Daily Update: UFC 213, Alberto El Patron, Impact ratings bounce back

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

AUDIO

WWE Raw is in Waco, TX, SmackDown in Corpus Christi, TX, Revolution Pro in Walthamstow, UK at Assembly Hall, Evolve in Charlotte and NXT in Largo, FL. We’re looking for reports on all of those shows to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

REVOLUTION PRO WRESTLING FROM WALTHAMSTOW ASSEMBLY HALL IN WALTHAMSTOW, ENGLAND AT 6 P.M. SATURDAY

  • One-night British J Cup tournament: Jushin Liger, Kushida, Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, Kyle O’Reilly, Josh Bodom, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tiger Mas
  • Chris Brookes & Travis Banks vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi
  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. Matt Riddle

UFC 213 ON SATURDAY IN LAS VEGAS AT THE T MOBILE ARENA

Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. Eastern

  • James Bochnovic (201) vs. Trevin Giles (204)
  • Cody Stamann (145) vs. Terrion Ware (145)

FS 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern

  • Jordan Mein (170) vs. Belal Muhammad (170)
  • Gerald Meerschaert (184.5) vs. Thiago Santos (186)
  • Brian Camozzi (170.5) vs. Chad Laprise (170)
  • Travis Browne (247.5) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (241.5)

PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern

  • Rob Font (135) vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade (134)
  • Jim Miller (155) vs. Anthony Pettis (156)
  • Alistair Overeem (253.5) vs. Fabricio Werdum (239)
  • Curtis Blaydes (257.5) vs. Daniel Omielanczkuk (248)
  • Yoel Romero (185) vs.; Robert Whittaker (184.5) for the interim middleweight title

EVOLVE ON SATURDAY NIGHT IN CHARLOTTE AT 8 P.M. EASTERN

  • Jason Kincaid vs. Caleb Konley
  • ACH vs. Austin Theory
  • Tracy Williams vs. Darby Allin
  • Keith Lee vs. Ethan Page
  • Chris Dickinson & Jaka vs. Anthony Henry & James Drake for tag titles
  • Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher no holds barred for Evolve title

Sunday has WWE SmackDown in Hidalgo, TX and Evolve in Marietta, GA

WWE GREAT BALLS OF FIRE PPV ON SUNDAY AT 7:30 P.M. EASTERN AT THE AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER IN DALLAS ON WWE NETWORK

  • Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe for Universal title
  • Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in an ambulance match
  • Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt
  • Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Hardys for tag titles in a 30:00 Iron man match
  • Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks for women’s title
  • Enzo Amore vs. Big Cass
  • Neville vs. Akira Tozawa for cruiserweight title (preshow mach)

EVOLVE ON SUNDAY NIGHT IN MARIETTA, GA AT 8 P.M. EASTERN

  • Anthony Henry vs. James Drake
  • Jason Kincaid vs. Jon Davis
  • ACH vs. Ethan Page
  • Timothy Thatcher vs. Darby Allin
  • Keith Lee vs. Tracy Williams
  • Trent Baretta vs. Austin Theory
  • Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Fred Yehi for Evolve title

Raw will be Monday night in Houston. Both Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar are scheduled for TV this week. SmackDown’s Monday night house show is in Laredo, TX.

SmackDown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday in San Antonio. John Cena returns for that show. No Randy Orton on the show this week.

NXT will be taped on Wednesday night at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: Figure Four Weekly 7/3/2017: Looking at NJPW’s weekend in the US

When New Japan Pro Wrestling’s weekend in Long Beach was over, Kenny Omega had been crowned as the inaugural IWGP US Heavyweight Champion and the most pressing question was what’s next for the company in the United States. Omega was, as expected, the star of the two G1 Specials.

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WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: July 10, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: NJPW in Long Beach reviewed, TNA becomes GFW, tons of news

New Japan’s expansion into the U.S. with the shows over the weekend in Long Beach is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Look through the business of the show, the positives, the negatives, the complaints about using ex-WWE talent, the U.S. title tournament, views on the U.S. title, as well as the New Japan plans for early 2018 in the U.S.

