Daily Update: Paige backstage at Raw, Jason Jordan injury, Cena

THE ROUND-UP

THE LATEST NEWS

THE LATEST AUDIO

We’re looking for reports on these weekend events to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

  • *Raw on Friday night in Amarillo
  • *Raw Saturday night in Wichita Falls, TX
  • *Smackdown Saturday night in Hidalgo, TX
  • *Evolve Saturday in New York

We’re also looking for reports from Raw tonight in San Antonio with anything that doesn’t happen on Raw. Nia Jax vs. Asuka announced and John Cena returns on tonight’ show. There will also be a Smackdown house show in Corpus Christi, TX and the final day of Impact tapings tonight in Orlando.

Smackdown, Mixed Match Challenge and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday in Laredo, TX with Finn Balor & Sasha Banks vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Natalya as the first mixed match challenge match. Also set for Smackdown are Charlotte Flair & Naomi & Becky Lynch vs. The Riot Squad, Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley and Jinder Mahal vs. Xavier Woods in the semifinals of the U.S. title tournament.

​F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly 1/8/2018: Jericho continues to make wrestling a better place

At 47 years old, Chris Jericho would have been forgiven if his match against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 wasn’t a classic. No one expected Jericho vs Omega to live up to Kazuchika Okada vs. Omega from the year prior. There was no way it could have. It was enough that Jericho, someone who’s been with WWE since 1999 and has enjoyed a privileged position for most of his run, was wrestling in NJPW at all. Interest for this year’s Tokyo Dome show was up fairly substantially from the last few years across the board, with attendance figures and New Japan World subscriber numbers rising year-over-year.

WON NEWSLETTER: January 15, 2018 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 review, plus tons of news

It’s a double issue week, packed with more major news than any issue in a long time, including notes on the top two matches at WrestleMania, the Hall of Fame main eventer, updates on several major contract issues and a lot of notes on what will be the two biggest stories of the year, the UFC and WWE television negotiations.

There is extensive coverage of New Japan’s Tokyo Dome show including all the business notes, how New Japan World is doing and the cycle of subscribers, the value of Jericho vs. Omega to New Japan, attendance notes, what was unique on the show, Jericho going forward in New Japan, all the angles going forward, what’s next for Kenny Omega, what’s next for Kazuchika Okada, questions on the booking, who were the most popular people on the show, long and short-term angles coming off New Year’s Dash, and a look at New Japan’s big shows through August. 

Look at the next eight live shows on New Japan World, plus full Tokyo Dome and New Year’s Dash rundowns with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results on the shows.

Updated plans for the Royal Rumble, including the makeup of the women’s match, demand for tickets for Rumble and Mania week and a record to be set on the show.

Notes on WWE & UFC and how the changing landscape of television affects both companies as they go into their most important negotiations for many years, are in this issue.

There is a feature on John McCarthy stepping away from officiating, with a background of his start in UFC, his role in the growth and changes of the sport and his new role as an announcer.

Look at NJPW vs. WWE matches taking place in the U.K., as well as the story of the first and only time the WWF champion and IWGP champion wrestled each other at the Fukuoka Dome and the politics that allowed it to happen.

Read about WWE injuries, the Mixed Match Challenge, WWE Hall of Fame 2018, NXT Takeover notes, more on Miz’s new TV show and the challenges it faces, Ronda Rousey and Bryan Danielson.

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WON BACK ISSUE: December 25, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Blue Demon passes away, WCW talent walks out on tapings, more 

Alejandro Munoz Moreno, who was a 1960s Mexican movie star and possibly the second most famous wrestlers in that country’s history as the Blue Demon, passed away on 12/16 from a heart attack at the age of 78. Demon, who would probably be ranked just behind El Santo as the most famous cultural wrestling icon in Mexico, starred in even lower budget movies than those which made Santo one of the most beloved and probably the longest enduring wrestling legend in any culture.

MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio Raw, TNA, Bill Goldberg, Vitor Belfort and lots of other news. We’ll also be taking questions that you can send to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com.

Mauro Ranallo noted that he had food caught in his throat last night but Frank Shamrock saved his life doing the Heimlich maneuver.

Paige is at Raw, and we were told Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose (who missed the weekend due to illness) are there as well. 

John Cena is scheduled for tonight’s Raw. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are not listed for tonight’s show, but all three will be on Raw next week. With no football tonight, this is when the ratings should bounce back significantly.

Jason Jordan was out of action this weekend due to an injury. WWE has not released any details on the injury.

A.J. Styles vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a handicap match is being advertised for tonight’s Smackdown house show in Corpus Christi.

ROH War of the Worlds tickets go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. for Ringside Members and Friday to the public for four joint shows with New Japan which will take place on 5/9 at the Lowell Auditorium, 5/11 in Toronto at the Ted Reeve Arena, 4/12 in Royal Oak, MI at the Royal Oak Music Theater and 5/13 in Chicago at the Odeum. Notable that the within a day of the ROH announcement, NXT announced a 3/3 date in Royal Oak, MI. They also announced 3/1 in Columbus, OH, 3/2 in Cleveland and 3/4 in Indianapolis.

