Daily Update: UFC 239 weigh-ins, Jerry Lawler, Roman Reigns

DAILY UPDATE

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We’re doing three polls this weekend, for the UFC 239 show in Las Vegas, NJPW G-1 opener in Dallas and the Impact PPV on Sunday in Dallas, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. EASTERN WITH A THREE HOUR 2018 G-1 SPECIAL

  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada
  • Evil vs. Jay White
  • Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi
  • Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

IMPACT FROM SAN ANTONIO TONIGHT ON IMPACT+

  • Brian Cage vs. Moose for Impact title
  • Rob Van Dam vs. Sami Callihan
  • LAX vs. Josh Alexander & Ethan Page for tag titles
  • Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin
  • Rosemary vs. Su Yung
  • Fallah Bahh vs. Anthony Andrews
  • Rebel & Katie Forbes vs. Christi James & Miranda Alize

CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON CMLL FACEBOOK PAGE AND CMLL YOUTUBE (AFTER THE SHOW IS OVER)

  • Robin & Super Astro Jr. & Espanto Jr. & El Hijo del Signo
  • Pegasso & Rey Cometa & Star Jr. vs. Okumura & Polvora & Virus
  • Atlantis Jr. vs. El Hijo del Villano III
  • Cuatrero & Forastero & Sanson vs. Titan & Triton & Esfinge for Mexican national trios titles
  • Ciber the Main Man & Mistico & Rey Bucanero vs. Gran Guerrero & Euforia & Soberano Jr.
  • Caristico & Volador Jr. & Valiente vs. Gilbert El Boricua & El Terrible & Bestia del Ring

For Saturday, we’re looking for reports from the Raw show in Washington, DC, Smackdown in Utica, NY and MLW in Cicero, IL to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com

NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX ON SATURDAY FROM AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER IN DALLAS ON AXS TV IN THE U.S. AND NEW JAPAN WORLD OUTSIDE THE U.S. AT 6 P.M. EASTERN TIME

  • Sho & Yoh vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
  • Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino vs. Jeff Cobb & Ren Narita
  • Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Jay White & Chase Owens
  • Toru Yano & Juice Robinson & Jushin Liger vs. Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi & Bushi
  • Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer
  • Evil vs. Bad Luck Fale
  • Sanada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • KENTA vs. Kota Ibushi
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada

UFC 239 ON SATURDAY FROM THE T MOBILE ARENA IN LAS VEGAS

ESPN+ at 6:15 p.m. Eastern

  • Pannie Kianzad (11-4) vs. Julia Avila (5-1)
  • Chance Recontre (17-3) vs. Ismail Naurdiev (18-2)
  • Edmen Shahbazyan (9-0) vs. Jack Marshman (23-8)

ESPN AT 8 P.M. EASTERN

  • Song Yadong (13-3) vs. Alejandro Perez (21-7-1)
  • Randa Markos (9-6-1) vs. Claudia Gadelha (16-4)
  • Marlon Vera (15-5-1) vs. Nohelin Hernandez (10-2)
  • Gilbert Melendez (22-7) vs. Arnold Allen (14-1)

ESPN PPV AT 10 P.M. EASTERN

  • Michael Chiesa (15-4) vs. Diego Sanchez (29-11),
  • Jan Blachowicz (23-8) vs. Luke Rockhold (16-4),
  • Jorge Masvidal (33-13) vs. Ben Askren (19-0)
  • Amanda Nunes (17-4) vs. Holly Holm (12-4) for bantamweight title
  • Jon Jones (24-1) vs. Thiago Santos (21-6).for light heavyweight title

MLW ON BEINSPORTS AT 9 P.M. EASTERN

  • Myron Reed vs. Rey Hours
  • Jim Cornette Experience with Salina de la Renta
  • Alexander Hammerrstone defends National title
  • Tom Lawlor vs. Jacob Fatu for MLW title

Sunday we’re looking for reports from Raw in Wilkes-Barre, PA and Smackdown in Binghamton, NY

IMPACT SLAMMIVERSARY ON SUNDAY FROM GILLEY’S IN DALLAS ON PPV

  • Eddie Edwards vs. Killer Kross first blood match
  • LAX vs. Dezmond Xavier & Trey Miguel for tag titles
  • Taya Valkyrie vs.  Rosemary vs. Su Yung vs. Jessica Havok for Knockouts title in Monster’s Ball match
  • Rob Van Dam vs. Moose
  • Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard
  • Rich Swann vs. Johnny Impact for X title
  • Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin for Impact title

Monday has Raw TV from Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center.  There is also a Smackdown brand house show on Monday in Glens Falls, NY.

