Daily Update: Harley Race, Kanellis-Maverick, Conor McGregor

DAILY UPDATE

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F4W NEWSLETTER: Recapping WWE Extreme Rules

Joseph Currier recaps Extreme Rules, which saw Brock Lesnar cash in to again become Universal Champion.

Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view ended with Lesnar cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Seth Rollins to win the Universal title. After Rollins & Becky Lynch defeated Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans in the main event, Lesnar and Paul Heyman came out with the briefcase. Rollins charged at Lesnar, but Lesnar gave him two German suplexes. The bell rang to start the match — and Lesnar hit an F5 to again become Universal Champion.

Rollins will get his rematch for the Universal title at SummerSlam next month. He won a number one contender’s battle royal on the post-Extreme Rules edition of Raw, defeating Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Corbin, Rey Mysterio, Sami Zayn, Big E, Bobby Lashley, and Cesaro.

Rollins’ three-month reign as Universal Champion ended up being pretty lackluster. It started strong with a great defense against AJ Styles, but Rollins’ matches were only as good as his opponents allowed them to be. It’s difficult to succeed when the majority of your PPV title defenses are against Corbin.

WON NEWSLETTER: July 15, 2019: 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. 

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WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • WWE uploaded a post-205 Live video where Drake Maverick announced that he’ll be facing Mike Kanellis in a match. If Mike wins, he’ll get a shot at Drew Gulak’s Cruiserweight Championship. Maverick and Kanellis’ storyline continued on last night’s 205 Live, with Maverick attacking Kanellis after he insulted Maverick’s wife.
  • WWE Network News reported that The Best of ECW 1992, volumes one and two and an ECW TV pilot from November 1992 will be added to the WWE Network’s Hidden Gems section tomorrow.
  • The trailer for “Playing With Fire,” which stars John Cena, has been released. The movie is scheduled to debut in theaters on November 8. Here’s the description for it: “A crew of rugged firefighters meet their match when attempting to rescue three rambunctious kids.”
  • Ronda Rousey uploaded a video where she interviews D-Von Dudley.
  • While speaking with the Tampa Bay Times, Seth Rollins was asked if he cared to address critics who say he doesn’t have good on-screen chemistry with Becky Lynch: “I think those critics might be a little jealous. I think that’s where a lot of that stems from. I mean, if I’m a dude and I’m watching television, and I have a crush on Becky Lynch, I’m probably not going to be to fond of the guy who’s dating her either so I get that. We have such great chemistry I think it’s funny that people think we don’t. Either way it amuses me.”
  • Robert Strauss (formerly Robbie E in Impact Wrestling) is now listed as Robert Stone on the WWE Performance Center’s website. Nick Comoroto is now Nick Ogarelli.
  • WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded the fatal four-way match between Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman from SummerSlam 2017.

