Daily Update: Hell in a Cell odds, UFC 216, Blade Runner

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

AUDIO

We’ll be doing three polls this weekend, for the UFC 216, Hell in a Cell and Kings of Pro Wrestling, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE Raw house show in Rockford, IL to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

WWE HELL IN A CELL FROM THE LITTLE CAESAR’S ARENA IN DETROIT STARTING AT 7:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME SUNDAY NIGHT

These are the odds at press time regarding Hell in a Cell. Keep in mind that it doesn’t appear the smart money has come in, so these odds don’t indicate much of anything other than the heavy favorites are the ones that make sense to win:

  • Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens Hell in a Cell –– Obviously this will likely build to a memorable stunt or two and should end with some kind of an angle that takes the story in a new direction. Owens is a -420 favorite. Logically, unless there is a storyline that calls for a different result to get to the next destination, Owens shouldn’t be losing this match.
  • Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE title — It feels like there is less interest in this than any single brand title match. The buildup for this has been weak, and last months’ match did nothing to make you want to see this pairing again. Mahal at last word was a -230 favorite.
  • New Day vs. Usos Hell in a Cell for the tag team titles — This is the betting line favorite to be the best match since these teams have been having good matches and this should be the end of the program given the Hell in a Cell. Unfortunately, they are the top two teams on the brand. New Day is a -135 favorite.
  • A.J. Styles vs. Baron Corbin for U.S. title — The line here is going back-and-forth. The key for Corbin is that after having a nothing match with John Cena, he has to prove he can have a great match here. Based on the booking on Tuesday, one would think Corbin should win here. However, Styles is a slight -130 favorite.
  • Randy Orton vs. Rusev — After two fast matches, this should be a normal length match that on paper looks good. Orton is a -420 favorite.
  • Natalya vs. Charlotte for the Women’s title — Similarly, based on Tuesday’s match where Natalya made Charlotte submit, which made no sense at all, even-Steven says Charlotte wins here. She’s a -420 favorite to do so.
  • Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler — As Roode’s PPV debut, he should win over Ziggler. They’ve pushed that Ziggler will have a special ring entrance tonight. Roode is a -900 favorite.
  • Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable vs. Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder (pre show at 7:30 p.m.) — With Benjamin & Gable just getting started and teases that Ryder & Rawley are breaking up, Gable & Benjamin are -2000 favorites, the biggest favorites on the show.
    The betting lines seem to think this will be a good show, as they are predicting five matches at ***1/2 or above. The matches expected to not hit ***1/2 are Mahal vs. Nakamura, Styles vs Corbin and Benjamin & Gable vs. Hype Bros.

NEW JAPAN KING OF PRO WRESTLING FROM SUMO HALL IN TOKYO MONDAY MORNING AT 4 A.M. EASTERN TIME ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Seiya Sanada & Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Leo Tonga
  • Hirooki Goto & Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Ryusuke Taguchi & Ricochet vs. Roppongi Vice 3K for IWGP jr. tag titles
  • Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith vs. War Machine vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa in a tornado elimination match for IWGP tag titles
  • Yoshi-Hashi & Baretta & Jado vs. Kenny Omega & Cody & Marty Scurll
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. Kota Ibushi & Juice Robinson
  • Kushida vs. Will Ospreay for IWGP jr. title
  • Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the 1/4 IWGP title shot
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Evil for the IWGP title

Raw on Monday will be from Indianapolis. Indianapolis was where The Shield debuted, broke up, and this week will likely get back together so that’ll be the focus of the show. Smackdown will have a house show in East Lansing, MI.

Smackdown and 205 Live will take place on Tuesday night in Grand Rapids, MI. Rich Swann vs. TJP has been announced for 205 Live.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY:Figure Four Weekly 10/2/2017: Previewing WWE Hell in a Cell

For the first time since July’s lackluster Battleground show, SmackDown will put on a brand-exclusive pay-per-view as Hell in a Cell takes place in Detroit on Sunday night. Battleground was a night where nearly everything went wrong. The Punjabi Prison main event was awful, AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens had a botched finish, and only the tag title match between The New Day and The Usos saved it from being a totally irredeemable show.

Subscribers click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER:October 9, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Lance Russell, HIAC preview, more

It’s a special issue of the Wrestling Observer this week with a lead story on the life and career of Lance Russell. Look through his life, both in and out of wrestling, going back to when he started being a fan, the people whose careers he made, comments from fans and others in the business, how he made the careers of Jerry Lawler and Dave Brown, interaction with fans, his thoughts on a number of subjects, decisions he made as the program director, his first mention in a national trade publication, his first year broadcasting Memphis wrestling and why it was so politically important, when he promoted and having to pack a gun, his time moving to WCW, the song about him, and my own interactions with him over the years.

