Daily Update: Rusev & Lana wed, UFC 201, Ospreay injured

  • F4W Staff
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Rusev and Lana Marry

As was noted in yesterday’s update, Rusev and Lana had their wedding in Malibu, CA, last night. The event was attended by friends and family, and was filmed by an E! camera crew for Total Divas season six. The season will see Lana’s debut as a cast member. This television event was their first wedding, and they will have another one in Bulgaria in September. 

[Joe Currier]

For the weekend, we’ll be doing two polls, for both Saturday’s G-1 show in Nagoya and Saturday’s UFC 201 show in Atlanta, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to Dave@WrestlingObserver.com.

We’re looking for reports on these shows from the weeked to NewsTips@WrestlingObserver.com:

  • WWE in Tallahassee, FL (Roman Reigns vs. A.J. Styles vs Seth Rollins, Neville vs. Kevin Owens, New Day vs. Wyatt Family for tag titles, Charlotte vs. Alicia Fox, Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus and Jey Uso & Zack Ryder vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson)
  • NXT in Robston, TX
  • NXT in Orlando, FL
  • WWE in Savannah, GA (Roman  Reigns vs. A.J. Styles vs. Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, New Day vs Wyatt Family for tag titles, Charlotte vs. Alicia Fox, Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus and Jey Uso & Zack Ryder vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson)
  • WWE in Knoxville, TN (Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho for WWE title in a street fight, Kane & Neville vs. Vaudevillains, Cesaro vs. Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin, Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch vs. Summer Rae & Dana Brooke, Enzo & Cass vs. Dudleys)
  • NXT in Houston, TX
  • NXT in Jacksonville, FL
  • Northeast Wrestling in Pomona, NY at the Palisades Credit Union Park with Ric Flair and Booker T appearing, plus Jeff Hardy vs. Brian Anthony, Matt Hardy vs. Vinny Marseglia, Jerry Lawler vs. Dan De Man, Sami Callihan vs. TK O’Ryan and Cam Zagami & Mandy Leon vs. Deonna Purrazzo & Damian Adams w/ Velvet Sky referee.

UFC 201 FROM ATLANTA’S PHILLIPS ARENA ON SATURDAY

Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern time

  • Cesar Arzamendia (155) vs. Damien Brown (155.5)
  • Michael Graves (170.5) vs. Bojan Velickovic (170.5)

FS 2 at 8 p.m.

  • Wilson Reis (126) vs. Hector Sandoval (126)
  • Damian Grabowski (256) vs. Anthony Hamilton (258.5)
  • Jorge Masvidal (171) vs. Ross Pearson (170)
  • Ed Herman (205.5) vs. Nikita Krylov (206)

PPV at 10 p.m.

  • Ryan Benoit (126) vs. Fredy Serrano (126)
  • Erik Perez (135) vs. Francisco Rivera (135.5)
  • Matt Brown (171) vs. Jake Ellenberger (170)
  • Karolina Kowalkiewicz (114.5) vs. Rose Namajunas (116)
  • Robbie Lawler (170) vs. Tyron Woodley (170) – for the UFC Welterweight Championship of the World

NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX TOURNAMENT IN GIFU AT INDUSTRIAL HALL SUNDAY AT 3 A.M. EASTERN TIME (midnight Saturday night on the West Coast) ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Tiger Mask & Yuji Nagata vs. Michael Elgin & David Finlay
  • Katsuyori Shibata & Satoshi Kojima & Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger vs. Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hash & Gedo & Katsuhiko Nakajima
  • Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan vs. Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Tomoaki Honma & Kushida & Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil &* Bushi
  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tama Tonga
  • Seiya Sanada vs. Bad Luck Fale
  • Togi Makabe vs. Naomichi Marufuji
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kazuchika Okada
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hirooki Goto

We’re looking for reports on these shows Sunday to NewsTips@WrestlingObserver.com:

