Daily Update: SummerSlam fallout, Lesnar vs. Strowman, Punk’s lawsuit

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

AUDIO

Raw is from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. There is also a Smackdown brand house show on tonight in Albany, NY and Impact tapings in Orlando.

WHAT CULTURE PRO WRESTLING STACKED FROM THE O2 ACADEMY IN LEEDS, ENGLAND TUESDAY AT 2 P.M. EASTERN

  • Hiromu Takahashi vs. Mike Bailey
  • War Machine vs. Briscoes for WCPW tag titles
  • Kushida vs. Travis Banks
  • Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Ricochet

Smackdown and 205 Live will be taped Tuesday from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and there will be Impact tapings in Orlando.

We’re doing polls this weekend for three shows, the ROH iPPV on Saturday, NXT Takeover on Saturday and SummerSlam on Sunday, so you can a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: Figure Four Weekly 8/14/2017: PROGRESS comes to Boston

On the second stop of their weekend in the United States, British promotion PROGRESS Wrestling presented an intimate show in the Boston area on Sunday night. Things didn’t go quite as planned up to that point. It started when PROGRESS and WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne couldn’t wrestle on either show after being busted open in an indie match on Friday. Then, TK Cooper suffered an ankle injury in New York and the excessive heat in the crowded venue marred what otherwise appeared to be a fun show.

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WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: August 21, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Ric Flair hospitalized, G1 Climax finals, more

An update on Ric Flair and extensive G-1 Climax coverage are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Full coverage of G-1, including polls on the last three nights, G-1 MVP, G-1 best match and a chart showing star ratings for everyone in the tournament and who had the best top-end matches, who was the most consistent and more, in this issue.

Look at the finances of G-1, what are New Japan’s major programs and biggest shows for the next two months, full coverage of all three nights at Sumo Hall, a measure of the change in interest levels over the past year, a look at the return of Katsuyori Shibata, and U.S. G-1 television plans for the summer and fall.

Preview WWE’s SummerSlam weekend, injury updates, lineup changes, ticket sales and plans for next year.

There is an update on the Daniel Bryan situation and why his coming back to wrestle next year is so unique, more on the WWE Network in China, how streaming services have done in China, Ronda Rousey and WWE, Adam Cole and WWE, the Mae Young Classic, Mike Bennett talks drug addiction issues, Bayley talks about her injury, Sami Zayn raising money, Dwayne Johnson update, Scott Dawson update, Shayna Baszler talks Rousey in wrestling, UK ratings, the story of Jericho’s one-night comeback, how Dolph Ziggler’s fortunes faded, WWE market value and the most watched shows on the WWE Network.

Check out all the WWE and NXT arena events from the past week with highlights from each show and business notes.

Examine the situation with Alberto El Patron and GFW and why it is what it is, as well as notes on the upcoming GFW tapings, Alberto’s response, new talent coming, the situation with Lucha Underground and what happens if Lucha Underground is no more.

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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: July 31, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WCW does big business in Australia, WWF Fully Loaded review, more

The country of Australia, apparently wrestling-starved, banged out amazing business when tickets went on sale for an October tour of World Championship Wrestling, which includes four television shoots. On 7/21, the first show that went on sale, a Nitro taping in Melbourne on 10/13, sold out the Rod Laver Arena (capacity for a Nitro taping would be probably close to 10,000) with tickets priced from $300 Australian down to $65, sold out in less than three hours (reports of a 90 minute sellout are exaggerated, but only slightly).

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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw and the rest of the news with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send questions for tonight’s show to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com.

Brian Stann announced today on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour show that he is leaving the UFC effective immediately. He said he was offered an amazing opportunity to be the COO at a growing Real Estate firm and will be going to Northwestern (Kellogg) to get his MBA. He thanked everyone from the UFC and FOX. I’m always glad for greater opportunities for good people, and he’s a hard working true American hero who I’ve got all the respect in the world for. As a fan, it’s too bad because while not outrageous or anything like that, I learned more about fighters and their strengths and weaknesses and understood fights more from listening to Stann that any other commentator, because he always worked so hard in his preparation.

Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman was the planned main event for No Mercy on 9/24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Last night’s show certainly would give you the impression they are all-in on it and it should be announced tonight on Raw. Really, this is the hottest match in the company and like I said with Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe, this should be saved for a bigger event, and should be a multiple-match program.

John Cena is at Raw tonight rather than the Smackdown house show in Albany. He will be in a match on the No Mercy PPV. There were plans for Enzo Amore vs. Big Cass in a Brooklyn Street fight tonight.

