Daily Update: WWE releases Leo Gao, Impact notes, UFC 217

By Joseph Currier
Published: 4 Nov 2017, 18:23

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

AUDIO

Saturday we’re looking for reports from WWE Raw in Minehead, England, WWE Smackdown in Barcelona, Spain and NXT in Largo, FL to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

UFC 217 FROM MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern

Aiemann Zahabi (135.2) vs. Ricardo Ramos (135.4)
Curtis Blaydes (258.8) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (246.2)

FS1 at 8 p.m. Eastern

Mickey Gall (169.8) vs. Randy Brown (170.8)
Corey Anderson (205.4) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (205.0)
Walt Harris (251.8) vs. Mark Godbeer (244.0)
Joe Duffy (155.4) vs. James Vick (155.2)

PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern

Johny Hendricks (185.8) vs. Paulo Borrachinha (185.8)
Stephen Thompson (170.4) vs. Jorge Masvidal (171.0)
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (115.0) vs. Rose Namajunas (114.0) for strawweight title
Cody Garbrandt (135.0) vs. TJ Dillashaw (134.8) for bantamweight title
Michael Bisping (184.6) vs. Georges St-Pierre (184.4) for middleweight title

NEW JAPAN POWER STRUGGLE FROM THE EDION ARENA IN OSAKA AT 2:40 A.M. EASTERN TIME AND 12:40 A.M. PACIFIC TIME LATE SATURDAY NIGHT ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

David Finlay vs. Katsuya Kitamura
Young Bucks vs Dragon Lee & Titan
Juice Robinson & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Kushida & Hirai Kawato vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taichi & Desperado & Taka Michinoku
Togi Makabe & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Cody & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
Ryusuke Taguchi & ACH vs. Sho & Yoh for the Super Juniors tag team tournament championship
Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi & Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Seiya Sanada & Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi
Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano in a bullrope match for the Never Open weight title
Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll for IWGP jr. title
Kenny Omega vs. Baretta for U.S. title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi for IC tilte

Sunday we’re looking for reports from Raw in Cardiff, Wales and Smackdown in Madrid, Spain.

IMPACT BOUND FOR GLORY FROM OTTAWA, ONTARIO AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TIME

Eli Drake vs. Johnny Mundo for Impact title
Dave & Jake Crist vs. LAX in a 5150 street fight for Impact tag titles
Trevor Lee vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. Matt Sydal vs. Petey Williams vs. Garza Jr. for X title
Sienna vs. Gail Kim vs. Allie for Knockouts title
Moose & Stephan Bonnar vs. King Mo & Bobby Lashley in a cage match
Rosemary vs. Taya Valkyrie red wedding (first blood) match
Grado vs. Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match – If Grado wins, he can stay in North America but if he loses he has to leave North America
Ethan Carter III & James Storm & Eddie Edwards vs. El Texano Jr. & El Hijo de Fantasma & Pagano

Monday is Raw from Manchester, UK. The only thing announced is Kurt Angle on Miz TV and Jason Jordan vs. Elias in a guitar on a pole match. There will also be a Smackdown house show in Lisbon, Portugal.

Tuesday has Smackdown and 205 Live from Manchester, UK with Jinder Mahal vs. A.J. Styles for the WWE title and Usos vs. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin for the tag titles. There will also be a Raw house show in Birmingham, UK.

Also on Tuesday, Fathom Entertainment will be presenting a Ted DiBiase documentary at movie theaters for a 7:35 p.m. showing across the country. ESPN 30 for 30 will do the Ric Flair story.

Wednesday has Raw in Dortmund, Germany and Smackdown in Leeds, UK.

Also on Wednesday will be the one-day release of the Conor McGregor documentary at theaters around the U.S.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY:Figure Four Weekly 10/30/2017: Looking at WWE’s recent releases

At a time when WWE releases aren’t as common as they used to be, it was surprising to see three wrestlers let go this week. That WWE broke the news on a Sunday morning only made things more odd. The names who were released weren’t exactly shocking, with Emma, Darren Young, and Summer Rae no longer with the company. Of those, Emma was the only one currently on television.

Subscribers click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER:November 6, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE quarter financials, Manami Toyota retiring, more

The most complete look anywhere at WWE business over the summer and fall is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, plus a look at three major documentaries out next week, two Hall of Famer retirements and Survivor Series and WWE booking updates.

Look at WWE’s positive financial reports at a time when some of the usual base categories are disappointing and what led to them. Read actual numbers in detail, how the stock is doing, how this quarter compared historically, as well as financial projections for the rest of the year and into next year.

Check out the TV rights situation, how the UFC negotiations look to tell the story for WWE and what the UFC negotiations say, what happens when WWE’s biggest TV deals expire as well as when the company expects to finalize deals in all of those markets going forward.

Read why the network is more profitable even with slower growth than projected, including different projections, exactly how many people signed up and canceled the WWE network in recent months and how it compares to last year. There are notes on WWE plans going forward for different changes with WWE network, the arena business, the changes in the pro wrestling business as well as looking at the Jinder Mahal question, has he helped, has he hurt and what the numbers say.

Plus, read about U.K. revenue, why YouTube views seem to mean nothing as far as driving revenue, the China experiment, as well as where WWE money comes from as far as what country over he past four years.

