Daily Update: Raw tonight, Drew McIntyre injury, ROH

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

AUDIO 

We’re looking for reports from today’s last night’s Smackdown house show in Roanoke, VA, as well as tonight’s Smackdown house show in Charleston, SC (A.J. Styles vs. Kevin Owens vs. Baron Corbin plus Randy Orton vs. Rusev is advertised) and non-Raw reports from Raw in Knoxville tonight to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

NEW JAPAN TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FROM TUESDAY IN NAGANO (up that afternoon on New Japan World)

  • Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi
  • Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens vs. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka
  • Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Evil & Seiya Sanada

Smackdown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday in Lexington, KY with A.J. Styles vs. Singh Brothers in a handicap match and Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton.

Wednesday will be NXT TV tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY:Figure Four Weekly 11/20/2017: Five standouts from Survivor Series weekend

While an overbooked main event on Sunday didn’t end things on the best note, Survivor Series weekend mostly lived up to the huge promise it had going in. NXT put on another excellent TakeOver special, with every match on the card serving its purpose. Even with the changes, War Games was a spectacle that justified WWE bringing back the concept.

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WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER:November 27, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE/UFC TV contract negotiations, Survivor Series review, more

The single most important business story for both WWE and UFC, regarding the biggest stable revenue stream for both, television rights fees, is the lead story in the new issue of the Observer. With UFC’s contract coming due in 2018 and WWE in 2019, look at official talks by UFC, unofficial talks by WWE, the uniqueness that the same person is negotiating both new contracts, how they are intertwined, who had expressed interest in UFC and what kind of money do they want and what is being offered, and how WWE strongly ties into all this. Look at the money both companies are getting, the current exposure, and who are the big players in the game. Also look at the risks of WWE leaving USA and why a drop in ratings may still be strongly to their benefit.

Look at the details of how and why the planned Royal Rumble main event match is no longer taking place. Look at the reasons behind it as well as the complete 2018 WWE PPV schedule, and why WWE is cutting back on shows and changing the format in others.

This issue has complete Survivor Series weekend coverage, including business notes, why things took place the way they did, injury updates, what did and didn’t work along with poll results and match-by-match coverage plus star ratings.

Check out full coverage of the NXT Takeover special, the changes in War Games and business notes.

Plus, more on ticket sales for the Tokyo Dome show and the history of those ticket sales, as well as negotiations updated regarding viewership of the show in the U.S.

Read why Roman Reigns won the IC title, update on John Cena’s schedule, Jennifer Hudson-David Otunga breakup, Ric Flair’s lawsuit against his former agents, a potential new WWE TV show, why NXT is taping at Center Stage, A.J. Styles talks his future including retirement, details of all the women that were brought up to the main roster, Kevin Owens documentary, WWE cancels another show, weird WWE Network mailer, the real story behind the origination of Starrcade, and notes on this year’s Tribute to the Troops show.

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. 

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WON BACK ISSUE: WON Back Issue: The History of Pro Wrestling on Thanksgiving

A long time ago….In a galaxy far far, well, not that far away….. “Starrcade 83, don’t miss your chance to be part of the sports event of a lifetime. See Rowdy Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine, first time ever in a collar match. A Flare for the Gold, Ric Flair vs. Harley Race for the world heavyweight championship and Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood for the world tag team title. Starrcade 83, Greensboro Coliseum, a Flare for the Gold, don’t you miss it.”

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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

For those of you who aren’t subscribers right now, we have a special 64% off for the first month which ends at midnight Pacific time. So you can get a month of the web site which is all the audio shows and newsletter content for just $3.99. I promise, it’ll be worth it as this week’s Observer issue is our annual Hall of Fame issue and we’ve got a ton of historical stuff for the issue already written.

Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio, talking Raw and all the other news. You can send questions to the show to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com.

As of a few hours ago, plans for Raw included Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro, Roman Reigns vs. Elias for the IC title, Mickie James & Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose & Paige and Jason Jordan vs. Kane. I suspect the crowd will go nuts for Kane. They are in Knoxville, where he’s running for Mayor. Maybe they’ll be careful in how they use him with that knowledge given that Braun Strowman’s reaction can’t be predicted if he comes looking for revenge from last week, which he will. It’s kind of hard to talk about this sadistic monster who is running for Mayor and this being his home town given the role he plays, so that will be something to watch.

