Daily Update: WrestleMania, Raw, Alberto & Paige

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

AUDIO

Raw is in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center with a Seth Rollins vs. HHH contract signing, plus Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg all appearing. There is also a Smackdown brand house show in Norfolk, VA.

Smackdown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday in Richmond, VA for the final main roster show before WrestleMania. Bray Wyatt vs. Luke Harper is scheduled for Smackdown and Rich Swann vs. Noam Dar for 205 Live.

For regular readers, with the exception of the big shows, which would be the Evolve, ROH, NXT & WWE events, we’ll be looking for reports on anything and everything during WrestleMania week to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 3/20/2017: Is AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon the right match for Wrestlemania?

While the decision to have AJ Styles face Shane McMahon at WrestleMania has drawn criticism from a lot of people, I’ve remained mostly ambivalent about the matchup. Or at least that’s how I felt until last Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown. The seven weeks between Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania kept the feud between Styles and Shane from really building until now, but it was surprisingly worth the wait when it did… Subscribers click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: March 27, 2017: WWE potentially buying ROH, Jan Ross passes away, more

This week’s lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is regarding ROH, WWE and the current situation with ROH. It looks at the ramifications of a possible purchase, and how a sale changes the dynamics of the industry far past just ROH.

There is an update on the WrestleMania situation, with notes on new matches and plans, as well as ticket sales and matches throughout the weekend.

There are notes on the unique story involving Impact Wrestling making a deal with AAA as well as a current deal with The Crash, which has all kinds of strange political implications. Plus, look at Impact planning a potential PPV show to be held in Mexico, the unique contractual hurdles involved, and recent changes in AAA writing.

An update on the Paige situation can be read about.

There are also a number of WWE Hall of Fame updates, how the Hall of Fame has changed, an update on Mauro Ranallo, an update on Shinsuke Nakamura, more on the WrestleMania 32 attendance, Kurt Angle talks his return, lots more people coming to WWE, Fan Axxess plans and matches scheduled, WWE responds to a concussion lawsuit, plus the most watched shows of the week on WWE Network.

Check out the notes on all the WWE and NXT arena events over the past week, with in-ring highlights, results, crowd reactions and business notes.

Inside has full coverage of the New Japan Cup finals, as well as the other tournament matches, plans for the next month in Japan including the next three New Japan World live events.

There is a major feature on the retiring Manami Toyota, arguably the greatest female wrestler of all-time, talking about her background, her heyday, the boom of women’s wrestling, the Crush Gals and Beauty Pair era, the show where Toyota first got over, and so many of her awards.

Finally, look at CMLL’s first major show of the year with business notes, who is Pierroth, and match-by-match coverage with tar ratings.

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: February 28, 2000, WCW Super Brawl review, Super J Cup, plus tons of news

There is little to say about SuperBrawl 2000 other than James Brown was there and got a big reaction, and the crowd popped pretty big for Hulk Hogan’s ring entrance. It was a WCW show filled with young guys who the crowd doesn’t know or care about and old guys that the crowd knows but isn’t interested in except as short-term nostalgia acts. The big surprise of Sting returning meant little. The return of Roddy Piper returning was really sad, and showing clips of the 1989 Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk I Quit match only emphasized how great they once were compared to what the company puts out today, and how much older they’ve gotten… Subscribers click here to continue.

MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio. We’ll be talking Raw, WrestleMania and taking your e-mail questions that you can send to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com.

Alberto El Patron wrote today: “It doesn’t matter how many times you try to break us…is not gonna happen…we were harassed by a company…we still are…cause you don’t feel me MF’s I know I (sic) was you trying to destroy us…destroy my baby…she’s better stronger than all you pieces of???…We are getting married Wednesday…Have a nice and go and f yourself hatters (sic).” It would appear he’s referencing WWE, but the key take is he’s getting married this week. 