  • WWE in Augusta, GA (Roman Reigns vs. A.J. Styles vs. Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, New Day vs. Wyatt Family for tag titles, Charlotte vs. Alicia fox, Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus and Jey Uso & Zack Ryder vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson)
  • WWE in Asheville, NC (Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho, Kane & Neville vs. Vaudevillains, Cesaro vs. Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin, Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch vs. Summer Rae & Dana Brooke, Enzo & Cass vs. Dudleys)

NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX TOURNAMENT IN TAKAMATSU AT THE CIVIC GENERAL GYMNASIUM MONDAY AT 6 A.M.EASTERN TIME ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Juice Robinson & David Finlay
  • Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Hirooki Goto & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Seiya Sanada & Bushi
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Kushida vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo
  • Yoshi-Hashi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
  • Yuji Nagata vs. Michael Elgin
  • Katsuyori Shibata vs. Toru Yano
  • Kenny Omega vs. Evil
  • Tomoaki Honma vs. Tetsuya Naito

Raw is Monday night in Atlanta at the Phillips Arena. John Cena and A.J. Styles are both booked on the Raw show, but will likely not appear on television. Brock Lesnar returns on the show as well.

Smackdown is Tuesday night in Nashville.

NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX TOURNAMENT IN KAGOSHIMA AT THE ARENA WEDNESDAY AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN TIME ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & David Finlay
  • Yuji Nagata & Michael Elgin & Satoshi Kojima & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi & Gedo
  • Katsuyori Shibata & Captain New Japan vs. Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Tomoaki Honma & Kushida & Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Bushi
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Bad Luck Fale
  • Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga
  • Naomichi Marufuji vs. Seiya Sanada
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe

THE ROUND-UP

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Figure Four Weekly

READ IT HERE: Figure Four Weekly 7/25/2016: More concussion legality! – Just moments after last week’s issue was put to bed, news broke that WWE had been hit by yet another lawsuit from Massachusetts lawyer Konstantine Kyros against WWE. Before, there were of a small handful of wrestlers with no prospects of dealing with WWE again suing strictly over nebulously worded concussion-related claims. This time, there are over 50 plaintiffs, including a lot of surprises, and the counts have been expanded to include variations on misclassifying them as independent contractors as part of an alleged racketeering scheme. 

Subscribers can click here to continue reading.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

READ IT HERE: August 1, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Brand split week one, Brock Lesnar and the WWE Wellness Policy– The entire story of Brock Lesnar, UFC drug testing, WWE drug testing and its history leads the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There is also full coverage of week one of the brand extension, what has been good and what hasn’t, as well as coverage of Battleground, the G-1 Climax tournament, and the deaths of well known personalities on a regional basis like announcer Bill Cardille and Oregon advertising icon Tom Peterson.

The lead story explains in detail why Lesnar was not suspended, the changes in the policy where he can’t be suspended, who else has those loopholes, where they came from, why PED usage is more of a competitive advantage in WWE than in most real sports and why people who claim wrestling isn’t competition miss the entire point. There is also a look back to 2007 when a large percentage of the roster was suspended at the same time without test failures and why, including how office people have been treated different from talent on the subject. Take a look into specifics of the case of Randy Orton, performance vs. cosmetic in wrestling and how it has changed, how WWE differs from the other major promotions, when steroid testing started in WWF, when it was dropped and when it was restarted, a look back at the key component of the 1994 indictment of Vince McMahon and subsequent trial, and what happened and why WWF dropped drug testing.

A look back at the cases involving Eddy Guerrero and Chris Benoit, the success of the program all inside.

In this issue, take a look at Lesnar’s schedule, the situation with Paul Heyman, what the next steps for UFC and athletic commissions regarding the Lesnar test failures and the reaction to all this from Mark Hunt. This issue also looks at Hunt’s argument regarding how Lesnar gained financially from cheating and how Lesnar was not treated differently than anyone else when it came to drug testing in the UFC.

Finally, examine week one of the brand split, the changes in the SummerSlam show, Roman Reigns booking, the ascension of Dolph Ziggler and Finn Balor, as well as business notes and a match-by-match rundown of Battleground with star ratings.