Smackdown and 205 take place Tuesday from Manchester, NH.

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Recapping WWE Stomping Grounds

After a lack of interest heading into the pay-per-view, Stomping Grounds was a show that exceeded expectations.

Given that there weren’t really any surprises at the PPV, that’s probably mostly due to expectations being set too low. Nothing on the show was dramatically better than it should have been. The PPV succeeded where most good WWE shows do. Even if the build was underwhelming, a talented roster was able to go out to the ring and have good matches throughout much of the card.

WON NEWSLETTER: July 8, 2019 Observer Newsletter: The life and death of Perro Aguayo

With a gigantic week of news, we’ve got a double issue of the Observer this week, leading off with a look at the career of Perro Aguayo, one of the biggest drawing cards in pro wrestling history.

We look at his career highlights, the feud that made him a superstar, the big rivalries and big business booms he was part of, his most famous matches, the formation of AAA and his biggest career wins.

We also have more on Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman leading brands going forward.  We look at the angles on Raw and whose fingerprints were on what, the level of power they look to have, why this move was made, Wall Street’s reaction to the move, how AEW fits into the picture, the audience they are trying to get back the Raw ratings increase that didn’t hold for Smackdown, Heyman and Bischoff talk about their new positions, when Bischoff starts and an analysis of Heyman’s first moves.

We also look at AEW’s Fyter Fest, the chair shot, the preshow, the business numbers, comparisons with WWE and UFC programming, match by match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

We also look at why the U.K. November tour is being rapidly changed, the Evolve special on WWE Network, Stomping Grounds business update, the story behind David Starr stomping on WWE tile belt and WWE reaction, Performance Center news, most-watched shows on the WWE Network and a rundown with business notes on all the WWE arena events this past week.

We also look at the career of Jacques Rougeau Sr, one of the biggest stars in Montreal wrestling history.  We look at the history of the Rougeau family, how Jacques got into wrestling, why he quit at first, what brought him back, how role in making the career of Ivan Koloff, his sons getting into wrestling, his biggest matches, his Jarry Stadium main event, the first $100,000 gate in Canada, and the Rougeaus feud with the Garvins.

We also look at WWE’s tour of Japan this past week, with notes on both shows and business notes as well.

We run through New Japan’s tour of Australia, with business notes , Southern Showdown match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results and the Ospreay-Eagles match.

We also update Extreme Rules with matches announced and others that could be added.

We’ve also got full coverage of UFC in Minneapolis including detailed business notes.

We’ve got a rundown on ROH Bet in the World from Baltimore, with business notes, match-by-match coverage and star ratings.

We also look at the changing television situation in the U.K. with the WWE’s new deal with BT Sports and AEW’s new deal.

We look at the TripleMania card and the unique team of Cody & Psycho Clown & Cain Velasquez.  There’s also notes from Killer Kross, who is training Velasquez.

We also look at the wrestling career of Yoshiaki Yatsu, who had his leg amputated over the past week.  We look at his 1980s heyday when he was one of the best in the world, why he was important in history, his amateur background and his famous Pride match with Gary Goodridge.

We also look at the death of Jerry Seltzer, the famed Roller Derby promoter, how that game worked, how it exploded in popularity, why it died off, and Seltzer’s later role in the ticketing business.

We also run down the ratings of all the major TV shows, along with detailed demo info for the WWE shows.

We also have the results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.

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@wrestlingobserver.com or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Roman Reigns was interviewed by The Sportster and discussed whether or not AEW is competition for WWE: “I’ll just say this. It’s all so new and it was what it was with Ambrose leaving and popping up over there… Competition? No, there’s no competition. WWE, we know exactly what we’re doing. We have the best talent in the world. There’s no comparing, I say that with firm confidence, all the way from the top to the very bottom. .. We are world class all the way through. Is it another option? Sure. [For wrestlers, AEW is] another option and another place to get a check. I’m never against optimism but I think you have foolish thoughts if you really think there’s a comparison or actual competition. Just an option, which isn’t a bad thing.”
  • In a video for WWE, Daniel Bryan discussed creating the name of EVOLVE Wrestling.
  • WWE uploaded a bonus clip from their WWE 24 episode on Batista, with Kumail Nanjiani (Batista’s co-star in Stuber) cheering on Batista at WrestleMania 35. In another bonus clip, Batista and Nanjiana visited SXSW. The WWE 24 episode will premiere on the WWE Network after Monday’s Raw.
  • Batista appeared on today’s episode of Talk is Jericho.
  • 24/7 Champion Drake Maverick posted parts three and four of his honeymoon vlog with Renee Michelle.
  • WWE’s Josiah Williams has an interview with Cesaro.
  • R-Truth is the guest on this week’s episode of the Edge & Christian podcast.
  • The latest episode of WWE Playlist looks back at mixed tag matches.

