Daily Update: More info on canceled TNA tour, Thanksgiving wrestling history

Smackdown tonight on Syfy

Dudleys vs. Erick Rowan & Luke Harper

Becky Lynch vs. Paige

Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger in a non-title match

New Day vs. Sin Cara & Kalisto in a non-title match

Dean Ambrose vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Dolph Ziggler – Winner gets an IC title shot

It’s a Thanksgiving themed show.

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FROM THE HIROSHIMA GREEN ARENA TONIGHT AT 4:30 A.M. EASTERN AND 1:30 A.M. PACIFIC TIME LIVE ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

Tiger Mask & Jay White & David Finlay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka

Jushin Liger & Kushida & Mascara Dorada & Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano & Gedo & Michael Bennett & Matt Taven

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata & Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale & Cody Hall

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil in the tournament

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma in the tournament

Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian in the tournament

Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs. A.J. Styles & Yujiro Takahashi in the tournament

It’s Black Friday and that means Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online has a huge deal for you!

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Figure Four Weekly

Figure Four Weekly (11/23/15): Lots of Updates in Hulk Hogan-Gawker case
Lots of news including a win for Gawker, the new police report, the remaining mysteries of the case, what Bubba the Love Sponge is saying, and more.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

A look at the decision to make Sheamus the WWE champion and its ramifications is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We look at WWE’s options, both the obvious ones and the ones out of the box, different ways to use people, the nature of the decision, the prior identical decision in 2011 and the storyline it was supposed to lead to and why it was made.

We look at the real long-term goal, the note on the ratings, the portrayal of Sheamus leading up to the title change, the plans for the TLC show, what has been messed up, the women’s division, the WWE blaming Charlotte on a bad taste angle, ESPN and WWE, plus match-by-match coverage of Survivor Series with poll results and star ratings.

We look at the TNA deal with Pop TV, both the good and the bad of it, plus the tapings in Bethlehem, the economics of the deal and note on the station.

We’ve got a look at the New Japan tag team tournament, with current standings, goals of the tournament, who probably can’t win the tournament, and coverage of the tournament so far.

We also look at why Genichiro Tenryu is one of the biggest stars of the past 40 years in wrestling, with a look at his career in wrestling, his days in sumo, his early U.S. run, his rise in All Japan, why he left All Japan, how his leaving led to a boom period for All Japan, his deal with Super World Sports, his feud with Riki Choshu  and Jumbo Tsuruta, the real story behind his Tokyo Dome match with Hulk Hogan, the story behind his rise. the WAR days his biggest matches and his final show.

We also have an update on Randy Orton, Cesaro, notes on new WWE signing La Sombra, thoughts on the Sombra signing, how it’s the same and different from the original Mistico signing, WWE week on USA and changes this year, WWE Network shows, Brock Lesnar’s return to Raw, legal briefs filed by WWE, why Stephanie McMahon has been gone from TV and why she’s back regularly, next Takeover special, HHH talks Hogan’s return, John Cena talks his departure, WWE star teases retirement in a few years, Mick Foley upset with creative direction and notes from the developmental shows over the weekend,.

PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW

The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: November 30, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Sheamus wins WWE title, Tenryu retirement show

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TODAY’S DAILY UPDATE

  • Want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  Right now we have a special on the site for a one-month subscription for just $3.99. 
  • There was a time when Thanksgiving was the biggest night of the year in wrestling.  For subscribers, the history of pro wrestling on Thanksgiving day
  • We want to send our sympathies to the Gilbert family on the passing of Tommy Gilbert, a regular in Tennessee wrestling for a generation.
  • Regarding the cancellation of the TNA tour of India, where the talent was supposed to be leaving this weekend, the talent has been told it will be getting paid for the tour.  By contract with their TV partners, TNA has to tour India once per year, so the tour has to be made up sometime soon.  TNA in its press release did not give a reason for the cancellation.  It was told to talent as logistical reasons and to others as security reasons.  It had nothing to do with ticket sales since the shows in India were free and being sponsored.  TNA had gotten work visas for like 50 people for the tapings. 
  • The expectation would be that Smackdown will draw its lowest rating in history given Thanksgiving used to kill the Smackdown ratings in the past when it was a lot more popular show on Thursdays.  Point being, holiday night shows, nobody really takes the numbers too seriously.  For whatever reason, and it may something about the different nature of the audiences, TNA ratings when they were on Thursday were never hit so hard. 