An update by Chris Harrington on the Dr. Christopher Amann vs. Phil “C.M. Punk” Brooks lawsuit. The latest is that Punk’s side tried to get tons of WWE records, and a Connecticut judge approved his second request after amending the first one, including looking for ties of WWE funding the case. The judge ruled that both sides would have to split the bill. With the bill being $240,000, Punk was not happy and felt a reasonable price was one-third of that for the time and money spent to find all the records. 

Undertaker was likely backstage last night. He wasn’t shot for any photos that have gotten out, but Michelle McCool Calaway, his wife, was backstage.

WWE

  • The Calgary Sun today put Nattie Neidhart on the cover page today with the headline, “She’s Our Champ.” Nattie does a column in the newspaper.
  • John Cena was on The Today show earlier this morning. He noted that he hadn’t won a match at SummerSlam since 2010. The Bella Twins and Daniel Bryan were also on the show promoting Total Bellas. Bryan and the Twins will be doing a lot of media this week for the new season. He also noted on Twitter bringing up Cody bringing him up on Saturday’s ROH iPPV show as he did the LeBell lock and “Yes” chants and challenged him, by saying “Interesting.”
  • There is surprisingly little in the way of news coming out of SummerSlam weekend. There is a lot of talk about NXT call-ups and roster changes over the next few weeks.   
  • John Cena and Kevin Hart are being eyed for lead roles in a “Knight Rider” movie based on the 80s television show. Cena is being looked at for the lead role that David Hasselhoff played in the TV series of Michael Knight. 
  • Roman Reigns was on SportsCenter today talking SummerSlam  That’s notable given that he lost the match. 
  • Mauro Ranallo will be having minor surgery today for a spider bite, but will be doing the NXT tapings this coming Thursday as well as Mayweather vs. McGregor on Saturday.
  • John Cena was surprised by fans in this Cricket Wireless video.
  • Paul Ellering was still in New York last night rather than going home after the Takeover show. The finish of the Takeover match made you think AOP could be called up, although we don’t have that confirmed.
  • DeAngelo Williams, who had one of the best debuts with almost no training in pro wrestling history at the TNA Slammiversary PPV a few months ago, was at ringside at Saturday ngiht’s NXT show. (thanks to Scott Yager)
  • Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly and Lio Rush are all expected to being at the Performance Center this week.
  • A story I did on Shayna Baszler.
  • Jim Ross announced a talk show on 12/16 in Boston.
  • An interview with Natalya. (thanks to Lee Wall)
  • Newsday SummerSlam photos.

UFC

  • Marc Raimondi on Nevada Athletic Commission head Bob Bennett denying that money played a part in sanctioning McGregor vs. Mayweather, which is now only five days away.
  • Fights for tomorrow night’s Dana White’s Contender Series from the TUF Gym in Las Vegas on Fight Pass:
    Anton Berzin vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
    Benito Lopez vs. Steven Peterson
    J.P. Buys vs. Joby Sanchez
    Mark Cherico vs. Mike Santiago
    Jordan Espinosa vs. Nick Urso

MISCELLANEOUS

  • John Hennigan/Mundo/Impact/Morrison appeared on the TV show “The Last Ship” on TNT last night. He played a fighter who represented the Greek Navy in unsanctioned brawls against locals. He beat up one guy before losing to the star of the show, played by Eric Dane. His job was to look like a stud and fight, and I was told he did both well. (thanks to Mark Schreiner)
  • Women’s Wrestling Revolution on Sunday in Providence, RI: Allie Recks b Nadi, Maria Manic b Davienne, Terra Calaway b Skylar, Willow Nightingale b Vanity, Priscilla Kelly b Jordynne Grace to keep the Shine Nova title, Karen Q & Tasha Steelz b Delmi Exo & Ashley Vox, Sonya Strong b Gabrielle Rio (Gabi from Tough Enough and Raquel from TNA), Thunder Rosa & Holidead b Taeler Hendrix & Alexxis, Deonna Purrazzo b Awesome Kong. (thanks to Patrick Tobin)
  • Congratulations to Arda Ocal, who currently works for the MSG Network, but was with The Fight Network for years doing wrestling and MMA, and had a run with WWE under the name Kyle Edwards, on his engagement.
  • Defy Wrestilng on 9/10 in Tacoma, WA at the Temple Theater with John Morrison vs. Jeff Cobb, Davey Richards vs Randy Meyrs and Tya vs. Desi Derata.

Today in Pro Wrestling History: Final Clash of the Champions event

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