Pro Wrestling

  • World League Wrestling posted a statement on Harley Race’s hospitalization and are selling T-shirts to raise money for him:
    “An update that have been wanting to know about in regards to the boss’s situation over the weekend. This past weekend, he was scheduled to attend the Knoxville Fanboy Expo. While traveling to Knoxville, he exhibited some signs that needed to be addressed by medical personnel. He has been in the hospital since Thursday evening and that’s where he currently is.
    Due to privacy concerns, no specific information will be given out about his current health status or anything of the sort. All that can and will be said is that Harley Race was, is, and will always be a fighter. He doesn’t know anything else and he hasn’t thrown in the towel and he has promised that as long as it is up to him, that won’t be an option. His health is obviously top priority and with that being said, all of his upcoming appearances will be immediately cancelled. All promoters have been notified about the situation and we here are currently trying to come up with a solution to rectify the situation the best way possible.  Unfortunately, since this situation has taken place while traveling to a signing, he is currently in a hospital that is pretty far away from home that has his family there with him.
    So, in an effort to help out with the un-expected expenses, we are selling t-shirts of which profits will be given directly to the situation. The link to purchase the t-shirts is below. We appreciate the support whether or not you purchase a t-shirt. This is just a little extra help when it is needed. The price of the shirt that has an exclusive design for both front and back prints are $24.99 (plus S&H). All shirts are going to start to be shipped on August 9, 2019.
    Regardless, please continue to support Harley Race, The Harley Race Wrestling Academy, and World League Wrestling. All events and camps are going to take place as scheduled and we look forward to keeping it that way because that is what Harley Race would do. We look forward to getting him back home and continuing to have the Greatest Wrestler on God’s Green Earth.”
  • Women of Honor World Champion Kelly Klein will defend her title against Tasha Steelz at Summer Supercard in Toronto on August 9.
  • Dragon Lee vs. Kenny King has been added to ROH’s Mass Hysteria show in Lowell, Massachusetts on Sunday.
  • The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) vs. The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) for the Impact Tag Team titles, Rich Swann vs. Jake Crist for the X-Division title, Willie Mack vs. RVD, and Jordynne Grace vs. Kiera Hogan are set for Impact’s TV tapings in Windsor, Ontario, Canada this Friday.
  • Revolution Pro Wrestling is holding a tag team tournament, with the winning team advancing to challenge for the IWGP Tag Team titles at NJPW Royal Quest in London on August 31. The quarterfinals are taking place on August 4, the semifinals are being held on August 11 (and August 18 if scheduling requires it), and the finals will be at Summer Sizzler on August 30. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) are the IWGP Tag Team Champions.
  • Team White Wolf (A-Kid & Carlos Romo) vs. Dan Moloney & MK McKinnan is the first quarterfinal match to be announced for the RevPro tournament.
  • Chris Charlton tweeted about his status on NJPW World’s English broadcast team: “Not used to being news. Thanks for kind words, flattered to the point of embarrassment. But I’m not going anywhere and never was. Rocky & Kevin will continue to knock it out the park on a nightly basis. I’m excited to support at points throughout #g129 See you at Korakuen.”
  • Jushin Thunder Liger is set for Defy Wrestling’s Defyance Forever show at the Temple Theatre in Tacoma, Washington on August 23. It’s part of Liger’s retirement tour, with him set to retire at the Tokyo Dome in January. Night one of NJPW’s Super J-Cup is taking place at Temple Theatre on August 22.

UFC/MMA

  • Dana White told TMZ Sports that he thinks Conor McGregor will be back this year or early 2020. White said McGregor won’t get the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier, but White said whoever wins that fight will shake a lot of things up. White also spoke about why McGregor won’t be facing Jorge Masvidal: “Masvidal’s too big for Conor. (McGregor) shouldn’t have (fought at 170). I hated that he did it. Not only did I hate that he did it once, I hated that he did it twice. There’s plenty of fights for (Masvidal) in his weight division without Conor. He’s too big for Conor. Conor doesn’t belong at 170. He’s got the balls to fight at 170, but he doesn’t belong there. Hell no, (it won’t happen).”
  • In an interview with TSN, White spoke about why he doesn’t think Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre makes sense: “I guess if I get into a position where Khabib the champ wants it bad enough, we’re going to have to talk about it, but at the end of the day it doesn’t make sense to me,” White said. “You have other guys lined up behind him. You’re just asking me if Tony Ferguson is going to get a shot. We’ll give you a shot after Georges St-Pierre slides in at 155 and gets his shot. Then you’ve got Conor [McGregor] who wants a rematch. There’s guys backed up that want to fight in that division. You can’t come back out of retirement and hand pick fights that you want when you didn’t even keep your word with me on defending the [185] pound belt. Have I made that clear?”
  • White said Henry Cejudo should defend his flyweight title next — likely against Joseph Benavidez — before defending the bantamweight belt.
  • Thiago Santos revealed that he’s undergoing surgery on both of his knees today: “One of [the knees] was a certain thing. Then [my doctor] looked at my right knee and it turns out I will need a meniscus surgery on it, as well. Surgery will be performed [Wednesday].”
  • In an Instagram post, Darren Till teased moving up to middleweight.
  • Scott Coker told ESPN that Bellator is in discussions to hold a show at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on December 29. Fedor Emelianenko would be in the main event.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: CM Punk wins WWE title at Money in the Bank 2011

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