FRI. UPDATE: GSP talks fighting/WWE, Rampage talks TNA,Danielson autobiography, Ben Askren
By dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>Dave Meltzer
Not a lot of major stuff this weekend aside from the two PPV events.
Impact tonight on Destination America at 9 p.m.
Debut of Jade & Marti Bell as The Doll House
Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne vs. Brooke vs. Angelina Love for the women’s No. 1 contender spot
Taryn Terrell vs. Awesome Kong for the Knockouts title
Kurt Angle vs. Eric Young for the TNA title
Invicta tonight from Kansas City on Fight Pass at 8 p.m.
Gina Begley (135.5) vs. Sijara Eubanks (135)
Shannon Sinn (125.3) vs. Maureen Riordon (125.5)
Delaney Owen (114) vs. Sharon Jacobson (115.6)
Lacey Schuckman (114.8) vs. Jenny Liou (118.2)
Peggy Morgan (145.7) vs. Latoya Walker (146.5)
Ediane Gomes (134.8) vs. Raquel Pa’aluhi (135.9)
Amanda Bell (146) vs. Faith Von Duin (145.6)
Roxanne Modaferri (125.7) vs. Vanessa Porto (126.5)
Katja Kankaanpaa (114.6) vs. Livia Renata Souza (113.9) for strawweight title
Porto, Walker and Liou were all fined 25 percent of their purse for missing weight. Pa’aluhi missed weight her first try, made it later, but was still fined 15 percent by the commission for missing the first time.
Premier Boxing tonight from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago on Spike at 9 p.m.
UFC 186 on Saturday from Montreal
Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m.
Aisling Daly vs. Randa Markos
Valerie Letourneau vs. Jessica Rakoczy
Chris Clements vs. Nordine Taleb
FS 1 at 8 p.m.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. David Michaud
Bryan Barbarena vs. Chad Laprise
Alexis Davis vs. Sarah Kaufman
Joe Riggs vs. Patrick Cote
PPV at 10 p.m.
Thomas Almeida vs. Yves Jabouin
Shane Campbell vs. John Makdessi
Michael Bisping vs. C.B. Dollaway
Rampage Jackson vs. Fabio Maldonado
Demetrious Johnson vs. Kyoji Horiguchi for flyweight title
ROH will be taping two hours of television Saturday night in Hopkins, MN. Matches announced are Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the TV title, Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Hanson & Rowe, Adam Page vs. ACH (this is a big match for them), Roderick Strong vs. Silas Young, Bobby Fish vs. Arya Daivari, Michael Elgin vs. Caprice Coleman plus the return of ODB.
Sunday has WWE Extreme Rules from Chicago at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time
Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton cage match for the WWE title with the RKO banned
John Cena vs. Rusev chain match for the U.S. title
Daniel Bryan vs. Bad News Barrett for the IC title – This match is still being advertised even though it may not happen
Roman Reigns vs. Big Show last man standing
Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus kiss my arse match
Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper street fight
Nikki Bella vs. Naomi for Divas title
Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. New Day for tag titles (pre-show match at 7:30 p.m.)
Raw will be live on Monday from Green Bay.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped Tuesday from Moline, IL.
New Japan World at 4 a.m. Eastern Wednesday morning from Kumamoto, Japan
Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu & Jay White vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta & Gedo
Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall
Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask & Mascara Dorada vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi & Kushida
Steve Anthony vs. Jushin Liger for NWA jr. title
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Big Daddy Yum Yum for NWA heavyweight title
Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma & Alex Shelley vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Kenny Omega
Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe for Never Open weight championship
We’ll be doing weekend polls on both the UFC and WWE shows with thumbs up, down or in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
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The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a look at the Daniel Bryan injury situation, including what he’s said in the past, how it relates to his current situation, and more; plus and all of the usual reviews and international news.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
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We’ve got full coverage of the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony from two weeks ago along with a lot of backstage stories, truth vs. fiction on the stories told, as our lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We also have a ton of notes on ROH and the New Japan tour, Lucha Underground’s future and what it needs, TNA and Destination America along with notes on Taz, the Briscoes, Daniel Bryan, the latest lawsuits against WWE and UFC and a look at WWE & TNA business for February.
