Daily Update: Shawn Michaels, EVOLVE cards, UFC notes

DAILY UPDATE

The Latest News

The Latest Audio

We are looking for reports from the Raw show in Madrid, Spain, Smackdown in Cardiff, Wales, ROH TV tapings in Pittsburgh (Jay Lethal & Dalton Castle & Cody vs. Matt Taven & TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky vs. Guerrero Maya Jr. & Stuka Jr. for ROH tag titles, Jeff Cobb vs. Josh Woods non-title, Kenny King vs. Christopher Daniels, Flip Gordon vs. Silas Young, Kelly Klein vs. Jenny Rose, Thunder Rosa & Holidead vs. Britt Baker & Madison Rayne and a ten men tag match) and NXT in Coral Gables, FL.

UFC 230 FROM MADISON SQUARE GARDEN IN NEW YORK ON SATURDAY

Fight Pass at 6:15 p.m. Eastern time

  • Marcos Rogerio de Lima (253.2) vs. Adam Wieczorek (232.2)
  • Montel Jackson (136) vs. Brian Kelleher (137)
  • Shane Burgos (145.6) vs. Kurt Holobaugh (145)
  • Matt Frevola (155.4) vs. Lando Vannata (155.4)

FS1 at 8 p.m. Eastern

  • Lyman Good (169.6) vs. Ben Saunders (170.4)
  • Julio Arce (145) vs. Sheymon Moraes (146)
  • Sijara Eubanks (127.2) vs. Roxanne Modafferi (124.8)
  • Jason Knight (145.8) vs. Jordan Rinaldi (145.8)

PPV at 10 p.m.

  • Isarael Adesayna (184.8) vs. Derek Brunson (185.8)
  • Jack Marshman (185.4) vs. Karl Roberson (184.6)
  • David Branch (185.6) vs. Jared Cannonier (184.8)
  • Ronaldo Souza (185.4) vs. Chris Weidman (186)
  • Daniel Cormier (251.2) vs. Derrick Lewis (264.6)

        Both Kelleher and Eubanks missed weight and had to forfeit 20% of their purses. For Eubanks, her last fight saw her hospitalized trying to make weight. This looks bad her for her because she complained so loudly about being removed from her title fight and then ended up missing weight in a fight that could have gotten her a title fight.

Sunday has WWE Raw in Barcelona, Spain and Smackdown in Aberdeen, Scotland.

ROH SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ON SUNDAY AT 7 P.M. EASTERN FROM COLUMBUS, OHIO AT EXPRESS LIVE! ON HONOR CLUB

Survival of the Fittest first round matches:

  • Silas Young vs. Stuka Jr. vs. Marty Scurll
  • Andrew Everett vs.Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Flip Gordon
  • Hangman Page vs. Colin Delaney vs. Dalton Castle
  • Beer City Bruiser vs. Christopher Daniels
  • PJ Black vs. Luchasaurus
  • Tracy Williams vs. Jonathan Gresham
  • Six winners advance to six-way tournament finals, winner gets an ROH title match
  • Madison Rayne vs. Dr. Britt Baker
  • Young Bucks & Cody vs. Matt Taven & Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan for six-man titles
  • Jay Lethal & Jeff Cobb vs. Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky in a non-title mach

Monday has Raw from Manchester, England, so it’s a taped show this week. There is also a Smackdown house show in Birmingham, England on Monday.

Tuesday has Smackdown, 205 Live and Mixed Match Challenge from Manchester, England (TJP vs. Gran Metalik, Buddy Murphy vs. Mark Andrews, Bobby Lashley & Mickie James vs. Finn Balor & Bayley and R-Truth & Carmella vs. Jimmy Uso & Naomi) and a Raw house show in Leeds, England.

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Recapping WWE Evolution

An incredible amount of devotion from all involved resulted in WWE’s first all-women’s pay-per-view being a special night and a strong contender for the company’s best show of the year. Evolution wasn’t just an event that was worthy of its place in history — it elevated it. The wrestlers who competed in the ring, everyone involved with putting the PPV together, and the fans in attendance all worked in unison to make Evolution a show that exceeded all reasonable expectations.

WON NEWSLETTER: October 29, 2018 Observer Newsletter: Roman Reigns diagnosed with leukemia

Look behind-the-scenes at the decisions regarding Crown Jewel as the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Find out about the decision making process, how the last week went down, why the show almost didn’t happen, negative media reaction, why WWE can survive negativity more now than in the past, what happened with John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Hulk Hogan, and different plans thrown out for Bryan vs. A.J. Styles and why they didn’t happen.

Read full coverage of WWE Evolution with notes on the business, notes on mainstream interest, match-by-match coverage with star ratings as well as poll results from the show.

Go in-depth on WWE business. Look at where the declines took place that led to the stock falling, and what is and isn’t significant about them. Look at the network numbers and compare the post-WrestleMania drop with last year.

Look at the house show business, including Vince McMahon’s comments on the decline, as well as a breakdown on the merchandise business, NXT ticket sales and full 2018 attendance numbers for the main brands and for NXT.

