Daily Update: UFC 230, Luke Rockhold, Super Jr. Tag League

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We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE Super show in Hartford, CT (all the Smackdown crew, plus Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Ronda Rousey, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Alexa Bliss) and the Raw show in Portland, ME (headlined by Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler), as well as the NXT show in Venice, FL to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM EHIME ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Chris Sabin & Kushida vs. Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr.
  • Sho & Yoh vs. Robbie Eagles & Taiji Ishimori

PFL MIDDLEWEIGHT AND WELTERWEIGHT PLAYOFFS ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK AT 9 P.M. EASTERN TIME

  • Middleweight bouts: Abusupiayn Magomedov vs. Gasan Umalatov, Bruno Santos vs. Sadibou Sy, John Howard vs. Shamil Gamzatov, Louis Taylor vs Rex Harris
  • Welterweight bouts: Ray Cooper III vs. Jake Shields, Rick Story vs. Handesson Ferreria, Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Pavel Kusch, Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Bojan Velickovic

Sunday has a Super show in Boston with the entire Smackdown crew including Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio, plus Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Ronda Rousey and Alexa Bliss.

Raw is Monday from Providence, RI. There is also a Smackdown house show Monday night in White Plains, NY.

NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON MONDAY FROM SHIMANE ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Volador Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs. Taiji Ishimori & Robbie Eagles
  • Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Sho & Yoh

Tuesday has Smackdown, 205 Live and Mixed Match Challenge from Newark, NJ with MMC bout of Bobby Roode & Natalya vs. Finn Balor & Bayley and Jimmy Uso & Naomi vs. Miz & Asuka plus 205 Live bouts with Mike Kanellis vs. Lince Dorado and Hideo Itami vs. Mustafa Ali in a falls count anywhere match.

NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON TUESDAY FROM TOTTORI ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Robbie Eagles & Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado
  • ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Chris Sabin & Kushida

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Backlash to WWE Saudi Arabia relationship picks up

WWE’s deal with Saudi Arabia has always been a bet that the overwhelming financial rewards would outweigh the inevitable public relations damage that it brings. With it so overtly going against the women’s evolution messaging that the company is promoting, WWE entered into the 10-year agreement with the knowledge that there would be backlash. But that was a controversy that would mostly exist inside the wrestling bubble. 

WON NEWSLETTER: October 22, 2018 Observer Newsletter: WWE Crown Jewel controversy, plus tons of news

A detailed look at how the problems with Saudi Arabia affect WWE’s 11/2 show is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  
Read about the crowd reactions, John Layfield’s television appearance, the different stages of reaction, the profit margin of the shows this year and next, and reaction of some senators.

Look at the issues with UFC and Khabib Nurmagomedov coming after UFC pulled Nurmagomedov’s teammate off the company’s next show, as well as where Nurmagomedov stands in popularity, and what is next for him.

Find out about the NXT U.K. television deal and how it went down, Kevin Owens injury update, ticket sales for Evolution, next PPV cards from WWE as well as major house show cards, and what FOX is looking for out of the wrestling product. 

Also look at the WrestleMania main event, what happen at Smackdown, WWE signs 7-foot-3 basketball player, WWE cuts three wrestlers, this week’s schedule as well as a look at the most-watched shows on the WWE Network.

Find out about Eddie Alvarez signing with ONE and their financial information.

Look at the game changing team DAZN signed with Canelo Alvarez and how this changes the economics and culture of fight sports.

This issue has a huge feature on the life and times of Don Leo Jonathan, his legacy, his biggest matches, his title history around the world, his world titles, shoots, comparisons to modern wrestles, praise from other wrestlers and more. 

Read full coverage of both the good and the bad of Bound for Glory, with business and other thoughts on the show, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results. Also look at surprises for the show that fell through.

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. 

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SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

Pro Wrestling

  • Sho & Yoh (2-1) defeated Taiji Ishimori & Robbie Eagles (2-1) and KUSHIDA & Chris Sabin (1-2) defeated Volador Jr. & Soberano Jr. (1-2) in the Super Junior Tag League matches at today’s Road to Power Struggle show in Ehime.
  • The Young Bucks & Cody Rhodes defending their Six-Man Tag Team titles against The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) and Jay Lethal & Jeff Cobb vs. SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) are set for ROH’s Survival of the Fittest show in Columbus, Ohio on November 4.
  • Impact Wrestling announced that they’ll be returning to Windsor, Ontario, Canada for television tapings at St. Clair College on March 22 and March 23.
  • Lucha Underground (seasons one and two) is scheduled to be removed from Netflix on November 15.
  • Jordynne Grace noted that she has to miss three shows this weekend due to the sprained ankle that she’s been working on. Grace wrote that she plans on rehabbing it extensively and returning at the end of the month.
  • Shane Strickland vs. Tom Lawlor, El Hijo de LA Park vs. Sammy Guevara, and Barrington Hughes & Kotto Brazil vs. Lance Anoa’i & Samu aired on this week’s MLW Fusion episode.
  • Kenny Omega did an angle with Don Callis at last night’s Premier Championship Wrestling show in Winnipeg, with Callis turning heel on Omega.
  • WALTER will be the guest on an upcoming episode of Steve Austin’s podcast.

UFC/MMA

  • With Luke Rockhold off the show due to injury, the card for UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden on November 3 has been reshuffled a bit. Chris Weidman, who was supposed to fight Rockhold, will now officially face Jacare Souza in the semi-main event. Souza was originally booked against David Branch, and Branch will now face Jared Cannonier on the show.
  • Ariel Helwani posted a tweet yesterday about the injuries that Rockhold is dealing with: “His left shin is infected again. He just got a stem cell graft put in. He sprained his right knee yesterday. MRI is scheduled for tonight. He broke his nose recently while grappling.”
  • Weidman tweeted about Rockhold having to pull out of their fight: “I was really looking forward to fighting Luke in this rematch but unfortunately it wasn’t in the cards this time around. This is a tough sport. I’m hoping and praying Luke makes a quick recovery and returns to good health.”
  • Derrick Lewis said that Stipe Miocic probably deserved a title shot against Daniel Cormier more than he does: “It’s just one that I can’t pass up, because I know there’s a lot of guys in this division that probably deserve a shot more than I’m getting. I probably don’t deserve a shot more than Stipe, who should have got the shot. But ain’t no telling the next time I’m gonna get the opportunity, so I gotta jump on it anyways.”
  • Dana White doesn’t think that you should pay attention to rumors of Khabib Nurmagomedov boxing Floyd Mayweather: “Don’t pay attention to it. First of all, the Mayweather team has not approached us at all. Khabib is under contract with the UFC; we haven’t talked to anybody from the Mayweather team. Floyd is very good at getting his name back out there when he’s ready to.”
  • Max Holloway, Brian Ortega, Valentina Shevchenko, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk are featured on the poster for UFC 231.

Daily Professional Wrestling History: AJ Styles wins TNA World title at Bound for Glory 2013

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