Daily Update: Jon Jones’ test failure, Cormier reacts, Triplemania

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FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: Figure Four Weekly 8/14/2017: PROGRESS comes to Boston

On the second stop of their weekend in the United States, British promotion PROGRESS Wrestling presented an intimate show in the Boston area on Sunday night. Things didn’t go quite as planned up to that point. It started when PROGRESS and WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne couldn’t wrestle on either show after being busted open in an indie match on Friday. Then, TK Cooper suffered an ankle injury in New York and the excessive heat in the crowded venue marred what otherwise appeared to be a fun show.

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WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: August 21, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Ric Flair hospitalized, G1 Climax finals, more

An update on Ric Flair and extensive G-1 Climax coverage are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Full coverage of G-1, including polls on the last three nights, G-1 MVP, G-1 best match and a chart showing star ratings for everyone in the tournament and who had the best top-end matches, who was the most consistent and more, in this issue.

Look at the finances of G-1, what are New Japan’s major programs and biggest shows for the next two months, full coverage of all three nights at Sumo Hall, a measure of the change in interest levels over the past year, a look at the return of Katsuyori Shibata, and U.S. G-1 television plans for the summer and fall.

Preview WWE’s SummerSlam weekend, injury updates, lineup changes, ticket sales and plans for next year.

There is an update on the Daniel Bryan situation and why his coming back to wrestle next year is so unique, more on the WWE Network in China, how streaming services have done in China, Ronda Rousey and WWE, Adam Cole and WWE, the Mae Young Classic, Mike Bennett talks drug addiction issues, Bayley talks about her injury, Sami Zayn raising money, Dwayne Johnson update, Scott Dawson update, Shayna Baszler talks Rousey in wrestling, UK ratings, the story of Jericho’s one-night comeback, how Dolph Ziggler’s fortunes faded, WWE market value and the most watched shows on the WWE Network.

Check out all the WWE and NXT arena events from the past week with highlights from each show and business notes.

Examine the situation with Alberto El Patron and GFW and why it is what it is, as well as notes on the upcoming GFW tapings, Alberto’s response, new talent coming, the situation with Lucha Underground and what happens if Lucha Underground is no more.

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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: July 31, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WCW does big business in Australia, WWF Fully Loaded review, more

The country of Australia, apparently wrestling-starved, banged out amazing business when tickets went on sale for an October tour of World Championship Wrestling, which includes four television shoots. On 7/21, the first show that went on sale, a Nitro taping in Melbourne on 10/13, sold out the Rod Laver Arena (capacity for a Nitro taping would be probably close to 10,000) with tickets priced from $300 Australian down to $65, sold out in less than three hours (reports of a 90 minute sellout are exaggerated, but only slightly).

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WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Along with recap and fallout from TakeOver: Brooklyn, tonight’s episode of NXT includes matches that were taped before the special at the Barclays Center on Saturday night. Those matches are Pete Dunne & Wolfgang vs. Tyler Bate & Trent Seven (which was Dunne’s first match back since being busted open in a match and missing PROGRESS’ weekend in the US earlier this month), Peyton Royce vs. Sarah Logan, and Lars Sullivan attacking No Way Jose.
  • Singer Bruno Mars, who was given the nickname Bruno as a kid because his father thought he looked like Bruno Sammartino, met Sammartino at a concert in Pittsburgh last night.
  • The next 37 wrestlers who will be playable characters in WWE 2K18 were made official today as 2K Sports continued their roster reveal.
  • WWE posted the full Mae Young Classic bracketology special for free on YouTube. Triple H also discussed the tournament in an interview with NBC Sports.
  • WWE has a short video profile on female referee Jessika Carr (formerly Kennadi Brink on the indies).
  • Latin Times interviewed Marti Belle about representing the Dominican Republic in the Mae Young Classic.
  • Roman Reigns responded to a Sports Illustrated video of fans explaining why they don’t like him: “The simple question here is to the Kids. Would you rather grow up and be like me, OR the guys from this video!??”
  • Triple H took his usual post-call up picture with Bobby Roode after Roode’s debut on SmackDown last night.
  • Matt Hardy tweeted about the legal situation with Anthem: “FUN FACT-Benjamin, Maxel & Scribe weren’t paid & DID NOT sign releases from TNA/GFW to allow their images to be aired on ANY media, esp TV.”
  • WWE wrestlers discussed their favorite rock/metal bands. MetalInjection also interviewed WWE music composers CFO$ about how they got their job and their process of creating entrance music.

Pro Wrestling

  • Twitch announced a partnership with AAA that will feature the platform streaming Triplemania XXV in both English and Spanish for free on Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern time. There will be a “best of” Triplemania marathon leading up to the event.
  • Tonight’s episode of Lucha Underground is a loaded show with Johnny Mundo defending his title against Rey Mysterio, Pentagon vs. Prince Puma in the Cueto Cup finals, and Sexy Star vs. Veneno in a mask match.
  • From our Chris Aiken: “Ultimo Guerrero and Mistico had a match in Arena Mexico last night that told a good story. Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin, Matt Taven, and Marco Corleone appeared on CMLL’s Informa talk show as well.”
  • Rey Mysterio vs. Will Ospreay headlined today’s Pro Wrestling World Cup show for WCPW. You can watch the full show for free on their YouTube channel.
  • StateCollege.com has a feature on Hacksaw Jim Duggan and the connection that he still has with fans.
  • The Daytona Beach News-Journal ran a story on ODB and the food truck that she operates.

UFC/MMA

  • Jon Jones’ camp released a statement after news of Jones’ drug test failure broke: “We are all at a complete loss for words right now. Jon, his trainers, his nutritionists and his entire camp have worked tirelessly and meticulously the past 12 months to avoid this exact situation. We are having the samples tested again to determine the validity or source of contamination. Jon is crushed by this news and we are doing whatever we can as a team, to support him.”
  • Daniel Cormier also reacted to the news of Jones’ failure: “It’s hard to find words to describe how I’m feeling right now. I’m disappointed to hear the news. It’s very emotional. We as athletes are entitled to due process, and I will refrain from saying much more until I know exactly what happened. In my mind, on July 29th, I competed and I lost. I thought Jon Jones was the better man that day. I don’t know what to think anymore. I can’t believe we are going through all of this again. We will see what happens next. Thank you to all my fans who have supported me during this dark time. I love you all very much.”
  • Dana White revealed that Jones vs. Stipe Miocic was being planned and could have happened at UFC 218 if it wasn’t for Jones being back out of action. White also wondered if Jones will ever fight again.
  • Mark Hunt blasted Jones in a post on Instagram, saying that Cormier should get all of Jones’ purse from UFC 214.
  • The UFC released the third episode of Embedded for Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor. It ends with McGregor’s confrontation with Paulie Malignaggi from yesterday.
  • Owen Roddy, who is McGregor’s striking coach, said that people would believe McGregor has a chance to win if they saw him in the gym.
  • McGregor was featured in a commercial for Beats by Dre ahead of the Mayweather fight.
  • Holly Holm is open to negotiating for a matchup against Cris Cyborg.

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