Daily Update: UFC fallout, NOAH, WWE notes

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F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Main roster arrivals and WWE departures

Last week was a period of arrivals and departures for WWE.

Without much advance warning, Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa all debuted on Raw last Monday. After news of them being backstage was reported online, WWE tweeted out pictures of them to hype that they were at the show. Triple H then opened Raw and confirmed that they would be debuting later in the night. Ricochet made a save for Finn Balor and teamed with him to defeat Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush, Black defeated Elias, and Gargano & Ciampa got a win against Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival in a non-title match.

WON NEWSLETTER: March 4, 2019 Observer Newsletter: Roman Reigns returns to WWE after leukemia remission

The return of Roman Reigns and information on leukemia and how some athletes have returned quickly while having it is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 

This issue is back to the usual format with a news filled issue, including comparisons of Georges St-Pierre to the other all-time greats in MMA, as well as details regarding the comings and goings in WWE including Bruce Prichard, TJP, Tye Dillinger, Arn Anderson and others.

Look at the background of the hiring of Prichard and departure of Anderson, Prichard’s past roles in WWE, how long Prichard is committed to doing live events with Conrad Thompson, and what this hire says about Vince McMahon.

Also look at plans for 2020 WrestleMania, 2019 Fan Axxess, Hardy’s contract, WWE injury updates, XFL notes, how AAF negotiated with WWE to buy XFL name, how that led to Vince doing the XFL, and football on WWE Network. Also look at how the AAF is doing.

Also look at “Fighting with my Family,” WWE star running for mayor has a major hurdle based on his past, Ric Flair’s real birthday party, Flair and Hogan history, Nikki Bella wins award, and new WWE signees.

Read notes from all the WWE and NXT events at arenas this past week, with results, highlights and business notes.

Have a look at the Matt Hughes situation, with what he’s alleged to have done, his response, and what others have said about him as well as his life post-accident.

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.

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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

by Bryan Rose and Dave Meltzer

WWE

  • It was announced yesterday that Tommaso Ciampa will not be appearing at WLW’s Night of Champions on March 9. He is reportedly suffering from a injury, though the severity is not currently known. Adam Cole will take his place instead.
  • A United States title match between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens from WWE Battleground 2017 was uploaded to YouTube.
  • Mustafa Ali will be appearing in the series “The Secret Life of Muslims” an Emmy and Peabody Award nominated series.  Ali, real name Adeel Alam, is on the show because he broke from playing the typical Muslim heel stereotype and chose to be a role model instead.  The episode will air on 3/13.
  • Paul Heyman will talk about the relaunch of ECW on the next episode of WWE Untold, which will drop tomorrow on the WWE Network at 12 pm ET.
  • Rey Mysterio will drive a pace car during the NASCAR Auto Club 400 on March 17.
  • Canvas 2 Canvas this week has Rob Schamberger pay tribute to the Undertaker.