Tonight is the go-home Raw for WrestleMania so all hands on deck and whatever the biggest angle ideas have been, this is the show for them to be on. So expect strong promotion for Goldberg vs. Lesnar, Undertaker vs. Reigns, HHH vs. Rollins (with a contract signing talked about), Owens vs. Jericho and the women’s four-way match.

The company performers will be doing their most media of the year over the next several days largely to promote WrestleMania and all the other activities.

In an interview with The Sporting News, Bobby Fish made it clear that he is going to be continuing to work with ROH for the time being, but he didn’t sign a new contract (his short-term deal expired today) but said he’s no longer exclusive to ROH but is open for offers from anyone.

WWE

  • In an attempt to boost Monday’s announcement of numbers, WWE has sent out another mailer offering former subscribers three months free as long as they sign up by Monday, which is when the announcement will be made. The push is if you sign up now you get WrestleMania, Payback, Backlash, Extreme Rules and Money in the Bank free. 
  • The WWE announced that for the first time ever, WrestleMania will be available as an iPPV event within China. The show starts at 7 a.m. Beijing time on Monday. It’ll be offered in both English and Mandarin. The streaming service that carries WWE in China will be offering it.
  • Paul Heyman did a talk show today promoting WrestleMania where he pushed that Charlotte Flair could become the first woman to close the show at WrestleMania. Don’t think he meant this year, just that it could happen during her career.
  • More Heyman promotional work on Lesnar on Yahoo today is here.
  • Mike Pence made a remark to Linda McMahon when talking about Trump overhauling affordable care saying that “Maybe we could have used a few of your WWE Superstars on Capital Hill.” (thanks to Joe Puccio)
  • The Corey Graves interview with Kurt Angle is already on the onDemand section of the WWE network.
  • A story on Jason Jordan & Chad Gable and how their amateur wrestling backgrounds helped them in pro wrestling is here.
  • A story on women in WWE is here.
  • Bobby Roode interview with The LAW from last night is here. Below are highlights from the interview:

Comparing where he was on last year’s WrestleMania weekend to this year’s:

Absolutely, I thought about it all the time. You know, last year at this point, really on the fence and not really knowing what my future really held for me. Obviously, being in Dallas for WrestleMania weekend was a huge eye opener for me and one of the things that, at this point last year didn’t have was passion for the business and I really wanted to get that back. Being in Dallas last year, being at NXT Takeover: Dallas and being apart of WrestleMania weekend and taking it all in was very refreshing and was an opportunity for me to get that excitement back again and get that passion back in me to do what I love to do. From sitting in the front row watching Shinsuke Nakamura’s debut that night, now 365 days later, walking into NXT Takeover: Orlando on WrestleMania weekend, in the main event, as the champion, defending it against Shinsuke is pretty wild.”

If conversations between him and WWE began before WrestleMania 32 weekend:

Very small prior to that. There was only about a week or two from the time I left TNA to WrestleMania weekend so they were very minor talks. When I got to Dallas, I had a quick conversation with Triple H, nothing was concrete so I kind of just took in everything that was there and met with some of the guys and got to reconnect with some of the guys like Samoa Joe and Austin Aries at the time who I’ve worked with in the past. Just kind of get a feel for everything and then obviously, I really and truly felt like that was the place I needed to be and fortunately for me, I was getting the opportunity and here we are 365 days later.”

Learning the WWE system and his goals in the company:

