Daily Update: WWE notes, Kenny King vs. Liger, Nick Diaz

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THE LATEST AUDIO

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Reigns and Rousey win big at WWE Summerslam

WWE closed SummerSlam 2018 with the two faces of the company holding their respective titles. In matches that went over relatively well — or in the case of the main event, at least averted what appeared to be certain disaster — Roman Reigns won the Universal Championship and Ronda Rousey captured the Raw Women’s title on Sunday. Over three years after the Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar saga started, it ended pretty anticlimactically. 

WON NEWSLETTER: September 3, 2018 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: All In preview, more

One of the most unique pro wrestling events of all-time, All In, is looked at as the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Find out about the different venues considered for the show and why they didn’t happen, why the show would have been a success without selling 10,000 tickets, and Bullet Club T-shirt sale numbers.

Read about the WWE and Saudi Arabia with tentative plans for a return show.

This issue runs down Hell in a Cell.

Read full coverage of TripleMania.

Find out about a major front office shakeup in WWE, SummerSlam in Toronto and the craziest big show weekend perhaps in history, why WWE stock continues to rise in value, more on Neville’s release, who in WWE should leave, and Evolution ticket sales.

Also look at the horrible cancer stories within the pro wrestling and MMA industry over the past week, including the death of Ed Cohen and Aya Koyama and the cancer battles of Kid Yamamoto and Akira Taue, with details on what happened with Taue. 

Look at the most recent UFC show, with business notes and match-by-match coverage.

This issue has a feature on Steve Musulin, better known as Steve Travis.

Read an update on the clearance levels of all the major channels that have wrestling and MMA programming in the U.S.

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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss at yesterday’s house show in London wasn’t a squash match like at SummerSlam. The story was that Bliss avoided Rousey early, faked an injury after Rousey hit judo throws, and then attacked Rousey and was on offense until Rousey made a comeback and submitted her with an armbar. Rousey will also face Bliss at Hell in a Cell in San Antonio, Texas on September 16.
  • WWE uploaded the full Mae Young Classic bracketology special to YouTube after it aired on the Network last night. They also released the non-spoiler bracket for the tournament. The MYC will begin airing weekly after NXT next Wednesday, with it leading into the finals taking place at WWE’s Evolution pay-per-view on October 28.
  • Gabe Sapolsky tweeted about Velveteen Dream working EVOLVE 112 in Joppa, Maryland on September 7 and EVOLVE 113 in Queens, New York on September 8: “Dream was requested by us because of his history at the MCW Arena in Joppa, MD. We wanted a homecoming. He was then asked to do Queens, to give the fans something special at La Boom. Dream was not ‘sent’ by anyone, he agreed and wanted to. This is WWE helping the independent wrestling scene. This is WWE, EVOLVE and Velveteen Dream giving fans a unique, memorable and exciting experience. This is what is good for our business. Thank you.”
  • After a complaint letter was addressed to the Tennessee Attorney General and the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Finance and sent to local media outlets, Glenn Jacobs (Kane) told the Knoxville News Sentinel that he doesn’t condone the use of steroids and has never taken them. In the letter, Al Thompson, a Pennsylvania man who founded Protect Our Youth from Steroids, attempted to connect Jacobs to steroid use in WWE and said Jacobs was perfectly fine with surrounding himself with steroid users while on tour with the company.
  • The Orlando Sentinel interviewed Mae Young Classic participant and former American Ninja Warrior standout Kacy Catanzaro about her career with WWE since transitioning to pro wrestling.
  • Keith Lee told WWE.com about how Dusty Rhodes helped with his “Bask in my Glory” catchphrase: “When I first met and worked with him, he let me know how much and where I lacked. I applied his words and honed myself. During the 2013 tryout, if you were going to show who you were on a microphone, you had to do it in front of The American Dream. When I finished, he pulled me aside and said to me, ‘That’s it, baby. You’ve got a presence I can literally bask in. Take it and do what you want.’ And thus, ‘Bask in my glory’ was born. It is now something I hold very dear.
  • Eve Torres-Gracie and Rener Gracie welcomed the birth of their second child this week. The baby is named Renson and is their second son.
  • Charlotte Flair read Goodnight Moon in a video for TV Guide.
  • WWE posted a brief “behind-the-scenes” video from SummerSlam.
  • Dave Bautista spoke to Flickering Myth about his film career and getting turned down after auditioning for two Star Wars movies.
  • DDP will be a guest on the Joe Rogan Experience next week. UFC’s Daniel Cormier will also be a guest on one of next week’s episodes.

Pro Wrestling

UFC/MMA

Daily Professional Wrestling History: WWF SummerSlam 1998

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