Subscribers click here to continue reading.

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Wrestling Observer Newsletter BACK ISSUE

READ IT HERE: June 21, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Hart family files lawsuit against WWF, WCW Great American Bash review, more – The expected lawsuit filed by the Hart family against a number of defendants, the main one being the World Wrestling Federation, was announced at a press conference on 6/15 in Kansas City.

SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

After yesterday’s story about Will Ospreay potentially suffering a shoulder injury, PROGRESS Wrestling has yet to announce whether Ospreay will still be competing on their show Sunday. Ospreay is scheduled to face Mark Haskins on the show as of now, and PROGRESS is still tweeting pictures of the card that includes that match. Whether Ospreay is able to compete or not will provide some indication on the status of his health.

More on the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. It was announced yesterday that the arena is closing. Hara was site of the first Ric Flair / Hulk Hogan match, at a house show and as an unannounced main event. There were two WCW PPVs, several Nitros. Farhat ran shows there out of Detroit. ECW Heatwave’s 98 and 99 were there. 98 set their attendance mark at the time; 99 had the infamous Bubba Dudley riot promo, where he started berating a woman and daughter at ringside, and people tried to rush the ring and get over the guardrails. TNA and ROH both ran the arena years later. (thanks to BJ Bethel)

Shinsuke Nakamura did his first podcast interview in Englishon Talk is Jericho with Chris Jericho.

Flyweight contender Justin Scoggins told UFC officials that he couldn’t make weight for his match with “Uncle Creepy” Ian McCall. Thus, he didn’t even try and McCall was paid as if he fought. The show tonight only has 11 bouts, as opposed to the usual 12 or 13.

The Young Bucks cut a promo on Matt and Jeff Hardy in advance of their match in Santiago, Chile on August 7th.

WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT

The WWE announced the following Canadian dates for NXT this September and tickets going on sale on August 5th for all three shows:

  • Thursday September 22nd in Toronto at the Mattamy Athletic Center (the former Maple Leaf Gardens),
  • Friday September 23rd in St. Catherines, Ontario at The Meridian Centre
  • Saturday September 24th in Kitchener, Ontario at The Air

PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING

  • Ring of Honor announced IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Dalton Castle in a non-title for Death Before Dishonor XIV on pay-per-view August 19th.
  • ROH also signed IWGP Intercontinental Champion Michael Elgin vs. Donovan Dijak for their August 27th Field of Honor show at MCU Park in Brooklyn. It will be the first time the IWGP I-C title has been defended in ROH.
  • On last night’s PWG show, Roderick Strong gave a speech bidding farewell to the promotion.
  • ACH and Taiji Ishimori won Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Junior Heavyweight Tag League tournament this morning.
  • Matt Sydal will be doing a seminar in Auckland, NZ on Saturday Nov 12th at 2pm before the evening show for ON THE MAT: Charity Pro Wrestling. 

Videos from this past weekend’s George Tragos / Lou Thesz Hall of Fame inductions

  • Here is the Iron Sheik’s Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction speech.  
  • Larry Hennig talks his wrestling career, teaming with Harley Race, wrestling Roddy Piper in Piper’s first match, Mr. Perfect, Curtis Axel’s recent WWE contract extension, working with the Road Warriors and more here.
  • Here is an interview with Ricochet aka Prince Puma in which he discusses, Lucha Underground, New Japan Pro Wrestling & if he has been in contact with WWE about going there in the future.

UFC/MMA

  • Michael Graves, TUF 21 competitor gets a shot in the Octagon when he returns to action against Bojan Velickovic in UFC 201’s UFC FIGHT PASS Featured Prelim.
  • Before UFC 201 in Atlanta, Amanda Nunes, Julianna Pena, Kelvin Gastelum, Chase Sherman and Nina Ansaroff visited the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons training facility in Flowery Ranch, Ga.

VARIETY

This week on 6:05 Superpodcast, The Great Brian Last and David Bixenspan discuss the exploits of the California Hell’s Angels, Chris Colt and Ron Dupree, plus they answer listener questions about Terry Funk, Roddy Piper, Andy Kaufman, World Class and more.

