Daily Update: SmackDown, Bellator, Mike Tyson

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: AEW & NJPW announce joint show, Windy City Riot review

  • The new issue of the Observer has these stories:
  • Forbidden Door PPV and the history of NJPW and AEW going from a cold relationship to running a joint show
  • Match of the Week/Performer of the Week
  • What people thought of NJPW Windy City Riot
  • Part one of looking at February & March business and comparisons with one year ago 
  • Windy City Riot, the good, the bad and the technical issues
  • WrestleMania Backlash and early notes on WWE’s summer stadium shows
  • Saturday’s UFC show
  • What arena has had more great matches than any other and its 60th anniversary
  • Television wrestling viewing over the past week, including comparisons with other sports, head-to-head competition, who watches
  • CMLL Universal title tournament
  • Stardom Cinderella tournament 
  • All Japan Champion Carnival tournament
  • Update on Kota Ibushi
  • Are streaming services plateauing?
  • Notes on the biggest indie shows of the past week
  • AEW video game news
  • Ticket updates and sales for WWE & AEW shows over the next month plus
  • International TV ratings
  • Dana White talking major fight this summer he’s working on
  • Coverage of Bellator’s biggest show of the year and this week’ doubleheader
  • How much fighters actually weigh getting into the cage vs. weigh-ins
  • Fight of the year talk
  • Notes on Kushida leaving WWE
  • How WWE first came up with the developmental system and the idea behind it
  • Paul Levesque talks developmental
  • Steve Austin talks doing future big shows
  • Streaming numbers

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter: February 7, 2005 Observer Newsletter: Royal Rumble review, business year in review

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Friday News Update

  • We are looking for reports from Smackdown tonight in Albany, NY. They will be taping both tonight’s show and next Friday night’s show tonight, so we’re looking for next week’s notes and any dark matches to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
  • Announced for tonight is Jey Uso vs. Riddle, Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn in a lumberjack match, and a Ronda Rousey-Charlotte Flair contract signing for their I Quit match.
  • Rampage is tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on TNT
  • Adam Cole vs. Tomohiro Ishii in an Owen Hart Cup qualifying match
  • Lance Archer vs. Serpentico
  • Eddie Kingston vs. Daniel Garcia – Everyone barred from ringside
  • Jade Cargill vs. Marina Shafir for the TBS title
  • Reports were Cole vs. Ishii was tremendous and Kingston vs. Garcia was top notch as well.
  • Bellator runs tonight and tomorrow night on Showtime. Tonight’s show starts at 10 p.m. Eastern:
  • Manny Muro (160) vs. Nate Andrews (159.2)
  • Grant Neal (204.2) vs. Christian Edwards (204.4)
  • Jornel Lugo (134.8) vs. Danny Sabatello (134.6) in a bantamweight tournament wild card match
  • Enrique Barzola (139.6) vs. Nikita Mikhailov (139.4) in a bantamweight tournament wild card match
  • Julianna Velasquez (124.8) vs. Liz Carmouche (125.0) for the Bellator flyweight title
  • Tonight’s show is their version of a real Tribute to the Troops show in the sense no tickets were sold the public and those at the show are servicemen and Hawaii first responders. Tomorrow night’s show with Cris Cyborg and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is the one for the public in Hawaii.
  • Arena Mexico tonight has the final tournament for the Universal title tournament finals. The tournament has eight different division CMLL champions in a one-night tournament. The winner goes to the finals next Friday night, which is the building’s anniversary show. Those in the tournament tonight are Hechicero, Los Gemelos Diablos I & II, Titan, Sagrado, Dragon Rojo Jr., Niebla Roja and Stigma.

WWE

Other Notes

  • After Mike Tyson punched the guy on the airplane who was harassing him, he went out that night and partied with Ric Flair (thanks to Barry Werner).
  • A story on Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Bellator’s two shows in Honolulu over the next two nights.
  • New Japan posted the May 4, 2021 match with Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi on its YouTube channel. The match placed second in last year’ s Match of the Year awards behind the Young Bucks cage match with Penta & Fenix.
  • Combate Global tonight on Paramount + is headlined by Cristian Perez (8-1) vs. Sebastian Santana (8-4-1) starting at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time.
  • Combate Global announced a 5/29 show with bantamweight champion David Martinez (6-1) defending against tournament winner Frans Mlambo (13-5).
  • Matt & Jeff Hardy appear on 5/15 in Millersville, MD at the Benfield Sports Center for the MCW promotion for a first-time ever match with Matt Taven & Mike Bennett. The show also features Ken Dixon defending the MCW title against Moses, Nick Aldis and Brian Johnson, Gia Scott vs. Mandy Leon for the women’s title, Mike Bailey vs. Joey Janela vs. Chris Bey and Action Andretti vs. Willie Mack.
  • Eve tomorrow in London at The Venue in Great Portland Street has Nina Samuels vs. Elimia McKenzie, Emi Sakura vs. Charlie Morgan, Shoko Nakajima vs. Alex Windsor, Session Moth Martina vs. Max the Impaler and Jetta vs. Kasey for the Eve title as the main event.
  • LFA on 5/6 in Oshkosh, WI at the Oshkosh Arena live on Fight Pass has Daniel Arguesta (7-0) vs. Diego Silva (14-6) for the bantamweight title in the main event.
  • AAW on 4/29 at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, IL has Mat Fitchett vs. Eric Young for the AAW title, Silas Young vs. Manders in a cage match, Ace Perry & Hammerstone defend the tag titles against Russ Jones & Heather Reckless, Ace Austin defends the Heritage title against Myron Reed, Gnaris Garvin vs. Josh Alexander and Mike Bennett vs. Fred Yehi.
  • AIW tonight in Cleveland, OH at the Odeon Concert Club has Matt Cardona vs. Josh Prohibition, Minoru Suzuki vs. Isaiah Broner plus Shazza McKenzie, Tom Lawlor, Matt Cross and others. The show streams live on IWTV starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. Eddie Kingston will headline on 5/21 in Akron, OH at the Tadmor Shrine for AIW.
  • On Inside the NBA this morning, NBA commentator Scot Hastings challenged Charles Barkley to a match, cutting a Hogan-style promo. They showed a WrestleMania II graphic of Hastings as Hogan and Barkley as King Kong Bundy (thanks to Brian Henke)
  • West Coast Pro Wrestling tomorrow night in Eugene, OR at the MacArthur Court headlined by Davey Richards vs. Rocky Romero.