Daily Update: Styles-Nakamura contract signing, Impact, ROH PPV

THE ROUND-UP

THE LATEST NEWS

THE LATEST AUDIO

We’re looking for reports from the WWE house shows with Raw in Baton Rouge, LA, and Smackdown in Waco, TX, as well as the ROH TV tapings in New York (Dalton Castle vs. Ultimo Guerrero for ROH title, Mark & Jay Briscoe & Punishment Martinez vs. Young Bucks & Adam Page, Titan vs. Cody, Bully Ray vs. Cheeseburger no DQ no count out, Jay Lethal vs. Chuckie T, Sumie Sakai & Stella Grey vs. Gabby Ortiz & Riley Shepard, Kenny King vs. Jonathan Gresham, Kelly Klein vs. Jenny Rose), the Impact TV tapings in Windsor, ONT (Rich Swann vs. Rey Fenix, Austin Aries & Phil Atlas vs. Moose & Al-1), and the NXT show in Fort Pierce, FL to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON SUNDAY AT 5:30 A.M. FROM KORAKUEN HALL ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Will Ospreay vs. Flip Gordon
  • Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoh
  • ACH vs. Tiger Mask
  • Bushi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Chris Sabin vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
  • Desperado vs. Dragon Lee
  • Marty Scurll vs. Sho
  • Kushida vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Sunday has Raw in Lake Charles, LA, Smackdown in Arlington, TX and Impact PPV tapings in Mississauga, ONT.

NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON MONDAY AT 5:30 A.M. FROM KORAKUEN HALL ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

No matches announced but it will be the A block winner vs. B block winner for the championship, and for the Dominion title shot.

Raw is Monday in Houston with Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Roode, Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens, Nia Jax vs. Natalya in a non-title match plus a tag team Battle Royal for the top contender spot for tag champs Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt. Smackdown has a house show on Monday night in Laredo, TX.

Smackdown and 205 Live will take place on Tuesday night in Corpus Christi, TX with Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch and Jimmy Uso & Naomi vs. Aiden English & Lana.

F4W NEWSLETTER: An early look at how April’s NXT call-ups have fared

Over a month removed from the days after WrestleMania and the Superstar Shakeup, the most recent round of NXT call-ups have been — at best — a mixed bag in their first few weeks on the main roster. As has become tradition, the post-WrestleMania episodes of Raw and SmackDown saw new arrivals from NXT: Ember Moon, No Way Jose, The Authors of Pain, and Peyton Royce & Billie Kay. The wave continued the next week, with Drew McIntyre joining Raw and Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega and SAnitY (Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain) being announced as the newest members of SmackDown.

WON NEWSLETTER: (June 4, 2018) More details on Raw and Smackdown TV deals, more

An update on both the WWE & UFC television deals with how they went down and were intertwined in more details is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Look at actual finalization of the deals, how the contracts pay out, when the numbers figured and reported on actually come into play, and who negotiated the WWE’s deal. Also look at what UFC had offered for both shows and just how differently things worked out.

Look at what both deals mean for the long-term perception of WWE and UFC, and the difference in air time on television between the two properties. 

Find out the new value of WWE, and one analyst talks about what he feels the stock value will be when the new deals come into play. Look at different estimates of WWE profit margins with the new deal, update UFC profit margins, and a look at the future.

This issue also has an update on news on both Money in the Bank, Extreme Rules and the return of Brock Lesnar.

Also, rundown week two of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament with match-by-match coverage, standings, schedule and star ratings for every show.

Have a look at the Dr. Christopher Amann lawsuit against C.M. Punk and Colt Cabana and early testimony, the Mauro Ranallo documentary, what was the key to Ranallo’s career, the U.K. tournament and slow ticket sales, and John Cena’s message to the locker room.

Look at what appears to be the final pro wrestling show at American Legion Post 308 in Reseda.

This issue runs down Io Shirai signing with WWE, the story behind it, her departure from Stardom, who she is, her link to Asuka, and two other Stardom women who are WWE-bound.

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

Pro Wrestling

  • With Austin Aries winning the World Championship and Su Yung winning the Knockouts title, Impact Wrestlingratings were up for their “Under Pressure” episode. The show averaged 283,000 viewers, up from last week’s 263,000. The rating in the 18-49 demo came in at 0.06, slightly down from last week’s 0.07. Impact was going against game one of the NBA finals on Thursday night.
  • DeAngelo Williams, who’s played for the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers and teamed with Moose against Eli Drake & Chris Adonis at last year’s Slammiversary PPV, appeared at last night’s Impact Wrestling tapings in Windsor. He did an interview before being interrupted by Aries.
  • Sami Callihan cut an in-character promo on Chris Jericho and ROH about him not being booked for Jericho’s cruise, saying he might show up anyway.
  • SANADA, EVIL, BUSHI, Hana Kimura, and Mayu Iwatani have been officially announced for ROH’s Best in the World PPV on June 29th and their TV tapings in Fairfax, Virginia the next day.
  • Kazuchika Okada named Kenny Omega, Tetsuya Naito, and Will Ospreay as the three people besides himself that he thinks are the best wrestlers in the world.
  • Rey Fenix’s debut for CMLL is set for next Friday at Arena Mexico. He’ll team with Mistico & Caristico against Ultimo Guerrero, Negro Casas & Cavernario.
  • Congratulations to Johnny Mundo and Taya Valkyrie, who had their wedding yesterday.
  • Revolution Pro Wrestling announced KUSHIDA for their Summer Sizzler show, which will take place at York Hall in London on August 17th.
  • Pete Dunne & Millie Mckenzie won the Pro Wrestling Revolver Tag Team titles from Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett last night.

UFC/MMA

  • Ariel Helwani reported that Khabib Nurmagomedov is focused on facing Georges St-Pierre next after an unofficial mini-tournament with Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor and GSP vs. Nate Diaz failed to come to fruition when GSP vs. Diaz wasn’t booked for “various reasons,” which included GSP not being ready to return yet.
  • Jose Torres used a move that looked like a Canadian Destroyer to defeat Jarred Brooks at last night’s UFC show in Utica.
  • Yair Rodriguez vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov is set for UFC 228 in September, with Rodriguez saying he and the UFC are now on their best terms ever. Before this, it looked like Rodriguez was done with the company due to them not being able to agree on fights.

Daily Professional Wrestling History: Honky Tonk Man wins WWF Intercontinental title

12th Annual F4W Empire Vegas Convention

Greetings friends and fans of the F4W / Wrestling Observer website. It’s time to announce the details of the 12th annual F4W / Wrestling Observer Empire Las Vegas Convention~!

This year’s event will be taking place in Las Vegas from August 16th to the 20th and will again be in conjunction with WWE’s SummerSlam weekend a.k.a. Super China Buffet Day~! There will still be the usual events, but our big draw will be WWE’s summer blockbuster PPV, SummerSlam. As per tradition, we will all gorge ourselves at a Las Vegas buffet, and then watch SummerSlam in a rented out movie theater. All information and ticketing prices are available now. Sign up ASAP as spots are limited for some events. 

This year will also feature a Future Stars Wrestling show which will include the first ever Gladys Gibson Doubles Match Classic! Already booked for the show are the teams Mia Yim & Leva Bates, Hudson Envy & Shotzi Blackheart, Samantha Heights & Brittany Blake, and Miranda Alize & Kylie Rae. Kris Wolf will also be appearing along with many more future stars. There may even be a classic star or two making an appearance. You won’t want to miss this show! Check out the convention’s Facebook page for all additional information.

CONTACT INFORMATION