Honestly, to be the face of a brand is pretty special. I think anybody in this business that hasn’t had that opportunity would give their right arm to be in my shoes. So, it is a great opportunity, I am enjoying every minute of it, don’t get me wrong but obviously, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to go to the main roster. Obviously, that is the goal for everybody and that is the way the system works. Hopefully, one day, I’ll be on Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live but right now I am very happy and quite content being in a leadership role and being the champion in NXT and being able to main event shows and be in the ring with top guys and continue to learn. I mean, it’s a learning curve for me too, I’ve been in the business for almost two decades but you know, the WWE is a different animal and I’m continuing to learn the system and learn different things and learn things that were never taught to me before. Just the small minor things but the minor things that mean a lot in this industry and in your performance. The goal is to one day be at WrestleMania, to main event a WrestleMania so I think you have to continue to have goals in your career and not just be happy where you’re at. But right now, when you look at it, 365 days ago, I’m sitting there as a fan in the front row and now I’m the world champion, main eventing the biggest Takeover of all time so couldn’t be happier.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Jim Ross is taping his podcast tonight. I’m scheduled to be on with him after WrestleMania next week.
  • This week’s pro wrestling quiz is dedicated to Jan Ross.
  • The AXS show on Friday night is the last show of the G-1 Climax series with Kenny Omega’s matches with Tetsuya Naito and Hirooki Goto.
  • Blitzkrieg Pro Wrestling from Saturday night in Enfield, CT: Tony Atlas won open challenge, Breakfast Club over Batiri, Throwbacks and East Coast Bastard Crew, Isaiah Rex b Narciso Rex, Skylar b Penelope Ford, Sasha Jenkins over Flex Rumblecrunch and Hammer Tunis, Chuck O’Neil b Joey Janela, Josh Briggs over Anthony Greene, DangerKid, Xavier Bell, Zachary Pierre Beaulieu and Scotty Wild, Chris Dickinson b Missile Assault Man, Troy Nelson & Johnny Idol & Mark Sterling & McNeil b JustNeph & JGeorge & Ryan Malice & Johnny Torres, Donovan Dijak b Cody Rhodes.
  • Big Time Wrestling from Saturday night in Salinas, CA before 500 fans: Zack Muir b Andre Leaveaux, Clint Steele b JT Hollister, Shane Kody & Devin Danger b Dylan Bostic & Guerrero, Dementia D’Rose b Jade to keep the BTW title, Tony Vargas DCOR Eli Drake, Kimo b Ethan Carter III to keep the BTW title and Ryback b Synn. Next show is 5/20 in Newark, CA. (thanks to Jim Davis)
  • NWA Mid South from Thursday night in Covington, TN: Corazon de Dragon b Jakob Edwinn, Johnny Swole b Sharknado, Matt Taylor b Antonio Anderson, Dustin Daniels over Van Van Horn and The Convict in a three-way, Matt Riviera b Johnny Morton, Greg Anthony & Cole McDaniel b The Posse. Bruce Tharpe managed Riviera.
  • National Wrestling League from yesterday in St. Louis before 197 fans: Tommy Flagg & August Marshall b Dez Wellston & Neon Iverson, Marcellus Gaines b Jay Lutz, Skyler Beckett b Adam Ryan, Kyle O’Reilly b Davey Gibson, Buddy Shepherd b Castle-DQ, Christian Adonis b Javy Torres, Jack Foster b Jet Royal, Todd Letterman b Matthew Grundy. (thanks to Patrick Brandtmeyer)
  • Nova Wrestling on 4/14 in Fairfax, VA at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia has a 12-man tournament with Tracy Williams, Arik Royal, Sonjay Dutt, Logan Easton, Donovan Dijak, Chet Sterling, Bobby Shields, Alex Daniels, Tim Donst, John Kermon, Trip Cassidy and David Starr.
  • Sami Zayn is marketing a number of El Generico T-shirts on Pro Wrestling Tees for this week only.
  • The Legacy Fighting Alliance on AXS announced a 4/21 show in Pueblo, CO at the Massari Arena with Ian Heinisch vs. Lucas Rota and Nick Urso vs. Brandon Royval.
  • Mike Adamle, the former NFL player and TV sportscaster who worked in WWE, bid farewell to the crew at WMAQ in Chicago on Friday night after working 40 years as a sportscaster. Adamle has been battling dementia which he attributes to his years in football. Adamle was said to be at times tearful and at times funny telling stories about his life. He talked about the challenges that are facing him going forward. 
  • CWA Wrestling on 4/8 in North Little Rock, AR at the Maumelle Event Center with Jim Duggan.
  • NFC on 5/12 in Kennesaw, GA at the Electric Cowboy for an MMA show has a one free ticket with every regular price ticket purchased deal going on through Saturday.
  • Mike Rand at randm@ymail.com has a third row ringside seat for the WrestleCon Supershow at the Wyndham Hotel and a second row seat for the Saturday afternoon Jim Ross show at Plaza Live. 
  • Destiny Pro Wrestling from yesterday in Mississauga, ONT: Moose b Josh Alexander in a cage match, Phil Atlas won three-way over Dustin Quicksilver and Tarik, Kaoru b Randy Reigns, Stone Rockwell b Mike Dorosti, Billy Gunn & Mike Rollins b RJ City & John Atlas. (thanks to Steven Ashe)
  • All Pro Wrestling from Saturday night in Daly City, CA: Classic Connection b Lion Power to win the APW tag titles, Berkeley Brawler b Matt Carlos, Will Cuevas b Michael Modest to keep the Internet title, Funnybone b JR Kratos, Adam Thornstowe (of Impact’s Reno Scum) won four-way over Jacob Fatu, Karl Fredericks and Jeff Cobb (best match on show), Bison Braddock & Will Roberts & Manny Mars & Johnny Dynamo b Rik Luxury & Amish Johnson & Vinny Massaro (Lucha Underground) & Stryker, War Pig Jody Kristofferson b Keith Lee, Luster the Legend (Impact) b MVP to win the Universal title.
  • Border City Wrestling from Saturday night in Windsor, ONT: N8 Mattson & Matrox b Kurt Hendrik & Fabo Morcocco, Colt Cabana b Johnny Playboy, Sebastian Suave & Tarik b Mike Rollins & Dustin Quicksilver, Shane Douglas b John E. Bravo, Swoggle & Stone Rockwell b The Fraternity, A-1 won over Idris Abraham, Jake Something, Hakim Zane, Tyson Dux and Aiden Prince, Phil Atlas & Brent Banks b Johnny Devine & Jon Bolen to win BCW tag titles with Shane Douglas as referee, Kongo Kong won three-way over Cody Deaner and Billy Gunn to become the Can-Am champion. (thanks to Steven Ashe)
  • Tony Hunter noted that Ron Simmons and Noelle Foley will be attending WrestleCon this weekend. Well, everyone you can think of and many you can’t think of will be there. There are over 100 former and current performers at WrestleCon this weekend.