The latest Wrestling Observer: April 20, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWF Hall of Fame feature, latest WWE concussion lawsuit, UFC Poland debut
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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
Our lead story updates the Daniel Bryan situation and the strange lack of information out on the subject, as well as runs down every match on the show and where WWE goes from here.
We also look at UFC’s PPV this week being off the Dish Network.
We’ve got an update on Lucha Underground, including the end of the TV season, what talent and fans were told about the future of the company, the public reason for the hiatus, what’s the real question going forward, its prospects, where the promotion stands right now for the future and what it needs, plus a full rundown of Ultima Lucha, the last two episodes of the season and what angles to look for the next season.
We’ve got a look at the career of Takeshi Morishima, with his title history, awards won, how he got started in pro wrestling, who he was compared to, why he never reached his potential, why he got the ROH title, his matches with Bryan Danielson, his outstanding 2007 year, what went wrong when he got his big push. We also look at his early career, his WWE tryout and what happened there, a well as some of his biggest matches.
We look at the legal situation involving Rampage Jackson and how things changed this past week.
We’ve got a look at UFC’s attempt to run in New York, going through both the legislature and the court system to be able to run in December at Madison Square Garden. We look at the crazy hypocrisy in New York laws, the real story behind them, the Culinary unions latest attempt to keep UFC out of New York, and UFC’s latest move in going to court.
We also look at Saturday’s show in Newark, NJ, who came out of it as stars, ratings info and other business notes plus match-by-match coverage.
We’ve got a long feature on the Tennessee legend, Ron Wright, who passed away this past week. We look at the legendary Ron Wright vs. Whitey Caldwell feud and some of the most famous matches, why Wright considered wrestling only a hobby, as well as his being shot at and his plane being blown up and other craziness of being perhaps the greatest heel ever in the backwoods towns in Tennessee and Kentucky. We look at his career from his amateur days as a teenager, the irony of the Caldwell feud, how he and Caldwell got into pro wrestling at first, plus comments from Les Thatcher, Jim Cornette and others.
We also look at his unique way of drawing blood, how he got his first pro wrestling break, the business that he and Caldwell did in the 60s, why he usually stayed in his home territory, and his own thoughts about his career.
We also look at the next season of Tough Enough, the change in Seth Rollins’ finisher, update on the business of Furious 7, More on the Russ McCullough lawsuit against WWE, Shawn Michaels talks the time he wanted to go to WCW and WWE asks him to be on next year’s WrestleMania, plus why he’s not interested in working in creative and his thoughts on who should be on top.
We also look at John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns on top as draws, schedule of NXT tapings for the next year as well as a look at a number of not yet announced WWE overseas tours.
We also have notes on WWE movies, WWE stars who want a reality show about their lives, Barrett talks why he dropped weight, contract notes from lawsuits against WWE, the Gilberts lawsuit against WWE, Batista talks a potential return, Samoa Joe note, NXT dates outside Florida, Jey Uso update, what creative is told about the women characters and what is says about why people don’t care about the WWE Divas, ROH star blasts WWE stereotypes, NXT weekend shows and notes on the last week of the WWE European tour with business notes and highlights of all the house shows.
We also look at this year’s Cauliflower Alley Club banquet, looking at the history of the organization, who was there, the appearance of Nick Bockwinkel, highlights of speeches from the honorees, Jake Roberts’ complaint about indie shows, Jushin Liger defending his NWA jr. title, Gerald Brisco talking Brock Lesnar and Jack Brisco and much more.
We also look at Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling as the first shows are announced, and look at what the company needs to be viable.
The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.
We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.
