing in May that they found insufficient evidence to press charges, Phoenix Police have released their report on the rape allegation that was made against Enzo Amore. It noted that Amore wasn’t contacted prior to his accuser making the claim public, which is what Amore had said himself and through his attorney. During an appearance on the Steve Austin Show last month, Amore noted that a friend’s girlfriend was emailed by someone who said they were an investigator and said someone had made a claim against a wrestler. He said his lawyer looked into that in December and couldn’t find anything that was going on. Amore was released from WWE on January 23, the day after the allegation was made public.
  • This weekend there is only one WWE tour. Because the crew went to Japan and Taiwan last week, the SmackDown crew doesn’t go back to work until a Monday show in Augusta, Maine. There are also no NXT shows this week.
  • WWE posted video of Ronda Rousey talking about heading from her UFC Hall of Fame induction to the airport so that she could make tonight’s house show in Philadelphia.
  • Rousey wrote on Instagram about going into the UFC Hall of Fame: “I had so many more to thank than I could have used the time I had the stage for. Everyone I know personally, I can thank in person … last night was for YOU. Thank YOU for watching and letting the adventures of this Venetian judoka with a bad reputation change the world”
  • Stephanie McMahon tweeted about Rousey’s induction: “Congratulations @RondaRousey on your induction into the #UFCHOF! Thank you for your fearless leadership and for changing the lives of girls and women everywhere! #NeverSayNever!”
  • Triple H also congratulated Rousey: “The door was closed until you knocked it down. An athlete, an inspiration, and a fighter in every sense of the word, @RondaRousey. Congratulations on your #UFCHOF induction, here’s to the future, dreaming big, and knowing nothing is impossible.”
  • “Ronda Rousey Uncaged,” which will feature her going through survival training, will air on the first night of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week at 10 p.m. Eastern time on July 22.
  • The Miz will participate in this year’s MLB celebrities and legends softball game in Washington D.C. on July 15, which is the same day as WWE’s Extreme Rules PPV in Pittsburgh.
  • A new episode of Table for Three with Alexa Bliss, Lita, and Trish Stratus will premiere on the WWE Network after Monday’s Raw.
  • Today is the 20th anniversary of Goldberg defeating Hulk Hogan for the WCW title at the Georgia Dome. The WWF’s In Your House: Canadian Stampede PPV, which was highly-regarded and was headlined by Bret Hart, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart & Brian Pillman defeating Steve Austin, The Road Warriors, Ken Shamrock & Goldust also took place in Calgary on this day in 1997.
  • The New York post interviewed Elias about facing The Undertaker in a six-man tag match at tomorrow’s Madison Square Garden house show.
  • Cathy Kelley, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, Matt Hardy, and “a mystery guest or two” will be appearing at a WWE and Mattel panel at San Diego Comic Con on July 22 at 11:15 a.m. Pacific time.
  • The Mansfield News Journal has an article on Duke wrestler Jacob Kasper, who attended last week’s WWE Performance Center tryouts.

Pro Wrestling

  • AXS TV is doing three hours of New Japan tonight starting at 8 p.m. airing the Omega vs. Okada match from Dominion in its entirety plus the Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Young Bucks match from Long Beach. They also have an eight-hour Bullet Club marathon with the Young Bucks & Cody doing wrap-arounds of some of the biggest matches of the year. They will also replay Omega vs. Okada at about 6:15 p.m. Eastern time as the lead-in for the live show.
  • AXS’ Mark Cuban spoke to Sports Illustrated ahead of Saturday’s show at the Cow Palace, which will air live on the channel. He hyped up NJPW as the “best pro wrestling in the world” and the “best in the business at long-term storytelling that has a payoff.” He also said AXS is excited about new NJPW president Harold Meij and his goal of increasing English-language content. On the subject of live shows on AXS, Cuban said: “They are a great way to reward viewers of the weekly show and to increase the fanbase in the United States. The viewership and social engagement for live specials in the U.S. explodes as it expands the audience outside of those who will stay up all night for events from Japan.”
  • Cody Rhodes appeared with his hair dyed black at a press conference today prior to challenging for Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the Cow Palace tomorrow. Brandi Rhodes said that Cody dyed his hair for a role on a television show.
  • The build to Cody challenging for the NWA title at All In continued with the latest episode of the NWA’s Ten Pounds of Gold, which focused on Cody not winning the ROH World Championship at Best in the World.
  • Penta 0M, who used to sell masks as a kid in front of Arena Mexico, has his first match ever in the arena, in the main event tonight.  
  • Impact Wrestling was back over 300,000 viewers this week, with Thursday night’s episode averaging 304,000 on Pop TV. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.07. Last week’s 254,000 viewers was the lowest total of the year.
  • Jim Cornette paid tribute to Matt Cappotelli on this week’s episode of his podcast. Colt Cabana also reuploaded a podcast that he did with Cappotelli in 2012.
  • In what’s being billed as an ROH vs. Impact match, Marty Scurll vs. Sami Callihan is set for Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise this October.
  • ROH announced Kip Sabian for August’s eight-man International Cup tournament that will be taking place on their Honor Re-United tour. The theme is the United States vs. United Kingdom, with the winner challenging for the ROH World Championship on August 19 in London. Jimmy Havoc, Joe Hendry, and Mark Haskins have also been announced.
  • ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. The Young Bucks vs. Christopher Daniels in a non-title match, Punishment Martinez defending his TV Championship against Scorpio Sky, Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai vs. Karen Q in a non-title proving ground match (Q will receive a future title shot if she wins), and Matt Taven vs. Marty Scurll are set for ROH’s July 20 show in Nashville.
  • Joey Janela vs. MJF in a falls count anywhere match has been added to the lineup for MLW’s July 12 TV tapings in Orlando.

UFC/MMA

Daily Professional Wrestling History: Goldberg defeats Hogan for WCW 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, Shotzi Blackheart & ???, Samantha Heights & Brittany Blake, and Miranda Alize & Kylie Rae. Also appearing will be Kris Wolf 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