Read about examples as to why the early success may not lead to long-term success, indications of how well the show did, where the show was the strongest, which wrestlers had the most mainstream interest on the show, the Omega vs. Rhodes dynamic, and all the controversy regarding the announcing is covered. Plus, there is match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results of both the shows.

Check out Impact’s rebranding to GFW, the good and the bad of the Slammiversary show, the interesting politics involved, the debut of DeAngelo Williams as well as match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

This issue talks the WWE security breach reported by Forbes, MSG notes, ideas for big events in 2018 in WWE, new TV show idea, Iron men of 2017 plus who never wins and who never loses, lots of updates on the Mae Young Classic, why Randy Orton will be out for a couple of weeks, experiences of a woman on the WWE writing team, plus the most-watched shows on the WWE Network this past week, WWE company market value, and notes on all the WWE and NXT arena events the past week with highlights and business notes.

Also inside, notes on the pending case against Jim Breaks, the death of his ex-girlfriend, and the details of the case, and notes on the career of Vic Faulkner of the Royal Brothers tag team, who passed away this past week.

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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: June 12, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Paul Heyman meets with ECW talent, PRIDE 9 results, more

Paul Heyman, who hadn’t appeared at an ECW event since the Hardcore Heaven PPV, surprisingly, after missing the TV taping on 6/2 in New Orleans, flew to Pensacola, FL for the house show for a lengthy ECW team meeting. The one hour long meeting was largely a pep talk, since most of the wrestlers hadn’t even spoken to Heyman in a month, and with smaller crowds, slightly declining ratings and late checks, morale had hit a new low.

Heyman went through a story about where he saw the wrestling business in the U.S. headed. The theory he had was that WWF and USA Network would settle their lawsuit before going to trial because both have so much dirt on the other that would come out in court that both sides stock prices would drop and suffer public embarrassment. 

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SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • In a post on Instagram, Alberto El Patron challenged Triple H and people who were involved in the rap battle last Tuesday to a fight when SmackDown comes to San Antonio, Texas this week. El Patron wrote: “Tuesday next week a bunch of p*ssies will be there in San Antonio. The man with the big nose and no balls but also the p*ssies from the rap battle will be too.. also with no balls. Like their boss. All yes men. I’ll be in my restaurant. Starting at 10 pm.. I’ll be waiting for you there.” He went on to say that he’ll buy them a drink when he “beats the sh*t” out of them. His issues with The Usos and/or New Day presumably are because of the veiled mention of Paige and Xavier Woods from the rap battle.
  • WWE.com posted a list of the company’s 10 best matches in 2017 so far. They were:
    1. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne for the WWE United Kingdom Championship (NXT TakeOver: Chicago)
    2. The Authors of Pain vs. DIY vs. The Revival for the NXT tag titles (NXT TakeOver: Orlando)
    3. AJ Styles vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship (Royal Rumble)
    4. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins vs. The Miz in an Intercontinental title number one contender’s match (May 1st episode of Raw)
    5. AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon (WrestleMania 33)
    6. Braun Strowman vs. Big Show (February 20th episode of Raw)
    7. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins (May 29th episode of Raw)
    8. Jack Gallagher vs. TJP vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar vs. Mustafa Ali in a Cruiserweight title number one contender’s match (February 7th episode of 205 Live)
    9. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Tamina vs. Carmella in a Money in the Bank ladder match (June 27th episode of SmackDown)
    10. Neville vs. Rich Swann for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship (March 6th episode of Raw)
  • After AJ Styles won the United States Championship from Kevin Owens at last night’s house show at Madison Square Garden, WWE uploaded video of the finish of the match. They also have an interview with Styles following his title win.
  • Dixie Carter congratulated AJ Styles on winning the US title.
  • Madusa/Alundra Blayze revealed that she’ll be helping out and involved with the Mae Young Classic.
  • Everyone at the WWE Performance Center said goodbye to Johnny Saint as he recently ended his six-month stay as a coach there.
  • David Bixenspan’s latest article for Deadspin focuses on the reemergence of Samoa Joe ahead of his match against Brock Lesnar tomorrow.
  • This week’s WWE top 10 list on YouTube looks at “extreme spears.”

