Daily Update: Ride Along, Eric Bischoff, Daniel Cormier

DAILY UPDATE

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F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Recapping WWE Stomping Grounds

After a lack of interest heading into the pay-per-view, Stomping Grounds was a show that exceeded expectations.

Given that there weren’t really any surprises at the PPV, that’s probably mostly due to expectations being set too low. Nothing on the show was dramatically better than it should have been. The PPV succeeded where most good WWE shows do. Even if the build was underwhelming, a talented roster was able to go out to the ring and have good matches throughout much of the card.

WON NEWSLETTER: July 1, 2019 Observer Newsletter: Paul Heyman & Eric Bischoff hired as WWE Executive Directors

A look at the WWE’s move to bring in Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff is the lead story in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  The story talks about what led to the moves, the questions about the moves that aren’t answered, the Heyman-McMahon history, the Bischoff decision, and how Wall Street and AEW fit into this equation.

We also look at the end of the political career of Antonio Inoki, a look at plans for Extreme Rules, business notes on ticket sales for the summer’s biggest events, the business this past week of WWE, the reaction to Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin, full coverage of Stomping Grounds with match-by-match rundowns, star ratings and poll results.

We also look at the retirement of Riki Choshu, a look back at his heyday, his awards, his as a headliner and booker and as a creator as well as his retirement mach.

We also look at the July 13 night of wrestling that will be loaded as far as different offerings go, with ESPN+, AXS, WWE Network and B/R Live all offering shows at the same time.  We look at how and why this happened.

We also look at changes to WWE television, why the Rollins vs. Bryan match went like it did, and what the internal feeling is about the changes.  We also look at the rounds system, 24/7 title news, declines in Raw viewership over the past year in different demos, new WWE signings, WWE injury updates, Noam Dar talks Adrian McCallum, Lio Rush update, WWE canceling shows and why, television industry exec talks wrestling and television landscape and how the mentality of TV has changed, WWE name changes, first Smackdown on FOX news updates and the market value of WWE.

We also look at all the NXT and WWE main roster events over the past week with match results, highlights and other business notes.

We’ve got full coverage of this past week’s UFC show with business notes.

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SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • A new episode of Ride Along will air on the WWE Network after Raw on Monday night. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins will compete in a scavenger hunt with Peyton Royce & Billie Kay on Ride Along.
  • Eric Bischoff tweeted about his new role as the executive director of SmackDown: “Equally humbled, honored, and more excited than I can possibly articulate here. Thank you so much for the overwhelming support. It’s been an amazing journey and the best is yet to come. @WWE #SDLive”
  • Triple H tweeted about Bischoff and Paul Heyman becoming executive directors of WWE TV: “Two people who pushed our industry and @WWE forward over the last 25+ years. Great to have @HeymanHustle and @EBischoff working on #Raw and #SDLive. Welcome BACK to the team.”
  • Bellator’s Scott Coker also commented on the Heyman and Bischoff news: “Great job by @WWE getting @HeymanHustle & @EBischoff more involved in the product, I consider both men to be geniuses.”
  • Nearly two-thirds of Charles Robinson’s horror movie memorabilia collection was stolen from a storage unit in Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • Colby Corino told Wrestling Inc that Eric Young was the producer of his match against Mike Kanellis on 205 Live in March.
  • The Undertaker’s most surprising returns are the subject of the latest episode of WWE Playlist.

Pro Wrestling

UFC/MMA

  • Daniel Cormier will host a five-part UFC edition of “Detail” on ESPN+. The first episode will premiere on Monday (July 1) and will be focused on Amanda Nunes. The other episodes in the first five shows will focus on Conor McGregor, Kamaru Usman, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Israel Adesanya. Cormier will break down their performances and give analysis on their styles and techniques. Kobe Bryant and Peyton Manning host the basketball and football versions of Detail, with Bryant’s Granity Studios and ESPN+ partnering together for the show.
  • Prior to their fight tonight, Junior dos Santos called Francis Ngannou the most dangerous man in MMA. Dos Santos said he thinks their fight may end in the first round, noting that his goal is to make Ngannou pay for his first mistake.
  • Cris Cyborg denied that she turned down a rematch against Nunes.
  • Kelvin Gastelum tweeted that he’s been cleared to return: “I’m a lil too excited! Lol The Dr. just cleared me to fight and start training 100% After the war I had with stylebender I had to make sure to take time off and make sure when I get cleared, I was physically, brand spankin new. 11 weeks later that day is here!! #OnAmission4Gold”
  • ONE FC told MMA Junkie that they’re planning on making their US debut in 2020, with New York as a potential location.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Stan Hansen stripped of AWA World title

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