Daily Update: Seth Rollins’ announcement, PWG, Matt Hughes

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

AUDIO

We’re looking for reports on today’s Raw show in Calgary and NXT show in Poughkeepsie.

There is a Raw brand house show on Sunday in Springfield, IL.

WWE MONEY IN THE BANK ON SUNDAY AT 7:30 P.M. FROM THE SCOTTRADE CENTER IN ST. LOUIS ON THE WWE NETWORK

  • Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title
  • Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: A.J. Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin and Kevin Owens
  • Womens’ Money in the Bank ladder match: Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Carmella, Tamina and Becky Lynch. There is the tease of a sixth surprise entrant. Brian James has made it clear he wants Asuka on the SmackDown roster but nothing has been said officially on that.
  • Naomi vs. Lana for the Women’s title
  • The Usos vs. New Day for the tag team titles
  • Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley vs. Colons (pre-show match)

Raw TV will be in Evansville, IN on Monday night. There is also a SmackDown brand house show on Monday night in Indianapolis.

NEW JAPAN FROM TOKYO KORAKUEN HALL ON TUESDAY MORNING AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN TIME ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Tomoyuki Oka vs. Tetsuhiro Yagi
  • Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taka Michinoku & Desperado vs. Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Shota Umino
  • Yuji Nagata & David Finlay vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Katsuya Kitamura
  • Togi Makabe & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Jado
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirai Kawato vs. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
  • Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Taichi
  • Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Juice Robinson & Kushida for Never Open weight six-man titles

SmackDown and 205 Live will be on Tuesday from Dayton, OH. Announced for 205 Live are Jack Gallagher vs. Tony Nese and Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: Figure Four Weekly 6/12/2017: Okada and Omega deliver another classic

After shaping the modern New Japan main event scene with his all-time classic series against Hiroshi Tanahashi, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada is now firmly entrenched in his next rivalry which will go down among the greatest of all time. June 11th 2017 might go down as one of those wrestling dates that we just don’t forget.

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WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: June 19, 2017: Conor McGregor/Floyd Mayweather on, Okada/Omega classic, more

The Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight is actually happening, and the story behind it is the lead in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Plus, coverage of Dominion, with Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega II and one of the best shows in recent years, as well as an examination of Demetrious Johnson’s issues with Dana White, New Japan’s future booking, the Long Beach show, G-1, Money in the Bank and more.

Look at the ramifications and stipulations of Mayweather-McGregor and why it’ll be the most talked about fight for years to come, the key to whether it can do record numbers, the price tag, role of the media, and the real question of sanctioning and why it was.

Relive Omega vs. Okada II, the key to the story of the match, the next direction, the story behind Omega vs. Cody Rhodes, booking the finish, and why the circumstances weren’t the best to have a classic match. Understand the background of the match, the business of the match, why New Japan has so many different directions it can take right now, the U.S. title tournament, and when Omega-Okada airs on U.S. television. Check out the lineups for Long Beach, secondary market ticket demand, early thoughts on G-1 as well as the New Japan World shows for the rest of the month and notes on the main events.

Inside, there is match-by-match coverage with star ratings for Dominion, poll results and an amazing stat regarding poll results.

This issue also runs down the Money in the Bank show. Look at the card, what to look for in the show, ticket prices, a new segment added to the show, and also look at Great Balls of Fire and the direction things are headed toward SummerSlam.

Finally, more notes on the build to the Lesnar vs. Joe match, questions about the Cena return, lots of notes about SummerSlam and the top matches on the show, lots of injury updates, Kurt Angle talks former drug addiction, and why Finn Balor wasn’t at Raw.

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. 

Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue, or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.

WON BACK ISSUE: May 22, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Jumbo Tsuruta passes away, ECW Hardcore Heaven review, more

Tomomi Tsuruta, who started out as an instant sensation and went on to be one of the most enduring stars in pro wrestling history, passed away at 4 p.m. on 5/13, from complications after undergoing a kidney transplant operation in the Philippines. He was 49. Tsuruta was an undisputable Hall of Fame calibre performer. He was a major star in pro wrestling literally from the first week of his career in Japan.

