Daily Update: Jim Neidhart, Raw notes, Enzo Amore

THE ROUND-UP

THE LATEST NEWS

THE LATEST AUDIO

We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows:

  • WWE Raw in Greensboro (non-Raw matches, Main Event, anything not at the show)
  • WWE Smackdown house show tonight in Columbia, SC
  • WWE Raw from Saturday night in Norfolk, VA
  • WWE Smackdown from Saturday night in Greenville, NC
  • Impact TV tapings tonight in Toronto

        Reports from all of these shows can be sent to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

We’re also doing G-1 polls, we’re looking for your thoughts on all three shows at Budokan Hall, with thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for all three individual shows todave@wrestlingobserver.com

We’re also looking for your thoughts on best match of the tournament and tournament MVP to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

The go-home Raw for SummerSlam is in Greensboro. As of one week ago, Brock Lesnar was scheduled on this show, but he is not advertised on it right now at we haven’t had it confirmed since last week. A three-way for the tag titles with the B Team defending against Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt and The Revival is set for the show. Smackdown has a house show on Monday night in Columbia, SC.

Smackdown and 205 Live are taped on Tuesday night in Greenville, SC, with Cedric Alexander vs. Jack Gallagher in a non-title match and Lio Rush vs. Akira Tozawa both announced for the 205 Live show.

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Matt Riddle’s future starts to become clear

It may have been a bit delayed, but Matt Riddle signing with WWE seems all but inevitable at this point. Riddle dropping the EVOLVE Championship to Shane Strickland at EVOLVE 108 this past weekend is only the latest indication of that. When Riddle pulled out of OTT’s SummerSlam weekend shows in Ireland, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE had reconsidered its position on Riddle.

WON NEWSLETTER: (August 13, 2018)Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov to set records

A detailed rundown of WWE business is in the new issue of the Observer. Look at the company value; the WrestleMania quarter revenue, why profits are surprisingly low and why that really doesn’t matter right now, executive bonuses, profits for the first six months of the year, what is known about the WWE Network and actual WrestleMania ticket sales.

A look at the story behind the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight and PPV prospects is the other lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer. Look at how McGregor showed that if you can draw giant money you can get away with almost anything. 

Also look at what the big advance ticket sale for ROH in Madison Square Garden shows. Look at what should have been expected, the ticket broker market for the show, how many tickets were sold first day, the last time MSG sold out for wrestling, the largest U.S. non-WWE gate in history, and the big picture on the show. 

Read about Glenn Jacobs winning the mayoral race in Knox County, TN, other pro wrestlers who have won public office election, and the Jacobs campaign.

Also look in detail on the All In show with the lineup, ways to watch, how the WGN deal came about and more.

Read more thoughts on the WWE television situation in 2019 including the idea of NXT moving to television, what is and isn’t planned about that and how to make it work, as well as a flaws in doing so.

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.

MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio talking Jim Neidhart, Raw, G-1, Tom Lawlor as well as taking your e-mail questions that can be sent tomailbag@wrestlingobserver.com.

This has been a rough day regarding the death of Jim Neidhart. We’ll talk more about it on the show. The death came out of nowhere which makes it such a shock. I was told it has been a very sad day at TV in Greensboro because Natalya and T.J. Wilson are both so well liked by almost everyone. I’ve actually known of Jim since I was very young since he was a superstar in high school track, and when I was in high school years after him, we had a great shot putter who ended up winning state, and the goal that he never came close to was Jim’s all-time state high school record. But I remember him as a world class shot putter that Stu Hart was training for pro wrestling nearly 40 years ago.

According to the police report, they were called at 6:41 a.m. today and told that Neidhart fell, hit his head and was bleeding. His wife Ellie said that Jim was having difficulty sleeping, told her he was cold and wanted to adjust the thermostat. She got out of bed and he walked over to the thermostat, then fell toward the wall, evidently having a seizure, and hit the ground and she called 911, believing he had a seizure. She saw blood, saw him gargling and told the operator she thought he was dead. He takes medication for seizures and last had one on 12/21. He had a cut on his face from the fall of 2-4 inches in length. (thanks to Timothy Wronka of Bay News 9)

Natty wrote: “I can’t put into words how hard it is going to be for myself and our family to have to say goodbye to my dad. He meant the world to us, and nothing will ever replace the special times we shared together as a family. My dad was always a fighter and an incredibly special person. There was no one like him. I’m just gonna miss him so much. We are going to hold all of the moments we had with him close to our hearts forever and never let them go. I promise to keep your memory alive. We love you so much, Daddy! On behalf of my entire family, we would also like to personally thank everyone for the outpouring of thoughts and prayers. It’s meant so much to us.”

Ronda Rousey is booked and advertised on tonight’s show. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are not advertised on the show. The last I had heard, which was several days ago and before the scripts were finalized, that they were scheduled. Lesnar is heavily advertised for next Monday, but not for tonight. It is the go-home Raw for SummerSlam and the rule of thumb is that everyone in a main match is to appear.

Rousey was to be in Natalya’s corner for a match with Alexa Bliss, who would have Alicia Fox in her corner. Natalya went home this morning when hearing the news about her father so I don’t expect her at TV, but WWE has not confirmed if she would or wouldn’t be coming back.