Pro Wrestling

  • WMC Action News 5 in Memphis ran a story on Glenn Moore, Jerry Lawler’s former podcast co-host, being accused of selling original artwork by Lawler and autographed T-shirts to fans and then not providing what they ordered. ‘I’m totally shocked by this behavior. I mean, we did like 90 podcasts together over a period of years. This is a guy I thought was a friend and I trusted him. I’m certainly sorry this has happened,” Lawler told WMC Action News. “We’re gonna work to try to make this thing right. One way or another. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get people’s money back. If not, we’ll get them the artwork they tried to buy.” Lawler said Moore’s behavior changed after he lost his PR job in December and that Moore promised to make amends but doesn’t have the money to. Lawler also tweeted about the situation: “I’m sure many of you have heard that some of my fans have been taken advantage of through a dishonest scheme that I was never aware of. Let it be known that I am not doing art commissions nor do I have any memorabilia for sale. So, if someone promotes or advertises or contacts you for services on my behalf, IT IS NOT LEGITIMATE! I am working to get this unfortunate situation resolved as quickly as possible and I apologize to my fans that have been affected by this.”
  • Lawler has been announced for Starrcast III.
  • KENTA spoke to NJPW’s English-language website about his decision to join the company: “It took a lot of thought for me to decide to come here. Quite frankly, if this doesn’t pan out, I’m done. That’s the resolve I have going into this. I’ve deliberately chosen a situation for myself where I have no excuses, and that’s my mindset. That said, I want to enjoy wrestling. Plain and simple.”
  • Jon Moxley told ESPN about one of the differences between wrestling in WWE and NJPW: “[In WWE,] it’s almost like Vince is in the ring with you, the producer is in the ring with you. It’s like you have two little bubbles on your shoulder, like three heads in the ring. All of a sudden when I got in the ring [in New Japan], five minutes into the match I was like, there’s no chatter. There was no producer-ref-Vince chatter. It was like silence. And I didn’t expect that. I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m alone again. It’s just me in the ring.’ And then I just started beating the [crap] out of Juice and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is what I used to do.'”
  • NJPW uploaded parts one and two of their Recount episode looking at the history of the G1 Climax.
  • Gringo Loco vs. Zenshi has been added to tomorrow’s MLW TV tapings in Cicero, Illinois.
  • Georgia Smith is joining the MLW broadcast team as a correspondent and will start at tomorrow’s tapings. Smith is the daughter of Davey Boy Smith and the sister of Davey Boy Smith Jr.
  • The Sporting News interviewed Sami Callihan about his match against Tessa Blanchard at Slammiversary XVII.

UFC/MMA

  • Everyone made weight this morning ahead of tomorrow’s UFC 239 PPV. Here are the results of the weigh-ins:
  • Main card —
    Jon Jones (205) vs. Thiago Santos (204.5)
    Amanda Nunes (135) vs. Holly Holm (133.5)
    Jorge Masvidal (170.5) vs. Ben Askren (171)
    Luke Rockhold (204.5) vs. Jan Blachowicz (205.5)
    Diego Sanchez (169) vs. Michael Chiesa (170.5)
  • ESPN prelims —
    Gilbert Melendez (145.5) vs. Arnold Allen (145.5)
    Marlon Vera (136) vs. Nohelin Hernandez (136)
    Claudia Gadelha (115) vs. Randa Markos (116)
    Alejandro Perez (135.5) vs. Song Yadong (135.5)
  • Early prelims —
    Edmen Shahbazyan (185) vs. Jack Marshman (185)
    Ismail Naurdiev (171) vs. Chance Rencountre (170.5)
    Pannie Kianzad (135) vs. Julia Avila (135)
  • The UFC has uploaded episodes four and five of Embedded for tomorrow’s PPV.
  • Ben Askren and Jorge Masvidal exchanged words when they crossed paths at a hotel.
  • In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Diego Sanchez cut a promo ahead of his fight against Michael Chiesa tomorrow.
  • MMA Junkie reported that a rematch between Edson Barboza and Paul Felder is in the works for UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi on September 7.
  • Dave Meltzer noted that Bare Knuckle FC’s Artem Lobov vs. Paulie Malignaggi event appears to have done in the range of 18,000 traditional PPV buys.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Williams & Gordy win WCW Tag Team titles

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