Pro Wrestling

  • NOAH held their final event with their distincitve green mat last night. The company will undergo a visual makeover on 3/11, dropping the Mitsuharu Misawa-inspired green theme it’s been known for since its formation in 2000.
  • Momo Watanabe broke the record earlier today for most Wonder of Stardom title defenses at the show in Nagoya.  Results were: Kaori Yoneyama & Le Okazaki b Rina & Hina, Hana Kimura b Hanan, AZM & Konami b Natsuko Tora & Says Iida, Arisa Hoshiki b Starlight Kid, Utami Hayashishita NC Bea Priestley for the Eve International title when both were knocked out, Mayu Iwatani & Tam Nakano & Saki Kashima b Kagetsu & Hazuki & Natsu Sumire to keep the trios titles, Momo Watanabe b Jungle Kyona to keep the Wonder of Stardom title.  Match was said to be great (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger got involved in a pro wrestling match on Saturday.  It was New Oho Wrestling doing a show at the Arnold Kids and Teen Expo in Columbus, OH.  Onyx was wrestling Robby Starr for the Arnold championship, and Starr tried to run away and Schwarzenegger threw him back into the ring (thanks to Tim Taylor)
  • A New York Times story on wrestling action figures.
  • Smash Wrestling on 3/8 at Fanshawe College in London, ONT.  They also run 3/9 in Kitchener, ONT at the Tannery Event Centre.
  • New Generation Wrestling on 3/9 in Hull, ONT at the Eastmount Centre.  They also run 3/16 in Nottingham at the Rushcliffe Arena and 3/17 in Keighley at Victoria Hall and 3/24 in Chester-le-Street at the Pelton Community Centre.  A lot of WOS talent will be appearing on these shows.
  • Revolution Wrestling Federation on 3/23 at H-Mac in Harrisburg, PA,.
  • Johnny Mundo and P.J. Black will be appearing in Australia in April for Lucha Downunderground II in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.  Mundo will also work Melbourne and Sydney in June.
  • BCW from Friday night in Melbourne:  Preston Kindred & Vance Adams b Cletus & Nick Bury & Mitch Waterman, Kellyanne b Melina (WWE) to win the women’s title, Big Cuz b Robbie E, Ken Shamrock & Carlo Cannon b Gabriel Wolfe & Jake Andrewartha to keep the tag titles, Maddog b DCT to keep the BCW title, Mick Moretti b Dowie James in an Iron man match at 65:00 when neither won a fall in the first 60 minutes.
  • AAW in Perth, Western Australia from last night:  Roxy Ryot won Battle Royal, Delhi Dud Singh & Eric Owens b Mako Hunter & Warship and Julio Garcia & Marcio Garcia, Ajax b Hayden Zenith 3-2 in 30:00 Iron man match, Felix Young b Ricky South to keep No limits title in a really strong weapons match, Roxy Ryot b Felix Young to win the title, Chris Target over Adam Brooks and Seth Kincaid to win the AAW title, Mecha Wolf 450 b Craven, Tom Leadbetter b The Shark in a cage match to win cntrol of the promotion.
  • Mikey Nicholls returns to EPW, his original home promotion, on 4/6 in Perth.
  • Carlo Cannon, who holds the BCW tag title, broke his leg on Saturday night at a show in Melbourne for Warzone Wrestling.  Cannon was trained by Lance Storm. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
  • Wrestling Go from last night in Sydney, Australia:  Nikki Van Blair b Cesar, Jay Sorbet b Eric Fisher, Azalea won over Arya Reign and Jasmin Vittora, Candy Lee b Stella Nyx, Jessica Troy b Kellyanne, Kingsley & Xena b Indi Hartwell & Steph De Lander, Bel Pierce b Tarlee, Shazza McKenzie b Melina.  Australian historian Dann Lennard called the Jessica Troy vs. Kellyanne match possibly the best women’s live match he’s ever seen and both got a standing ovation when it was over.

UFC/MMA

  • Last night’s UFC prelims on ESPN did a 1.0 rating on the overnights, tying for the second best when it comes to PPV prelims since 2013.  The show did 1.35 million Google searches, putting it at No. 1 for yesterday of any topic, which indicates an above average number. The key topics searched for were Jon Jones, Ben Askren and Cody Garbrandt.  Notable that Kamaru Usman did not crack the top 20.
  • Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington confronted one another at the Palms buffet earlier today. They also had a confrontation last night as Usman was leaving the cage.
  • Brett Okamoto reported soon after Usman won the welterweight title that the UFC informed Covington he will receive the first title shot against him. Despite Covington being the interim champion, the UFC decided to make the the next welterweight title fight between Woodley and Usman instead.
  • Bonuses for last night’s UFC 235 went to Pedro Munhoz vs. Cody Garbrandt for fight of the night, while Johnny Walker and Diego Sanchez won performance of the night honors.
  • Dana White said after the show that Daniel Cormier and Brock Lesnar want to fight each other and will make the fight, but doesn’t know when.
  • Jon Jones told TMZ Sports that he ‘has a feeling’ he’ll fight Israel Adesanya. He also says he would like to fight four times in 2019.
  • Josh Gormley, the grandson of Jack Dempsey headlines Backyard Brawl 1 on PPV on 4/5 from Cheyenne, WY.  It will be a show with ten bare knuckle boxing matches and two MMA fights.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Sting wins TNA World title

Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):

  • Sunday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
  • Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!

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