Find out if stronger marquee PPVs effects the network, as well as the remnants of the PPV business, how much WWE spends on tapings, the home video business, the digital media business, as well as the live event business and merchandise figures. Also, look at NXT numbers, Performance Center costs and other businesses the company has stake in.

Subscribers click here to continue.

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: October 16, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Potential WCW sale, New Japan vs. All Japan, plus more

With its wrestlers in Australia and its front office personnel in a total state of uncertainty, media reports continued hot and heavy regarding a potential imminent sale of World Championship Wrestling. While virtually all reports listed Mandalay Sports as the prime suitor, with a group headed by Eric Bischoff, most of the talk over the weekend involved a longshot in the deal which has been rumored for some time, the potential of the World Wrestling Federation buying out its long-time competitor, particularly after a story on 10/9 in Multi Channel News.

Subscribers click here to continue.

SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

WWE released Performance Center trainee Leo Gao yesterday, with Pro Wrestling Sheet reporting that a neck injury Gao suffered in August may have played into the decision. Gao reported to the Performance Center this year after being one of the recruits that the company signed from China in 2016. Though he never made his debut, WWE.com ran a story about him that chronicled the time he live-tweeted getting lost in Orlando, his “Stone Cold” Steve Austin impersonation, and more.
Glenn Jacobs (Kane) is releasing two pro wrestling-inspired T-shirts for his mayoral campaign. The designs are modeled after the old Raw is War logo and the Bullet Club’s shirts.
Josh Reddick, who is a huge pro wrestling fan, sported the Houston Astros’ customized WWE Championship and channeled his inner Ric Flair at their World Series parade yesterday. Triple H also sent out a tweet inviting Reddick to Survivor Series in Houston later this month.
Triple H reunited with a fan he met 10 years ago before WWE’s house show in London yesterday: “Great to see my buddy Luke after 10 years tonight before #WWELondon. Keep fighting champ, I’ve always got your back!”
WWE posted a photo gallery of Jinder Mahal and Becky Lynch training with Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh at SBG Ireland while the SmackDown roster was in Dublin earlier this week.
A new episode of Ride Along featuring The Hardys and Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas will air on the WWE Network after Raw on Monday night.
AJ Styles cut a promo on Jinder Mahal in advance of their title match on SmackDown.
In an interview with Rolling Stone about her time on Dancing with the Stars, Nikki Bella said she wants to be the first female wrestler in WWE to reach The Rock or John Cena’s level.
Les Thatcher thanked everyone at the Performance Center for the week he spent guest coaching there: “Thanks to staff, & talent at WWE PC, it was an amazing week for me & hope I left as much positive as I’m taking home. God bless all!”
Finn Balor met Tottenham’s Mousa Dembele when he visited the Spurs’ training facility this week.
Mike Mooneyham has an article on Asuka and how WWE has handled her time on the main roster.
The demolition of the Pontiac Silverdome will begin with a partial implosion on December 3rd.
This week’s WWE top 10 list on YouTube focuses on times Kurt Angle has annihilated other wrestlers.

Pro Wrestling

On the road to Bound for Glory, Impact ratings were up for this week’s go-home show. The episode averaged 275,000 viewers, up over 40,000 from last Thursday,
Pro Wrestling NOAH announced that Eddie Edwards will defend his GHC Heavyweight Championship against El Hijo Del Fantasma at Impact’s television tapings in Ottawa on Monday.
Ahead of challenging for Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Intercontinental Championship at Power Struggle later tonight, Kota Ibushi told Tokyo Sports that he will fulfill his promise and face Kenny Omega at the Tokyo Dome if he wins the title.
Rocky Romero will challenge for Cody’s ROH World Championship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 11th. The main event of that show is Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs. Jay Lethal, Dalton Castle & Kenny King.
Rachael Ellering, Nicole Savoy, and Miranda Salinas will be wrestling for Stardom in early 2018.
Chris Jericho continued his Twitter “feud” with Kenny Omega, saying that Gedo used to be his tag partner and Jericho could end his push with one phone call.
With them each having five wins against each other, Will Ospreay sent a tweet to Ricochet asking if he’s going to leave before they finish up their feud.

UFC/MMA

CJ Hancock, a fighter for the Legacy Fighting Alliance, wrote that he briefly died in the cage during a bout on Friday night and had to be revived after his heart stopped and he had kidney failure. Hancock noted that he’s unsure why it happened, but he had a hard weight cut prior to the fight.
The UFC uploaded the sixth and seventh episodes of Embedded for tonight’s PPV.
In anticipation of Georges St-Pierre’s return tonight, the UFC posted full video of GSP vs. Matt Serra 2 from UFC 83.
Michael Bisping taunted GSP with a clip from “It” prior to their matchup.
Dominick Cruz thinks that Cody Garbrandt’s mental advantage over TJ Dillashaw will be the reason that he wins tonight.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk ripped Pat Barry (Rose Namajunas’ fiancee) for insulting one of the members of her team.
Dana White said the UFC isn’t looking for any co-promoters, but they’ve always been able to get a deal done with Conor McGregor and will get one for his next fight.

Today in Professional Wrestling History: Dean Malenko wins ECW TV title

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