WWE

  • Tomorrow night after Smackdown, there will be a one hour special on USA listing the top 25 moments in the history of Raw, to build for the 1/22 show. Sean Mooney and Peter Rosenburg host the show. Mooney on Twitter said that he wouldn’t be at the 25th Raw.

UFC

  • Daniel Cormier cuts a promo on Volkan Oezdemir this afternoon on the MMA Hour.
  • Jessica Rose-Clark, who defeated Paige VanZant on last night’s UFC show, had her home burglarized on Thursday and they stole $30,000 worth of things and killed her pet cat.
  • VanZant posted X-rays to show she had a broken arm, which she suffered doing a spinning attack when her forearm cracked Rose-Clark in the head. This is actually the same injury that took place to Toshiaki Kawada in one of his famous matches with Mitsuharu Misawa. 

MISCELLANEOUS

  • The final night of Impact tapings are tonight in Orlando and we’re looking for reports. Scott Steiner returns tonight. Tommy Dreamer is there as well.
  • Trace Adkins will be performing the national anthem at Saturday night’s Bellator show from the Forum in Los Angeles. This coming Saturday is a huge night for MMA as Bellator has its biggest show in a long time and UFC has its biggest heavyweight fight in years, as well as a light heavyweight fight. Scott Coker said today on the MMA Hour that the winner of the Michael Chandler vs. Goiti Yamauchi fight will earn a lightweight title shot at Brent Primus. As noted before, Bellator will air on both The Paramount Network and CMT simultaneously from about 9 p.m. to midnight. UFC will air on FS 1 from 8-10 p.m. and then on PPV from 10 p.m. on.
  • The NWA produced an empty arena match with Tim Storm vs. Jocephus taped yesterday in Orlando before the Impact tapings, for a title shot at Nick Aldis and it was released.
  • Bruce Prichard & Conrad Thompson’s Something to Wrestle With Podcast will be taped on Friday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn after the Nets vs. Miami Heat game. You can watch the podcast being taped with a ticket to the game. Prichard will also be on Raw next Monday.
  • NFC MMA on 1/27 at Center Stage in Atlanta. The main event has NFC heavyweight champion Brandon Sayles vs. Dexter Carthon as one of four title matches on the show.
  • The 2017 George Fighters Awards banquet takes place on 1/20 at 4 p.m. at the Todd English Tavern at the Battery in Atlanta with Evander Holyifeld getting a Hall of fame award and a lifetime achievement award. Admission is free.
  • Rock Solid Wrestling on 2/3 at Thorneloe University in Sudbuiry, ONT at the Ernie Checkeris Threatre.
  • Shaul Guerrero the daughter of Eddy & Vickie Guerrero has been announced for 4/13 at the Rise 7 show in Chicago. She had trained in Florida for WWE but suffered several injuries. She is also married to Aiden English.
  • CWE on Friday night in Winnipeg: Anderson Tyson Moore b Bobby Schink, Mentallo b Tony Kozina-DQ, Mike Mission b Tommy Lee Curtis in a street fight, Jacob Creed & Bobby Collins & Rob Stardom b Austin Arrow & Tyler Jones & Chayse Britton, Chase Owens b Roy Gordon, AJ Sanchez b Danny Duggan, Tyler Colton b Kevin Lee Davidson, Bobby Jay b AJ Smooth, Chase Owens and Danny Duggan co-won Battle Royal. The next show in Winnipeg will be the 9th anniversary show on 6/1. The final night of the current tour with Jake Roberts is 6/3 in Blind River, Ontario.
  • Hoosier Pro Wrestling on 2/3 in Columbus, IN at the 4-H Fairgrounds with Flash Flanagan.
  • Hall of Fame discussion with Jim Cornette, Jeff Bowdren, Scott Bowden, Dann Lennard, Kurt Brown, Bix & Allan Blackstock. Everyone discusses their ballot.

Today in Professional Wrestling History: Big John Studd wins 1989 Royal Rumble

WRESTLING OBSERVER / F4W – WRESTLEMANIA 34 in NEW ORLEANS

Here we go again! It’s back to New Orleans for Wrestlemania 34 and a huge weekend of spectacular professional wrestling related fun and wackiness. EdinSanAntonio Productions along with the Wrestling Observer / Figure Four Empire~! is proud to present the annual Wrestlemania weekend trip details. This huge weekend includes a number of website “members only” events. Below are the two events currently scheduled. Click here for full event details.

WOR Podcast Taping:Purchase TICKETS for the Wrestling Observer Radio LIVE MAILBAG~!

  • WHAT: Wrestling Observer Radio LIVE Podcast Recording with Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez
  • WHEN: Friday, April 6th, 2018 – 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Doors open at 8:45 a.m. for VIP ticket holders and at 9:15 a.m. for general admission)
  • WHERE: The Bourbon Room, Royal St. Charles Hotel in downtown New Orleans; 135 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130

WO/F4W Brunch:Purchase TICKETS for the Wrestling Oberver BRUNCH~!

  • WHAT: All you care to eat brunch buffet on the morning of Wrestlemania 
  • WHEN: Sunday, April 8th, 2018 – T11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
  • WHERE: The Court of Two Sisters restaurant in downtown New Orleans; 613 Royal St., New Orleans, LA 70130

CONTACT INFORMATION

Support the Empire~! with F4W shirts. Grab yours today!

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