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SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Regarding the announcement that Seth Rollins will be making on SportsCenter on Monday, there’s a lot of speculation that the appearance will be to reveal that he’s on the cover of this year’s WWE 2K video game. The speculation that Rollins will be on the cover was started on Reddit a while ago, with the same user who posted it also saying that the teases that WWE has been doing on social media that are hashtagged with “#BLN1” and “#ThisMonday” are related to the game.
  • WWE.com ran a story on the athletes who attended this week’s tryouts at the Performance Center. Crazzy Steve, who formerly was with Impact Wrestling, is among those who are mentioned.
  • David Benoit posted a photo of himself in the ring prior to WWE’s house show in Edmonton last night.
  • Becky Lynch spoke to the Hindustan Times about the evolution of women’s wrestling in WWE. She seemed to indicate that Shayna Baszler will be in the Mae Young Classic.
  • Dolph Ziggler will be on Comedy Central’s “@midnight” show on June 22nd.
  • Randy Orton was interviewed on 105.7 The Point ahead of Money in the Bank.
  • This week’s WWE top 10 list on YouTube looks at the best Money in the Bank cash-ins.
  • Mark Henry’s fake retirement segment aired on Raw four years ago today.
  • The Straits Times has a story on Finn Balor’s promotional visit to Singapore.

Pro Wrestling

  • Impact did its highest rating in three months for this week’s episode. It averaged 327,000 viewers, which was up from 317,000 the week prior. The show was the second episode from the tapings in India and featured Low Ki vs. Sonjay Dutt for the X Division title in the main event.
  • Per Dave Meltzer, only Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi from Dominion will air on the June 30th NJPW on AXS show. There will be promos and such to add importance to the matches as well. Jim Ross had written that Cody Rhodes vs. Michael Elgin was going to be shown in addition to those two matches.
  • Actor James Franco was in attendance at last night’s PWG show.
  • PWG has announced matches for their next show, which will take place on July 7th. The card is:
    PWG Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defending against Chuck Taylor (this was set up last night as Taylor’s last title shot if he doesn’t win)
    Michael Elgin & Brian Cage vs. The Young Bucks
    Ricochet vs. Trevor Lee
    Shane Strickland, Jason Cade & Dezmond Xavier vs. Dave Crist, Jake Crist & Sami Callihan
    Rey Fenix vs. Keith Lee
    Lio Rush vs. Trent Barreta
    Rey Horus (Dragon Azteca Jr.) vs. Sammy Guevara in a match where both are making their PWG debut
  • Lio Rush tweeted that he’s off of today’s Pro Wrestling Magic show in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey due to travel issues.

UFC/MMA

  • Monte Cox, who is Matt Hughes’ longtime manager, provided an update on Hughes’ condition after yesterday’s accident. Cox said that Hughes’ family and doctors are “optimistic and hopeful.” Hughes is awake and can squeeze hands, but his eyes are closed.
  • Ariel Helwani reported that Cris Cyborg vs. Megan Anderson for the women’s featherweight title is almost official for UFC 214 on July 29th in Anaheim. Helwani wrote that it’s unclear how the UFC will handle getting the belt off of current champion Germaine de Randamie.
  • Holly Holm got back on the winning track by knocking out Bethe Correia in the third round at UFC’s Fight Night show in Singapore this morning. Holm’s agent told Helwani that they want a title fight at 135 or 145 pounds next.
  • Floyd Mayweather commented on his boxing match with Conor McGregor for the first time since it became official. He called McGregor a tough competitor and said both sides are very happy with the deal that was made.
  • Boxer Chris van Heerden explained to ESPN why he released video of him sparring with McGregor. He said that he respects McGregor but was standing up for his sport by showing that he could land punches on him.
  • Former UFC fighter Josh Grispi was sentenced to over five years in jail for assaulting his wife in 2014.

Today in Pro Wrestling History: Kurt Angle wins TNA title at Slammiversary 2007

F4W Online / Wrestling Observer Vegas Convention Event Info

August 17-21; All times are TBA; Full information on the group Facebook page; Activites subject to change 

  • Thursday: Meet at the Big Shoot for Bowling at the Link; Party at Carnival Court at Hurrah’s
  • Friday: Kiss Mini Golf tournament at the Rio; Dinner at Texas de Brazil; Suite party (location TBA)
  • Saturday: Burgers with Granny for lunch; Future Stars of Wrestling show featuring Stephan Bonnar & Phil Baroni; NXT viewing party at the Sci-Fi Center
  • Sunday: SUPER CHINA BUFFET DAY at the Wicked Spoon Buffet at 1pm; SummerSlam viewing party at the Sci-Fi Center
  • Monday: Goodbye lunch at Chen Chen at NY NY

Texas de Brazil, Wicked Spoon, NXT and Summer Slam will all be sign up and pre-paid events, prices and collection begin in mid July~!

Pro Wrestling Tees is now carrying our latest line of F4W shirts. Support the Empire~! Grab yours today!

CONTACT INFORMATION

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