Daily Update: UFC Cyborg, Steph’s 40th, Dana White on McGregor

WEEKEND LINE-UPS

UFC ON SATURDAY FROM BRASILIA, BRAZIL

Pretty big show tonight for UFC by FS 1 standards. Gramps Fontaine has a full preview of the card here and will also have live coverage on the site when the show starts at 6:30 pm eastern.

Of course the big story on the show will be Cris Cyborg and just how fast she can destroy sacrificial lamb Lina Lansberg. Cyborg made weight and will no doubt crush the debuting Lansberg for her 2nd straight UFC win in a non-existent division. Former bantamweight champion Renan Barao is back, fighting again at 145 as he continues in his trek to become a two-division champ. A fun heavyweight tilt that will no doubt end in someone getting knocked out cold is third from the top as Bigfoot Silva will lumber in against Roy Nelson.

Other fun fighters to look out for on the show include Thiago Santos, Rani Yahya, Dustin Ortiz, Erick Silva and Stevie Ray.

Follow along here when the show is live. 

Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time

  • Glaico Franca (13-4) vs. Gregor Gillespie (7-0)
  • Vicente Luque (9-5-1) vs. Hector Urbina (17-9-1)
  • Alan Patrick (13-1) vs. Stevie Ray (19-5)

FS 1 at 8 p.m.

  • Luan Chagas (14-1-1) vs Erick Silva (18-7)
  • Jussier Formiga da Silva (18-4) vs Dustin Ortiz (15-5)
  • Michinori Tanaka (11-1) vs. Rani Yahya (22-8)
  • Mike De La Torre (14-5) vs. Godofredo Pepey (12-4)
  • Thiago Santos (12-3) vs. Eric Spicely (8-1)
  • Paul Felder (12-2) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (20-4)
  • Roy Nelson (21-13) vs. Antonio  Silva (19-8-1)
  • Renan Barao (33-4) vs. Philippe Nover (11-6-1)
  • Cristiane Cyborg Justino (16-1) vs. Lina Lansberg (6-1)

Leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match: Dave@WrestlingObserver.com.

  • Destruction in Hiroshima
  • SDestruction in Kobe

Please send reports on the following shows: Submissions@WrestlingObserver.com

  • WWE Raw brand house show in Moline, IL (all the key members of the Raw roster are there except Chris Jericho) and NXT show in Jacksonville
  • WWE in Chicago (Raw brand house show plus Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton, no Chris Jericho)
  • WWE in Hershey, PA (Smackdown brand house show with John Cena but no Randy Orton)
  • ROH in Duluth, GA
  • WWE in State College, PA (Smackdown crew with John Cena and no Randy Orton)
  • ROH in Duluth, GA at the Infinte Energy Center (Colt Cabana vs. Jay Lethal in 2 of 3 matches with the first match being pinfalls only, second being submissions only and third being a 30 minute Iron Man match; Jay White & Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin vs. Kamaitachi & Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian in a Lucha Libre trios rules match; Jushin Liger vs. Dalton Castle; Silas Young vs. Stevie Richards; War Machine vs. All Night Express; Caprice Coleman vs. Delirious and Lio Rush vs. Jonathan Gresham).

NEW JAPAN DESTRUCTION IN KOBE AT 3 A.M. EASTERN TIME SUNDAY MORNING, MIDNIGHT PACIFIC LATE SATURDAY NIGHT ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • David Finlay & Henare & Hirai Kawato vs. Will Ospreay & Rocky Romero & Baretta
  • Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
  • Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask & Teruaki Kanemitsu
  • Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly
  • Satoshi Kojima & Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs. Young Bucks & Adam Cole for Never trios titles
  • Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii & Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson & Kushida vs. Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
  • Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi & Gedo & Jado vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Toru Yano & Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada in New Japan vs. NOAH
  • Michael Elgin vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IC title

WWE CLASH OF CHAMPIONS ON SUNDAY FROM INDIANAPOLIS

  • Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins for WWE title
  • Rusev vs. Roman Reigns for U.S. title
  • Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho
  • Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley for women’s title
  • Cesaro vs. Sheamus in match seven of the best of seven series
  • New Day vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for tag team title
  • T.J. Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick for cruiserweight title
  • Alicia Fox vs. Nia Jax (preshow match)

Raw will be on Monday night in Cincinnati. Chris Jericho returns to the tour for that show. There is also a Smackdown brand house show on Sunday in Wheeling, WV with the entire crew including John Cena but not including Randy Orton.

Smackdown is Tuesday night from Cleveland. The main event is A.J. Styles vs. Dean Ambrose for the WWE title. John Cena and Randy Orton are both scheduled on the show.