Drew McIntyre is targeting the first week of April for his return after suffering a torn biceps in the last spot of the Takeover match in Houston last Saturday night against Andrade “Cien” Almas.

ROH begins on Wednesday nights (11 p.m. CT/12 a.m. ET) on Stadium TV, a 24/7 sports network which airs on Pluto TV Ch. 207.

David Johnson, who worked as one of the Blackharts tag team with Tom Nash and Dave Heath (Gangrel) passed away last night.  

WWE

  • PWInsider reported today that WWE was moving from the All-State Arena to the United Center in Chicago for a 3/3 show. Not sure why since house shows can’t fill the All-State Arena and the United Center is much larger, but they probably got a good deal.
  • The Table for 3 show with Ric Flair, Sting and Ricky Steamboat, originally scheduled to air months ago, but delayed due to Flair’s illness and I guess wanting to change some things, will be airing tonight after Raw. 
  • The new “Marine” movie starts filming today in London. The Miz and Becky Lynch will be off television and house shows for several weeks and Shawn Michaels will be away from coaching during the same period of time. That’s why Roman Reigns won the title last week.
  • Bill Goldberg will be appearing in two episodes of the CW Network show “The Flash.” 

UFC

  • UFC’s show this coming Saturday is on paper one of the best of the year, including a Justin Gaethje vs. Eddie Alvarez fight that, given both men’s style, is a fight that insiders are really looking forward to. Alvarez told Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour today: “I’m going to be honest, I don’t f***ing know what’s going to happen Saturday. I will tell you this, it’s going to be nuts. I’ve spent a good deal of this training camp working on not giving a F*** myself. The title isn’t on the line, but there is another title up for grabs and that is for the UFC’s most violent fighter. That title is gonna be crowned on Saturday night and that title is the most important title in the division right now.”
  • Donald Cerrone and former UFC star Keith Jardine were on the Netflix TV series “Goddess” this weekend which is produced by Steven Soderbergh and stars Jeff Daniels. Both were members of Daniels’ outlaw gang. Both were in a lot of scenes. (thanks to Jeff Parker)