Look at the next three WWE PPV shows and directions, as well as the next Takeover show.

There are also updates on Ric Flair, notes on how Jim Ross’ book is doing, an update on the concussion lawsuit and the judges’ ruling that hurts the case, Notes on Shane McMahon filing a suit claiming he was duped out of $500,000, WWE in India, Samoa Joe injury update, Nikki Bella Dancing With The Stars update, Brock Lesnar schedule change, Kurt Angle talks his future and wrestling, indie name likely on the way to WWE, update on Jim Ross and New Japan, more on Kane running for Mayor, and Randy Orton talks his current role,

This issue has coverage of all the WWE and NXT arena events, with business notes and highlights inside the ring.

Check out AAA’s Heroes Inmortales show, how the company is doing and the story behind different people advertised who weren’t there.

Read details on the ratings for all the national shows over the past week, including breakdown of who was watching all of the WWE shows.

Results of the major league arena events held all over the world this past week, as well as notes on the various TV shows, all in this issue.

Subscribers click here to continue.

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to Dave@WrestlingObserver.com. 

Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue, or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.

WON BACK ISSUE: September 11, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WCW and ECW uncertainty, All Japan/New Japan feud, more

The pro wrestling industry in both the United States and Japan has never been in a more tumultuous period than it currently faces with only two companies, at least as it stands right now, having anything that could be close to regarded as rosy long-term futures. The lack of substantial news as the new TV season is about to start makes the future of the U.S. scene, aside from the WWF, speculative, in some cases, to a scary degree.

Subscribers click here to continue.

SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back late tonight talking Hell in a Cell. We won’t be talking King of Pro Wrestling until Monday night’s show, but we will talk the Jim Cornette/Santino Marella stuff. If you’ve got any questions for the show you can send them to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com. 

Regarding the controversy last night on Kevin Lee fighting with a staph infection, Nevada Athletic Commission Executive Director Bob Bennett said that Lee was cleared to fight by two doctors last night.

Bray Wyatt and Bayley were off the Raw shows this weekend. Wyatt was replaced by Karl Anderson against Finn Balor. Bayley was doing a Nintendo world championships video games competition.

After doing such a nice job on the show regarding talking about Las Vegas pulling together, honoring first responders, showing different victims who had been wounded in the shooting at the show last night, Dana White went on this tirade against Jason Aldean, who they had asked to perform at the show last night but he instead went to New York to do Saturday Night Live. White’s claim was that he asked Aldean to do the show and Aldean told him he was so shaken up from the shooting and may never perform live again, and White said how much it would mean if he did the show for those there (there were 15 people who were shot in attendance at the UFC show and a ton of first responders) and Aldean then went to New York. He also claimed a number of country music acts turned down doing the UFC show. Everlast ended up singing “America the Beautiful” to start the show. White did a very nice speech at the start of the PPV.

Blade Runner 2049, which Dave Bautista has a role in, is projected to be No. 1 at the box office this weekend with $31.53 million, well ahead of “The Mountain Between Us” at $10.1 million. However, the open is viewed as a major disappointment since the expectations were $45-55 million.

WWE

  • In the prime post-Raw spot on the WWE Network, there will be a new episode of Story Time tomorrow night.
  • Jim Ross has a book signing this coming Friday night at 7 p.m. at Books a Million in Grapevine, TX, near Dallas at 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway. 