Figure Four Weekly, 9/19/2016: The Unlikely Story of TJ Perkins (Part I)  – T.J. Perkins being the winner of WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic and first champion of the new version of the cruiserweight division was something of a surprise. It was clear that Zack Sabre Jr. and Kota Ibushi were booked as the stars, but neither signed with the company. Gran Metalik (Mascara Dorada) and Perkins, who both signed… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

Wrestling Observer Newsletter, September 26, 2016:Clash of Champions preview, new concussion test, more – The first Raw brand exclusive PPV takes place on 9/25 in Indianapolis, headlined by Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins for the Universal title. There are two business aspects to look at immediately. The first is whether these PPVs lead to a ratings bump, although the Raw the next day is expected to be at near all-time record lows due to the Presidential debate. The second is how it draws. The Smackdown only PPV on 9/11 in Richmond, VA, only drew 7,000 fans, and they were papering heavily… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

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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WON Back Issue, August 30, 1999: WWF Summerslam, Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart first match, more – Jesse Ventura’s return to pro wrestling drew the mainstream attention which probably led to a lot of curiosity buys, and WWF made the most of it putting on one of the better PPV shows of 1999. Subscribers click here to continue reading.

SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

Support The Empire… PODEROSO~!

Stephanie McMahon is celebratingher 40th birthday today. Vince McMahon’s Twitter account wished her a happy birthday. She must be thrilled it didn’t fall on a Monday so she wouldn’t have to go face first into her own cake.

TJ Dillashaw posted on Instagramthat he’s willing to bet 100k that he would win in a rematch against Dominick Cruz.

If you’ve ever wanted to pay someone else’s grandmother to read about her favorite grandson, now is your chance. To get a copy of Granny’s book, THE DAYS IN THE LIFE OF BRYAN ALVAREZ, send $15 US, $17 Can., or $20 intl. to her PayPal, gladiola3@comcast.net, along with your name and address.

The latest NFL offereing from Vinny Vis now available in podcast form. Vinny V’s football podcast, LOCKED ON SEAHAWKS, can be heard on audioboom.com. Follow Vinny V and @lockedseahawks so that you never miss a show.

The Death of WCWby Bryan Alvarez and RD Reynolds is now available as an audiobook through Amazon.com and Audible. Bryan did the narration for the book and it runs almost fifteen hours, so grab yours today!

WWE

PRO WRESTLING

  • PROGRESS Wrestling will present what is one of the biggest shows in company history tomorrow at the O2 Academy in Brixton. It will feature farewells for Tommaso Ciampa, Jack Gallagher, and Tommy End before they head to WWE/NXT. Ciampa will face Zack Sabre Jr. in a two-out-of-three falls match, and the show will be headlined by Marty Scurll defending his PROGRESS Championship in a triple threat match against End and crowd favorite Mark Haskins.
  • William Regal and Oney Lorcan (formerly Biff Busick) made surprise appearances at a show for Chaotic Wrestling in MA last night.
  • Johnny Gargano had his final independent wrestling appearance at AIW in his hometown of Cleveland last night.
  • Joey Styles responded to a question asking if he would ever work for TNA.
  • Broken Matt Hardy’s drone Vanguard1 has joined Twitter, and already has nearly 2,000 followers. 

UFC & MMA

  • Dana White wants Conor McGregor’s next fight to be a title defense against Jose Aldo. 
  • If you’re going to be watching tomorrow’s EFN show on UFC Fight Pass, here’s a preview of that show from mmadraws.com. A few really interesting prospects on that show to watch out for: Sergey Pavlovich (8-0 heavyweight), Rasul Mirzaev (16-0 featherweight) and Murad Machaev (19-1 lightweight – only loss came to Marcin Held in Bellator). Former UFC and Bellator guy Diego Nunes is on the show, fighting against Mirzaev.
  • Ahead of her title defense against Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has joined American Top Team.
  • The Rizin Openweight Grand Prix kicks off tomorrow in Russia and features the MMA return of Mirko Cro Cop, who weighed in at 230 lbs today for the fight tomorrow with 3-2 South Korean Hyun Man Myung in what is surely a credible matchup. Kron Gracie (2-0) goes up against Hideo Tokoro (33-28-2) in the featherweight main event. Also on the show are former UFC fighter Daron Cruickshank, Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett and women’s HEAVYWEIGHT Gabi Garcia. The event will stream live on various outlets.

VARIETY

  • WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi was this week’s guest on The Chad Dukes Wrestling Show to talk about his appearance Saturday. September 24th in Joppa, MD at MCW Pro Wrestling’s Tribute to the Legends Convention, Rusev, his sons’ The Usos recent heel turn, the WWE Brand Split, Roman Reigns and more. The show is available weekly as a podcast on iTunes, Play.it, and here.
  • Bobby Lombardi passed away Thursday. He was the owner/operator and founder of the Doghouse Wrestling School in Brooklyn New York which closed down in the early 2000’s. The head trainer at the school was Homicide and produced many of the early 2000 independent stars in the northeast including Homicide, The Hit Squad, The Christopher Street Connection, Matt Striker, Julius Smokes, etc.
  • On this episode on the Creative Control podcast an interview with The MFPW SuperSonic Champion, and current ROH competitor, “LSG” Leon St. Giovanni! They cover how he got into pro wrestling, attending Ring of Honor shows as a fan in the mid 2000’s, and his memories of those shows. See LSG on Ring Of Honor television, TheMFNetwork.com, and live at the Monster Factory this Saturday, when he takes on “Brutal” Bob Evans. He also has a Pro Wrestling Tees store.
  • RESULTS: Friday, September 16 The Great Hall Toronto: Gavin Glass def Holden Albright, Gavin Quinn def Alessandro Del Bruno, Mark Wheeler (w/Jason Sensation) def Anton Alexiev, The Cure (Orlando Christopher & Stratos Fear) def 2 Guys (Psycho Mike & RJ City), Young Myles (c) def Jake Something, Ashley Sixx def Shane Sabre, Super Future (Palmer Cruise & Xavier Walker) def KUSH (Phil Atlas & Roach), Superkick’D Title Match: Kris Chambers (c) vs. TARIK – No Contest.
  • Former AWA Tag Team Champion and WWE tag team star “Jumping” Jim Brunzell was the latest guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show to discuss his current lawsuit with the WWE. He also explained how he believes Vince McMahon did not like him, and Hulk Hogan returning. Here are some highlights.