RESULTS: Paragon Pro Wrestling on The Fight Network, July 24 – Jeff Boom defeated Darin Corbin, The Whirlwind Gentlemen, Remy Marcel and Jack Manley defeated Keepers of the Faith, Gabriel Gallo and Dom Vital. Royce Issac retained the American championship defeating The Vampire Warrior, Gangrel, Greg Romero and Rude Boy James Riley were both disqualified.

In honor of Dave Meltzer’s recent induction into the George Tragos / Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame,now available for a limited time, 9 issues of Dave Meltzer’s California Wrestling Report.  Journey back over 40 years to read the early work of today’s most respected wrestling journalist. Your collections won’t be complete without these rare and hard to find editions. All 9 issues (Aug 26, ’72; Sept 9,’72; Sept 30, ’72; Oct 21, ’72; Nov 13, ’72; Dec 9, ’72; Jan 6, ’73; Feb ’73 & March ’73) totaling 130 pages in all, are available to readers for only $85 for Canada; $95 for USA; $120 for International. All payments must be in U.S. funds. (Due to the extreme age of the publications, there are 5 pages that do not reproduce that well)

After The California Wrestling Report Dave began to produce his newest project “International Wrestling Gazette”

Now available for a limited time, the first 5 issues of Dave Meltzer’sInternational Wrestling Gazette. Journey back almost 40 years to read the early work of today’s most respected wrestling journalist. Your collections won’t be complete without these rare and hard to find editions. All 5 issues (January, February, March, April & May 1974) total 141 pages in all, are available to readers for only $85 for Canada; $95 for USA; $120 for International . All payments must be in U.S. funds. (Due to the extreme age of the publications, there are a few pages that do not reproduce that well and I have reproduced the best I can from the copies I received)

Buy both the California Wrestling Report issues along with the International Wrestling Gazette together and receive a $10 discount off the combined price. Paypal payments can be made to grantsindex@nexicom.net.