WWE

UFC

MISCELLANEOUS

  • There are two more ZZ Inc. shows this weekend.  Tomorrow night in Merida has Blue Demon Jr. & Dr. Wagner Jr. & Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Brodus & Low Ki & Johnny Mundo.  Saturday night in Cancun has Mysterio Jr. & Wagner Jr. & Demon Jr. vs. Brodus & Low Ki & Mundo, plus Jack Evans & Angelico & Prince Puma vs. Brian Cage & Chavo Guerrero Jr. & MVP, Speedball Mike Bailey & Drago & El Hijo del Dos Caras vs. Willie Mack & Magnus & Psicosis and more.
  • Evolve has announced a tournament for its tag team championship with shows on 1/22 in Ybor City, FL, 1/23 in Orlando and 1/24 in Orlando (Royal Rumble weekend).  Teams announced are Chris Hero & Tommy End, Timothy Thatcher & Zack Sabre Jr., Trent Baretta & Rocky Romero, Caleb Konley & Anthony Nese and Johnny Gargano & Drew Galloway.  Thatcher & Sabre vs. Hero & End will take place the fight night.
  • Emmanuel Sanchez vs. Daniel Pineda has been added to the 2/19 Bellator show in Houston, which is the show headlined by Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie and Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000.
  • Terry Funk talks the New Japan tag team tournament
  • Glory runs next on 12/4 in Amsterdam,, Holland with welterweight champion Nieky Holzken vs. Marthel Groenhart and heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven vs. Benji Adegbuy.  The show will air live on ESPN’s streaming at 4 p.m. that day and tape delayed on ESPN 2 at 8 p.m. on 12/6.  It also airs on ESPN Deportes on 12/6 at 4 p.m.  The first Glory show on ESPN 2, which aired at 1:30 a.m. on 11/6, did 198,000 viewers. 
  • CZW is offering a month of CZWstudios.com for free on Roku using the code CZWONROKU. 
  • The CZW Cage of Death show, its biggest of the year, is 12/12 in Voorhees, NJ at Flyers Skate Zone with Matt Tremont vs. Devon Moore vs. AR Fox vs. Masada in a cage of death match plus Dan Barry & Bill Carr, Team Tremendous vs. BLK Jeez & Pepper Parks.  They have a Black Friday special with 20% off all General Admission tickets at www.czwrestling.storenvy.com
  • Rob Van Dam hosts Extreme Championship Comedy featuring Sabu on the RVD YouTube channel
  • Legacy Wrestling on 12/5 in Manheim, PA at 2913 Spooky Nook Rd., with Val Venis, AR Fox, Matt Tremont, Jonathan Gresham and Veda Scott.
  • Smash Wrestling on 12/5 in Oshawa, ONT at Harmony Hall.
  • Capital City Championship Wrestling on Saturday in Ottawa, ONT at the Vanier Club with a Battle royal
  • Smash Wrestling results from Sunday in London, ONT:  John Greed b Tyler Thomas, Mike Rollins & Pepper Parks b Ben Ortmanns & Notorious TID, Candice LaRae won three-way over Courtney Rush and Jennifer Blake, Tyson Dux b Tarik, Scotty O’Shea b Tyler Tirva, Dillon Andrews won over Brent Banks, Facade and Kevin Bennett, Johnny Gargano b Sebastian Suave to retain the Smash Wrestling title (thanks to Steven Ashe and Adam Beazley)
  • SPW on 12/20 in Sacramento at the SPW Arena with Brian Tannen defending his SPW title against Scoot Robertson.  Fans donating an unwrapped toy will get  half priced admission.
  • GOUGE on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Durham NC at 723 Rigsbee Ave.
  • Legacy Fighting Championships on AXS TV on 1/22 in Houston.  Kelly Faszholz (3-0) faces Valentina Shevcheknko (9-1) for the women’s bantamweight title that was vacated by Holly Holm.  Evangelista Cyborg Santos will be fighting on the show.
  • NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 12/19 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium with Jason Kincaid vs. Nick Hammonds for the Southestern title in a weapons cage match.  Also appearing will be NWA champion Jax Dane, Rob Conway, Kid Kash, Chase Owens and Ricky Morton.
  • IWA Mid South tonight in Clarksville, IN at the Colgate Gym with Reed Bentley vs. John Wayne Murdoch in a no rope barbed wire fans bring the weapons match plus Chris Hero vs. Russ Jones.  Tomorrow night in the same building they are also running.
  • NFC Fight Night on 1/22 in Kennesaw, GA at Electric Cowboy.  If you go to www.caegtix.com/nfc and use the code TMTOBLAS you can a free ticket with each paid ticket.
  • Teddy Hart vs. Shelton Benjamin headlines an 11/30 show at the soccer stadium in Nuevo Laredo which also includes a six-man where the loser gets his head shaved or unmasked.
  • Shows announced for the Auditorio in Tijuana are 12/18 with Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. L.A. Park vs. Damian 666 vs. Pagano and Bestia 666 & Extreme Tiger (Tigre Uno in TNA) vs. Mr. Aguila & Mortiz, while 12/25 has Wagner Jr. & El Hijo de Rey Misterio & Super Muneco vs. Damian 666 & Pakal & Rey Misterio II.
  • A tribute show for Mil Mascaras and Tinieblas was announced for 12/6 in Monterrey at Arena Coliseo featuring Tinieblas Jr. vs. Scorpio Jr. in a mask vs. hair match. (thanks to Kris Zellner)  
  • RF Video announced they have a 40% off Black Friday sale tomorrow on selected titles.  
  • Busted Knuckle Wrestling on Saturday night in Niagara Falls, ONT at 6101 North St.
  • A Go Fund Me for former pro wrestler and bodybuilder Nicole Bass to save her from being evicted
  • 40 years ago today in Miami Beach at the Convention Center

Karl Von Steiger b Omar Negro (Buddy Moreno/Omar Atlas)

Abe Jacobs d Rip Hawk

The Destroyer (Killer Kowalski) b Mike George

Tom Jones & Roosevelt (S.D.) Jones b Bob Roop & Roger Kirby-DQ

Cyclone Negro b Terry Funk

Rocky Johnson b King Curtis Iaukea

  • Great North Wrestling tomorrow night in Rockland, ONT at the Jean Marc Lalonde Arena featuring Bushwhacker Luke and a TLC match.

ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)

1983 – Marty Jones beat Fit Finlay in Manchester to win the British light heavyweight title

1988 – Bruno Bekkkar beat Johnny Garcia (the younger brother of Tony Garea) to win the New Zealand heavyweight title

1992 – Aja Kong beat Bull Nakano in Kawasaki to win the WWWA title and Kaoru It beat Tomoko Watanabe to win the Japanese women’s tilte