On Vince McMahon not liking him: “To be honest with you, I really think that Vince [McMahon] didn’t like us, because we could work with any team, and we had a great gimmick. We got over, and the fact was he had mentioned that we were going to beat this team, or beat that team, or get the belts, but we never did. So, it was disappointing for us, but at the same time, you just said ‘Well. We’re making good money, this is the only place to be if you’re in pro wrestling, so we just grin and bear it.”

On his current WWE lawsuit: “There was a point in the middle eighties, toward the end there, I worked in Salt Lake City, and I was working against the Barbarian. His finish was a high leg kick coming off the ropes, and he comes flying off the ropes and hit me in the chin and I slammed the back of my head on the mat. I was out. They had to help me in the locker room, I just couldn’t get my bearings…”

EVENTS CALENDAR

Saturday 9/24

  • ROH: Reloaded Tour; Duluth (Atlanta), GA 7:00 pm. Tickets.
  • East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA), 49 ANNIVERSARY SHOW, Woodbury Heights Community Center, 741 Helen Ave, Woodbury Heights, NJ 08097. Tickets.
  • EWA Evolution: World War Z at Tall Cedars Hall (2501 Putty Hill Ave.) in Parkville, MD. See the double ring, 5 vs. 5 Ladder War! Bell time is 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 front row and $12 general.
  • IWA Midsouth Wrestling presents the Hybrid Cup, at PRIDE Bar in New Albany, IN.
  • Ignite Wrestling in Vero Beach, FL at the IG Center features Dave Crist.
  • UCW, September 24th 7:30 PMBay City,MI UCW Champion Hakim Zane vs MVP, plus appearances by Ron Simmons and Fred Ottman.
  • Big Time Wrestling in Spartanburg, SC at the Memorial Auditorium with the meet and greet at 5:30 and show at 7:30 with Flair, Steamboat, Hardys, Rhodes, Nasty Boys, Sabu, Magnum T.A., Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, Gangrel and Trevor Lee.
  • MCW Legends Convention at the MCW Arena in Joppa, MD at 10 a.m. featuring Bret Hart, Jimmy Hart, Howard Finkel, Honky Tonk Man, Hillbilly Jim, Paul Orndorff, Greg Valentine, Jim Ross, Bill Apter, Brutus Beefcake, Bob Orton, Tito Santana, Jim Neidhart, Tammy Sytch, Magnum T.A. and even Dennis Stamp.
  • Rock Solid: Anarchy in Angus 14: A Nightmare on Mill Street, 7pm – 10pm, Angus Recreation Centre, 8527 County Rd. 10, Angus, Ontario. Tickets.
  • Pure Wrestling Association: Campbell River, British Columbia.
  • NXT in Kitchener, Ontario at The Air.
  • Elite Canada Championship Wrestling: New Westminster, Sapperton Pensioners Hall.
  • Main Event Pro Wrestling in Longview, TX at Pine Tree High School, 5pm, Big Daddy Yum Yum and others. Tickets.
  • All Star Wrestling: Maple Ridge, BC, 7:30 PM, Ridge Meadows Seniors Centre. LIVE EVENT.
  • ElkMania 4 Press Release: Charity Professional Wrestling, in Beverly, MA. Beverly/Salem Lodge of Elks, 39 Bow Street, Beverly, MA. Doors at 6:00pm with a 7:00 pm bell time. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at Silver Moon Comics & Collectibles located inside the Museum Place Mall in Salem, MA (1 Church Street, Salem, MA).

Sunday 9/25

  • Join NECW & Meet The Stars and Celebrate The Grand Opening of Nick’s Comically Speaking! Meet Swoggle and JTG from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. For more info call (978) 304-0396.
  • Canadian Wrestling’s Elite: Nick “Magnus” Aldis defends the GFW title against Matt Hart of the Hart Family in Calgary.
  • Rizin: Former K-1 kickboxer Minoru Kimura will make his MMA debut against former Pride fighter Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett (29-30-2).

​Daily Pro Wrestling History (09/24): Diesel & Shawn Michaels win the WWF tag titles

CONTACT INFORMATION

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