Pro Wrestling

  • Ratings for this week’s post-Slammiversary edition of Impact rebounded to where they were before last week’s drop. The show averaged 345,000 viewers, up from the 268,000 it did last week.
  • Tama Tonga criticized Jim Ross and Josh Barnett’s commentary from NJPW’s G1 Specials: “Commentating sucked at the #G1Special..at least @realkevinkelly knows the storylines and OUR F#CKING NAMES” That followed Kenny Omega tweeting that he can’t wait to hear Kevin Kelly and Don Callis on New Japan World again and saying that he appreciates their unbiased opinions.
  • Trent Barreta is off of tonight’s EVOLVE show. He tweeted that it’s because of a simple infection in his elbow but said he’ll be fine to wrestle for EVOLVE tomorrow.
  • Simon Gotch announced that his 90-day compete clause after parting ways with WWE is up as of today.
  • Danielle Fishel (who is most famous for playing Topanga on Boy Meets World) attended last night’s PWG show and bought a shirt from Lio Rush.
  • PROGRESS Wrestling sold out the 300 tickets that were available for their show in Somerville, Massachusetts on August 13th within 25 minutes.
  • Velvet Sky clarified that she’s only retired from in-ring competition and will still be making pro wrestling appearances.
  • Matt Sydal tweeted that he’ll be opening a wrestling school in Largo/Clearwater, Florida.

UFC/MMA

  • Valentina Shevchenko released a statement about her fight with Amanda Nunes being canceled at the last minute: “Today I am 100% ready for this fight. During the last 3 months of training I did everything to be in my best shape for this fight. Nunes couldn’t cut weight correctly and was hospitalized. She wanted to cut weight and recover rapidly to have the advantage. The end result, everything went wrong. Even though she was medically cleared to fight, she backed out. This fight was originally offered to take place in April and she would not accept then. I did my part and am very upset that I can’t fight for the title today on this great event. I am even more upset for all my dear fans who support me every time throughout the world and to those who traveled to see me fight here in Las Vegas live. I feel frustrated about what happened but I won’t relax, will not put down energy in my preparation, and will wait until the UFC gives us another date for the fight.”
  • Dana White also claimed that Nunes was cleared to fight but said that she didn’t feel good. Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett said that there were issues that went “beyond” weakness from cutting weight that led to Nunes’ withdrawal.
  • Dana White revealed that Joanna Jedrzejczyk was “begging” to replace Nunes on short notice, but it wasn’t possible with the commission. Shevchenko said that she wanted to take the fight.
  • Rob Font vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade is replacing Nunes vs. Shevchenko on the pay-per-view card.
  • The UFC uploaded the fourth and fifth episodes of Embedded prior to tonight’s PPV.
  • Justin Gaethje wants whatever gets him closer to an interim lightweight title fight and an eventual shot against Conor McGregor.
  • TJ Dillashaw is no longer planning to fight at 125 pounds and wants to wait to challenge Cody Garbrandt when he returns.
  • Frank Mir announced that he’s officially been granted his release from the UFC.

Today in Pro Wrestling History: Austin Aries wins TNA World title

F4W Online / Wrestling Observer Vegas Convention Event Info

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

  • Thursday: Meet at the High Roller 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 Baron, and co-main events: 3-way match with Leva Bates vs. Mia Yim vs. Hudson Envy, and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Thomas Santell (f.k.a. Antonio “The Promise” Thomas); 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
  • All website members will also receive a 15% discount on any purchases from the Las Vegas Fight Shop for the entirety of the convention

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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