Also scheduled for tonight’s show is a contract signing for Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler’s IC title match and Finn Balor and Baron Corbin will be in singles matches. 

Paul Levesque won’t be backstage at the show, which is a rarity. They are attending the O.A.R. concert in Central Park tonight. 

Enzo Amore was interviewed by TMZ over the weekend and when asked when he was going to wrestle again, he said “Not in a million years.” He was at a charity flag football game in Los Angeles last night and said there was no amount of money that would change his mind. He is looking at being a rap singer.

We also want to send our best to author Bertrand Hebert, who did some of the best wrestling books including Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs with Pat Laprade, as well as Pat Patterson’s autobiography and more. His father passed away this morning at the age of 72. His father was a huge wrestling fan since childhood and is the reason Bertrand was a huge fan. His father was the ring announcer for the NCW promotion in Montreal from 1996 to 2002, which Bertrand booked. He had two children, and five grandchildren.

WWE

UFC

  • Besides Tom Lawlor, another longtime UFC vet, Gleison Tibau, who had 28 fights in UFC, was released today. His contract expired and he wasn’t offered a new deal.

OTHER

  • Flamita & Bandido won the Progress tag titles on Saturday night in Cicero, IL from Chris Brookes & AR Fox (subbing for the injured Kid Lykos) and retained them last night in Livonia, MI. They will be going to the SSE Wembley show at 9/30 as champions.
  • Revolution Pro announced its 8/26 show in Portsmouth at the Guildhall is being moved to 9/7 and it will be the biggest show they’ve ever run in the city. Jushin Liger, Kushida and Zack Sabre Jr. are all on the card.
  • Powerslam TV has announced that they will be putting up the 8/3 Defy show, PCW Ultra Fest Wrestling and more for $5.99 per month.
  • Tokyo Championship Wrestling on 9/27 at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo has an indy Rumble match, and Sabu as the headliner along with Masato Tanaka, Tajiri, Osamu Nishimura, Jiro Kuroshio and others. The main event is Sabu vs. Tanaka vs. Yuko Miyamoto with Atsushi Onita as referee. 
  • Walter was announced for the November World Series Wrestling show in Australia.
  • CWL announced that Detroit’s WRIF FM radio hosts Dave and Chuck will broadcast their wrestling TV show along with Matt Striker. They are the morning drive time comedy DJ duo. The show when it starts is paid programming on WADL-TV in Detroit. (thanks to Jake Koch)
  • Big Time Wrestling on Friday night in Pawtucket, RI at McCoy Stadium before 2,000 fans: Super Crazy b Danny Miles, Slyk Wagner Brown won three-way over Thomas Santell and Chris Dickinson, The Patriot & Craig Costa & Anthony Greene b James Ellsworth & Buddy Romano & Brandon Webb, Flex Armstrong won gauntlet match over Darren Young, Todo Loco and James Ellsworth, Kevin Nash b Flex Armstrong to win the title, PCO b Teddy Goodz, Emma b Maria Manic, Jack Swagger b Billy Gunn.
  • Big Time Wrestling on Saturday night in Moosic, PA at PNC Field before 650 fans: Sean Carr b Slyk Wagner Brown, Super Crazy & Todo Loco b Flex Armstrong & Danny Miles, Patriot & Sandman & ? b James Ellsworth & Mr. TA & ?, PCO b Thomas Santell (best match on show), Emma b Maria Manic, Darren Young b Billy Gunn.
  • Pro wrestling was held over the weekend at the Watermelon Festival in Hope, AR. It was the first time in 30 years that pro wrestling was part of the Watermelon Festival, which was an annual part of the festival back in the Bill Watts Mid South Wrestling era. Tim Storm beat Matt Riviera in the main event.
  • Legacy Fighting Alliance on 9/14 at the Golden Nugget Casino Hotel & Marina in Atlantis City on AXS TV is headlined by Sean Brody (8-0) vs. Gilbert Urbina (5-0) and a battle with former Tough Enough wrestler Tanner Saraceno vs. former UFC fighter Jonavin Webb, plus Dayelle Wolf, a national boxing champion making her debut, against Courtney King, who is best known for beating Sage Northcutt’s sister Colbey.
  • A story on Tampa wrestling legends. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)

Daily Professional Wrestling History: Tetsuya Naito wins 2017 G1 Climax

12th Annual F4W Empire Vegas Convention

Greetings friends and fans of the F4W / Wrestling Observer website. The 12th annual F4W / Wrestling Observer Empire Las Vegas Convention~! is just around the corner.

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 Granny’s Doubles Match Classic! Already booked for the show are the teams Mia Yim & Leva Bates, Shotzi Blackheart & Sage Sin, Samantha Heights & Brittany Blake, and Miranda Alize & Kylie Rae. Also just booked for the show is a tag team Grappling Battel~! featuring Bryan Alvarez & ??? vs. The Beach Bums (PeachMachine & Mikey G), You won’t want to miss this show! Check out the convention’s Facebook page for all additional information.

CONTACT INFORMATION