UFC

  • UFC 216 was the third most searched term on the Internet yesterday and topped 500,000 searches. That’s the usual range for a PPV, so the early indication is not that the show did bottom level numbers. The prior show did 200,000 searches.
  • Not a lot of surprises last night on the show. With Fabricio Werdum vs. Derrick Lewis out, here were the standings:
    4-0: Josh Nason, myself, David Bixenspan, Steve Juon, Mike Sawyer, Mike Sempervive, Ryan Frederick, Front Row Brian, John Pollock
    3-1: Paul Fontanie, Tom Lawlor
  • Derrick Lewis missed last night’s UFC show and was replaced by Walt Harris due to two bulging discs on the L-4 and L-5 vertebrae.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Billy Corgan will appear on The Tonight Show on Thursday. He’s likely there to talk about his current touring as opposed to anything pro wrestling related. 
  • Today is the 40th anniversary of the pro wrestling debut of Blue Panther. 
  • George “Tyrus” Murdoch was a guest star on Friday night’s episode of MacGuyver “Muscle Car + Paper Clips.” He played the character of Goliath, the muscle for a hacker group plotting to kill the Secretary of Defense. Not sure who played the part of Gordman. (thanks to Grant Zwarych)
  • AAW from last night in LaSalle, IL before 375 fans, the largest crowd they’ve done in that building: Samantha Heights b Allie Kat, Curt Stallion b Chuck Taylor, Eddie Kingston b Mike Hartenbower, Jake Something & Brubaker b Zero Gravity, AR Fox b Sami Callihan (said to be great), Trey Miguel & Stephen Wolf won over Paco & Ace Perry and Connor Braxton & Cody Rice, Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz b Devin & Mason Cutter to keep tag titles, Rachael Ellering b Sienna in the women’s title tournament, Candice LeRae b Britt Baker in the women’s title tournament, Keith Lee & Shane Strickland b Michael Elgin & Myron Reed in what was said to be a great match, Rey Fenix b Penta 0M to keep the AAW title in what was also said to be a great match.
  • The Wrestling Channel on Pluto.tv is now the Impact Wrestling channel. It’ll start showing old Impact shows. 
  • On Fox 2 Detroit’s “CriticaLee Speaking on Friday night, Lee Thomas, the host, said Dave Bautista was his choice for King of the Box Office. All three critics on the show praised Blade Runner 2049. (thanks to Jake Koch)
  • GOUGE from yesterday in Raleigh, NC: Snooty Fox b Chris Taylor, Seymour Snott b Kool Jay, Popo the Klown b Curtis Cash, Pope the Klown & Seymour Snott b Young & Wild, No Direction b Waylon Maze & Juan Jeremi, Jimmy Jack Funk Jr. b Blade Brown.
  • Glory 45 did 73,000 in Holland on Ziggo Sport, which beat what the UFC did. (thanks to Henk Mulder)
  • Results from XICW at Cobo Hall in Detroit last night: Mercedes Martinez b Mia Yim to keep the Shimmer title, Kongo Kong b Zach Gowen, Shane Douglas b Al Snow, Malcom Monroe II & III b Abyss & Crazzy Steve in a cage match. They announced a 10/22 show at The Ritz in Detroit with Malcolm Monroe III vs Teddy Hart (thanks to Jake Koch)
  • PW Eclipse on 10/20 in Oshawa at the Legion Hall.
  • KDW Monster’s Brawl on 10/14 in Rochester, NY at Pineapple Jack’s.
  • Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling from last night in Swansea, IL:  Keith Smith Jr. b Freddie Fury, Bobby D b Big Texan, Sean Vincent DCOR Ax Alwardt, Heath Hatton b Red Daniels, Clint Poe b Bubba Troll, Dave Vaughn b Curtis Wylde-DQ, Flash Flanagan & Ken Kasa b Cowboy Marc Houston & Johnny Blade with Ricky Steamboat as referee. (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer) 
  • Glory Pro Wrestling on 10/15 in Alton, IL with Myron Reed vs. Jake Something for the Crown of Glory title, Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett vs. Penta 0M & Rey Fenix plus Michael Elgin, Mark Haskins, DJZ, Shigehiro Irie, Shane Strickland and more.
  • Big Time Wrestling on 11/3 in Daytona Beach, FL has Kevin Nash, Tommy Dreamer, Hurricane Helms, the Dudleys Twins (Devon’s sons), Amber Nova and more. 
  • Black Label Pro on 10/21 in Crown Point, IN at the On the Square Sports Academy has Nicole Savoy vs. Jordynnne Grace, Ethan Page vs. Manny Fernandez (the 80s star), Shigehiro Irie vs. Chip Day, plus Meng & Barbarian vs. Nick Gage & ?.
  • Hoosier Pro Wrestling from last night in Columbus, IN: Kenny Cage b Kid Thunder to win the cruiserweight title, Ace Jackson b Drax O’Brien, Jimmy Valiant b Guy Lombardo, Tank won three-way over Scarecrow and Fireball, Bolt b Omega Pitbull, Duke the Nuke & Tom Van Zant b Bambino Family-DQ, Vic the Bruiser b DWI, Shawn Kemp b Troy Van Zant.  The next show is the annual Fireman’s Cheer Fund Toy Drive show on 11/4. 

Today in Professional Wrestling History: Brock Lesnar wins IWGP title

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