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Kenny Omega returned to his home promotion, Premier Championship Wrestling on Saturday night drawing a sellout at Doubles Bar in Winnipeg: Billy Blaze & Dick Blood b Moses Luke & James Beaver, Scott Justice won over Alix Vanna and Jay Walker, James Korba & Bobby Schink & Shao Ming b Antonio Scorpio & London Dynasty, Kenny Omega & Chris Stevens b Chad Tatum & Mike McSugar, Dragneel won Battle Royal, Jackie Lee b ATM-DQ. Promoter Andrew Shallcross noted that when they announced Omega as appearing tickets sold out in a few days and many fans were turned away. He put over the promotion as a place where people can learn and develop, there was a Y2J chant when he brought up his upcoming big match, and used a lot of comedy props including Lego, Marshmallows and more. Next show is 1/13 at Doubles Bar.
  • Border City Wrestling announced that Impact will be filming their show on Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Diamond Back Saloon at in Belleville, MI at 6 p.m. The matches announced are Eli Drake vs. Alberto El Patron vs. Johnny Impact for the title, plus Laurel Van Ness vs. Sienna as well as Jimmy Jacobs, Petey Williams, Hakim Zane and Braxton Sutter. (thanks to Jake Koch)
  • Austin Aries beat Ricochet earlier today in Australia for the World Series of Wrestling title on the final day of the tour.  Tessa Blanchard was also defending her WrestleCircus title on the tour and beat Shazza McKenzie.
  • Rise, a California-based women’s promotion, said that their test was a success and also refunded everyone who ordered their $1 special.  They will be doing an iPPV for their show on Fridaynight in South Gate, CA.  They also announced on Saturday that Madusa would do a live podcast with Bull Nakano as her guest plus three matches including Toni Storm vs. Shotzi Blackheart and Mercedes Martinez vs. Kris Wolf. (thanks to Jake Koch)
  • Pro Wrestling Revolution runs on 1/6 in Petaluma, CA at the Veterans Building featuring Negro Casas and Solar.  There will be a meet and greet and tickets are available through  Eventbrite.
  • Canadian Wrestling Elite from Friday night in Winnipeg:  Mentallo b Jak Lydon in a lumberjack match, Mike Mission b Tod Bullet & Wildman Firpo in a bar room brawl, Tyler James b Brian Rich in a loser wears a diaper match, Marky b Tasty Travis in a street fight Danny Duggan b Kevin O’Doyle in a bar room brawl, Marc Merric b Shadow Xtreme in a kiss my foot match, Jacob Creed & Bobby Collins b Tony Atlas & Dragneel, Tyler Colton NC AJ Sanchez, Matt Fairlane b La Sombra (obviously not the famous one) ina 20 minute iron man match when it was stopped at 15:00 due to Sombra breaking his nose, Big V b Rob Stardom.  Next show at Rookie’s Sports Bar in Winnipeg is 12/22.  They run again Thursday in Stony Mountain, Manitoba.
  • House of Hardcore runs on Twitch on Saturday night in Waukesha, WI with Tommy Dreamer vs Abyss in a Hardcore match, Candice Michelle’s retirement match against Lisa Marie Varon, Austin Aries vs. Joey Mercury, Al Snow & Swoggle vs. The (Spirit) Squad plus MVP and Carlito.
  • The first announced Tenille Dashwood (formerly Emma) independent match will be on 2/3 in Rahway, NJ at the Rec Center for WrestlePro.
  • Ricky Morton will be appearing at Wendy’s in Lebanon, TN on Thursday from 4-8 P.M. for a fund raiser for a local infant who is seriously ill at Duke University’s Children’s Hospital.  Al proceeds will go to her care.  
  • We always plug Holiday charity events so this is a list of those taking place this coming weekend we’ve been told about:
    MCW Pro Wrestling has “Season’s Beatings”, its annual Toys for Tots show scheduled for December 1 in Joppa, MD.
    Harley Race’s World League Wrestling presents Christmas Bash 2017 on December 2 in Troy. MO. In the spirit of the holidays, we are raising both monetary and food donations for our local community food pantry – The Bread For Life Food Pantry – that helps those in need in our local  community here in Lincoln County. The main event will feature a rematch for the WLW Tag-Team Championships as champions Superstar Steve and Brandon Espy Espinosa take on Warwick Stephans and Kyle Roberts. All tickets are just $10, and if you bring in 5 or more canned food items – you will receive 50% off your tickets for that night’s event!
    Hoosier Pro Wrestling does its Firemen’s Cheer Fund Toys for Tots show (of three shows yearly) in Columbus, IN on December 2.
    Wrestling for Charity presents “Fight for Daniel” on December 2 at the Claremore Community Center, Claremore, OK  to benefit the families of children fighting childhood cancer.Monster Factory Pro Wrestling returns on December 2 to the Monster Factory, 541 Mantua Avenue,  Paulsboro, NJ, on December 2. Monster Factory Pro Wrestling is doing a Toys for Tots collection at the show.
    United Wrestling Coalition of Wrightstown, NJ, will hold their annual Toys for Tots event on December 2; with a special emphasis this year on behalf of the victims of Harvey, asking for a small donation or note of encouragement to this year’s hurricane victims in Houston and Puerto Rico. Go to https://www.facebook.com/UWCFanCave  for further information.
    The Delaware/South Jersey based ECWA runs its annual Toys for Tots show on December 2 in Woodbury Heights, NJ.
    Chinlock Wrestling comes to Kingston, ON on December 2 for its annual holiday charity show.  Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat is featured.
    Ring Wars Carolina returns to Lumberton, NC on December 2, donations of gift cards $5 or more as admission accepted for area flood victims. Keystone State Wrestling Alliance presents: Fan Fest/Toy Drive 2017 on December 2 at the Spirit Hall (old Lawrenceville Moose) , 242 51st Street, Pittsburgh, PA. 
    American Premier Wrestling presents BRAWL 30 – Toys for Tots on December 2 at the APW Slam Center , Statesboro, GA. – Doors Open, 4:30 pm. Emerald Match, 4:45 pm. Bell Time,5:00 pm. $7 Adults/Kids, $3.
    Aspire Pro Wrestling returns to action on December 3 at the Pennsauken Youth Athletic Association, 3501 Elm Avenue, Pennsauken with a 2:00 pm belltime. Donations of canned goods and non-perishables will be collected for the South Jersey Food Bank.

Today in Professional Wrestling History: Starrcade 1986

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