Also look at WrestleMania tickets, WWE content production, a Roman Reigns story, more on Reigns’ diagnosis, the WWE/Evolve relationship, changes to Evolve through usage of WWE talent, plans for the next Takeover show, injury updates.

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.

SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • After Crown Jewel, WWE uploaded a post-match interview with Shawn Michaels where he indicated that he doesn’t want to return to the ring again: “My goodness. Obviously, this whole day has been — anxious, nerves, and everything else. Once I got in there, though, with everybody it was fun, it was comfortable. You know, I don’t know, I felt — did a few things, get a little warm, and you forget just how tough this is on your body. I’ll be feeling it for the next several days. It will be a very good reminder of why I didn’t do it for eight years and why I’m not going to do it again — if I can possibly help it.” Michaels said he’s going back to his regular life and coaching at the Performance Center.
  • In her column for the Calgary Sun, Natalya wrote about Roman Reigns revealing his battle with leukemia.
  • Seth Rollins spoke about Reigns during an interview with Al Arabiya: “It threw everything up in the air. It’s hard to go a day without thinking about him and how he’s doing and hoping he’s doing alright. I’m fighting the urge to check in on him like a brother every two hours, but he’s a strong dude, and I know that he’s in a good place mentally as well as physically. He’s in good health for the most part. I think he’s going to be able to fight this thing pretty strong. We’re just getting through it while we can. Obviously it’s going to be easier as time goes on, but certainly the last couple weeks have been, and last week especially, have been a rollercoaster of emotions. Lots of ups and downs.”
  • Ronda Rousey tweeted about being ranked first on Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Women’s 100: “Humbled by being selected No. 1 in the @OfficialPWI ‘Women’s 100.’ So many talented women could have been chosen. I’m grateful for them all!” Rousey also appeared on Pro Wrestling Illustrated Presents to discuss the honor.
  • Punishment Martinez cut a brief promo after making his NXT debut at last night’s house show in Fort Pierce, Florida. Martinez lost to Nick Miller due to a distraction from Shane Thorne.
  • With him returning to WWE TV at Crown Jewel, WWE posted a video ranking Hulk Hogan’s 10 greatest moments.
  • Today is Andrade “Cien” Almas’ 29th birthday.

Pro Wrestling

  • New NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto tweeted that he wants to face Kota Ibushi next.
  • With the addition of Kassius Ohno and him facing Fabian Aichner and Shane Strickland, here are the updated cards for EVOLVE 115 and 116:
  • EVOLVE 115 (Livonia, Michigan, November 9) —EVOLVE Champion Fabian Aichner defending against Kassius Ohno
    EVOLVE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) defending against JD Drake & Anthony Henry
    Mustafa Ali vs. DJZ
    AR Fox (w/ Ayla Fox and The Skulk) vs. Austin Theory (w/ Pricilla Kelly) (stipulation to be determined)
    Harlem Bravado vs. Jason Kincaid vs. Josh Briggs vs. Leon Ruff in a four-way freestyle match
    Barrett Brown in action
  • EVOLVE 116 (Oak Lawn, Illinois, November 10) —EVOLVE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) defending against AR Fox & Leon Ruff (w/ Ayla Fox and The Skulk)
    WWN Champion JD Drake defending against Austin Theory (w/ Priscilla Kelly) and Harlem Bravado in a triple threat match
    Mustafa Ali vs. Darby Allin
    Kassius Ohno vs. Shane Strickland
    EVOLVE Champion Fabian Aichner vs. Anthony Henry in a non-title match
    Freelance Wrestling Champion Isaias Velazquez defending against GPA
    Jason Kincaid vs. Josh Briggs
    Barrett Brown in action
  • Madison Rayne spoke to CBS Local Sports about conversations she had with WWE prior to signing with ROH: “Conversations between WWE and myself were always positive. I always got great feedback on everything I did, from the tryout a year ago to just recently doing Mae Young. This past year has been the first and only time that I’ve ever worked in any capacity with WWE. So, that was really exciting this many years into my career, to finally have been able to do that. But it’s about trying to figure out what was going to be best for me and which company I would flourish the best in. I felt that Ring of Honor was my best option, and that is not saying that WWE offered me something and I said no, I just feel like I was always very honest and upfront about the fact that Columbus was my home and Columbus would remain my home. I understand that they have a system that they put their talent through, regardless of whether you’ve never taken one bump, or you’ve been wrestling for many years, and that system starts in Orlando. While wrestling is still very, very important to me, being a mother and being a wife, those two things are greatly more important. There was never that definitive conversation, but just given the fact that I knew and I never wanted there to be any gray area in my communication with WWE, and I made it clear that I could and would not be willing to relocate, I think that probably kind of settled the question there as far as whether or not a contract with WWE was going to be in my future.”
  • Ken Shamrock tweeted that he’ll be returning to the ring at Battle Championship Wrestling 25 in Melbourne, Australia on November 30.

UFC/MMA

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Bobby Roode wins TNA World title

CONTACT INFORMATION