The Summer Slam Events Calendar

  • TONIGHT – UFC 201 – LAWLER VS. WOODLEY from Atlanta, GA
  • TONIGHT – HYBRID Wrestling at Lighthouse Hall in Eddystone, PA! For tickets, call Mike Hamilton at 484-478-1308 or message the HYBRID Facebook page.
  • TONIGHT – WSOF 32: Moraes vs. Hill 2 on NBCSN from Everett, Washington. Featuring Ben “Phoenix Jones” Fodor vs. Caros Fodor in a brother vs brother fight!
  • TONIGHT – Smash Wrestling – Oshawa Music Hall, 39 King St E, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 1B2
  • SUNDAY – BATTLEWAR 36; Les Foufounes Électriques, 87 Sainte-Catherine Street East, Montreal, QC
  • Aug 4-6 – !BANG! TV – Professional Wrestling Spectacular, 3 charity shows in 3 days. – More information.
  • Aug 5 – NEF Presents Dana White: Looking for a Fight. More info here.
  • Aug 6 – Smokey Mountain Wrestling: Fire on the Mountain – Jason Kincaid defends against Elliott Russell, Civic Auditorium, 1550 Fort Henry Dr., Kingsport, TN
  • Aug 6 – Crossfire Wrestling return to Bissell’s Hideaway for Battle Of Bissells II. The price is $20 for all day pass at the park and the wrestling show.
  • Aug 6 – Upstate Professional Wrestling presents: Headlocks & Homeruns 5 at the Premier Sports Center in Webster, New York.
  • Aug 6 – UFC FIGHT NIGHT – Rodriguez vs. Caceres, from Salt Lake City, UT
  • Aug 6 – Absolute Intense Wrestling Girls Night Out in Cleveland at Our Lady of Mt Carmel with Crazy Mary Dobson, Allysin “Sienna” Kay, Veda Scott, Shayna Baszler, Annie Social, Kelly Klein, Heidi Lovelace, Lufisto, Nicole Savoy and more.
  • Aug 12 – BIG WEST WRESTLING presents BOWLING, BODYSLAMS & BBQ, Lake City Bowling & Billiards: Kelowna, BC
  • Aug 12 – Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jeff Cobb has been added to the Revolution Pro show in London at York Hall in Bethnal Green.
  • Aug 13 – Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling: Civil War, Russian Community Centre, 2114 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC 7:30pm Bell Time
  • Aug 13 – Viva La Lucha: San Diego, CA, Mongomery High School – This show is a special fundraiser event in the 619 featuring Rey Mysterio, John Morrision, TJP, Nicho/Psychosis, Teddy Hart, Willie Mack, Vermin, Los Luchas and more.
  • Aug 13 – World Women’s Wrestling 2016 IRON MAIDEN Championship at the America Civic Center in Wakefield, MA
  • Aug 13 – wXw NOW – The End (Tommy End’s final show in Germany, booked by The Sumerian Death Squad)
  • Aug 13 – NWA Mid South Wrestling in Dyresburg, TN at the Herb Welch Wrestle Plex headlined by Matt Riviera vs. Jeremy Moore.
  • Aug 19 – We Watch Wrestling LIVE Podcast Recording – Copper Still 4485 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004
  • Aug 19 – Superkick’d Pro Wrestling Rock Show – Blazed The Great Hall, 1087 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6J 1H3
  • Aug 19 – The Hardys, Drew Galloway, Ethan Carter III and Mickie James appear for House of Glory Wrestling in Jamaica, NY.  That’s the Friday before SummerSlam.
  • Aug 20 – Reality of Wrestling presents: SUMMER OF CHAMPIONS III – Featuring Kurt Angle, from the World Gym Arena in Texas City, TX. The event is preceded by a VIP Meet and Greet session to feature WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, Kurt Angle and the lovely Queen Sharmell. Tickets here. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket sale will be going to the Booker T Fights For Kids Foundation.
  • Aug 20 – “Best In The West” in Fresno, CA from the VFW Hall #8900, located at 3585 N Blythe at 6pm. Featuring Jeff Cobb, Joey Ryan, and Mustufa Saed.
  • Aug 20 – UFC 202 – Diaz vs. McGregor 2, from Las Vegas, NV
  • Aug 21 – WWE Presents THE SummerSlam PPV event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. It’s the twenty-ninth event under the SummerSlam chronology and the second consecutive SummerSlam to be hosted in the Barclays Center.
  • Aug 21 – Chavo Guerrero Jr. will appear for Smash Wrestling on in Pickering, Ontario at Super Showdown lV.
  • Aug 21 – Octagon & Tinieblas Jr. vs. Fuerza Guerrera & Pirata Morgan headlines in Houston at the Arena Theater.  
  • Aug 26 – All Star Wrestling: Cloverdale, BC at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds Alice McKay Building, it’s the finals of the All Star Wrestling Tag Team Tournament.
  • Aug 26 – Absolute Intense Wrestling – Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 1355 W. 70th St. Cleveland, OH
  • Aug 26 – CONFLICT Wrestling: “Black or White“
  • Aug 26 – Bellator 160 from the Pond in Anaheim and live on Spike TV. Benson Henderson vs Patricio Pitbull Freire
  • Aug 27 – Battlearts: Summer Heat – 4880 Tomken Road, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 1J8
  • Aug 27 – LuchaTO at the Benelife Wellness Centre, 68 Tycos Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M6B 1V9
  • Aug 27 – UFC FIGHT NIGHT – Maia vs. Condit from Vancouver, BC.
  • AUG 28 – Steel City Pro Wrestling: End Game Aug 28th – 222 Queenston Rd, Hamilton, ON L8K 1G6, Canada
  • Aug 28 – Destiny wrestling proudly presents “SUMMER HEAT” at the Battlearts Wrestling Academy. Featuring MOOSE!

TODAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY (7/30): Stan Hansen wins PWF Title