Today in Professional Wrestling History (3/27): WWF WrestleMania IV

F4W / WO EMPIRE WRESTLEMANIA GROUP INFO

BUS INFO:

  • The Empire bus to WrestleMania, hosted by Leva “Blue Pants” Bates, will cost $50.00 and will be round trip from the Rosen Inn at 9000 International Drive 32819 (a few blocks away from Wrestlcon). 
  • The bus will leave at 3:30 p.m. (time subject to change) for WrestleMania and will leave the show no later than one hour after completion. If you would like a seat email Ed at f4wfan@hotmail.com or message him on the BOARD~! for Paypal payment instructions.

DINNER INFO:

  • WHAT: Dinner at Texas de Brazil
  • WHEN: Friday March 31st
  • WHERE: 5259 International Dr Ste F1, Orlando, FL 32819 at 5 p.m. (they may open at 4:30 p.m. for us)
  • WHO: All your best empire buddies, including BIG DAVE MELTZER
  • DETAILS: The cost of the dinner will be $68.00 which includes the dinner, salad bar, soft drinks and tea, and dessert, tax and tip. This is a pre-pay dinner. Send payment via Paypal to Srjaialaiot@yahoo.com (please send as a gift to a friend). 

Pro Wrestling Tees is now carrying our latest line of F4W shirts. Support the Empire~! Grab yours today!

CONTACT INFORMATION

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