Also in this week’s issue:
–Notes on the death of 80s star El Verdugo
–Latest from Arena Mexico
–Changes in CMLL weekly schedule
–Top indie vs. top CMLL star note
–More on AAA’s World Cup show this coming month
–Perro Aguayo Jr. situation remains in the news with a major press conference featuring a Congressman and many sports stars
–Dragon Gate announces huge show with three title bouts and a huge stipulation match
–Wrestler runs for the senate in Japan this week
–Update on Champion Carnival tournament
–Update on NOAH tag team tournament
–Notes on next New Japan big show
–Notes on New Japan newcomer
–Notes on current New Japan tour
–One of the major companies from the 90s returns and its history
–Promoter announces that a current UFC star will come in and challenge for their pro wrestling world title
–Biggest woman’s star ever and best drawing barbed wire match wrestler ever team up
–Lance Russell tribute in Evansville with Jerry Lawler
–Oldest living wresting personalities
–Sad update on former UFC & New Japan star Brian Johnston
–Dreamer gets TV deal
–Bill Apter writes autobiography
–New book coming on history of women’s wrestling
–Promotion folding
–Same person wins major pro wrestling title and pro boxing match within hours
–Another wrestling history book on the way
–Who is the only guy to be in Broken Skull Challenge, Tough Enough and Ultimate Fighter
–Nearly two hour match on Mexico show
–New Japan and ROH tour and lineups
–Notes on Taz leaving TNA
–Notes on Sanada laving TNA
–More on people’s pay being behind in TNA
–Funny story about TNA television in Canada
–Latest on TNA television
–More litigation involving Wanderlei Silva and the Nevada commission and how the ruling could hurt regulation of he sport
–More on the UFC July schedule
–Notes on the new season of Ultimate Fighter
–Background of the Dan Lambert-Glenn Robinson feud
–Two major MMA shows this weekend
–Dana White blasts AKA Gym and AKA responds
–Bill in Nevada to increase tax on live boxing and MMA
–Anderson Silva issues challenge for fight
–New UFC fights
–New Bellator fights
–Something to think about regarding Pacquiao-Mayweather and how big it really is
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Our most requested issues in our history are:
*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)
*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)
*August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)
*March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a
*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)
*July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)
*February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)
*May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)
*January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)
*February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)
*March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)
*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)
*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)
*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)
*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)
*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)
*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)
*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)
*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)
*January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)
*February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)
*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)
*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)
*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)
*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)
*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)
*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)
*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)
*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)
*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)
*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)
*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)
*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)
*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)
*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)
*September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)
*October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)
*November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)
*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)
*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)
*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)
*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)
*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)
*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)
*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)
*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)
*November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)
*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)
*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)
*January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)
*February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)
*March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)
*March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)
*March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)
*April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)
*July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)
*October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)
*November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .
*December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)
*January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)
*March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)
*March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)
*April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)
*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)
* September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)
* September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)
* September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)
You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.
We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..
To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.
FRIDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
- At today’s UFC Q&A session, Georges St-Pierre was asked about going to WWE. He said he thought he was too small (he’s 195 pounds right now) because he thought everyone was 250 pounds there like when he was a kid. He talked about being a big fan growing up of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. He did say he would love to do a one-shot appearance like Ronda Rousey did. As far as fighting again, he was non-commital. He did say if he was to compete it would be fighting, as he said he’s either not doing it or going to be all in, when asked about doing a grappling match in Metamoris.
- Samoa Joe was in Winter Park, FL last night at the NXT tapings.
- For the first time I can recall, UFC will be closing down the arena tomorrow night for a PPV show due to low ticket sales. Only the bottom portion of the Bell Centre will be used. As of yesterday, there were 5,400 tickets sold for the show. There will be a lot more than that in the building because comps are not that hard to get. One person told us a story that they were able to get 20 free tickets. I was told as far as walkup in Montreal, that Steve Bosse would have meant more than Rampage Jackson, although in the big picture for PPV obviously Jackson means more.
- Josh Matthews does Impact solo again this week so they haven’t gotten a new co-host for him.
- Marvel Comics will announce a new C.M. Punk comic book on Sunday at the C2E2 convention in Chicago.
- Rampage Jackson yesterday said that working for TNA killed his interest in pro wrestling. He’s said that before.
- Today is the 26th anniversary of the first pro wrestling event ever held at the Tokyo Dome, which drew 43,000 fans and set the all-time pro wrestling gate record of $2,781,000 (Hogan vs. Warrior broke the mark the next year in Toronto). Olympic gold medal winning judoka Shota Chochyashvili beat Antonio Inoki in the fifth round to win the World Martial Arts championship in the main event. Big Van Vader won a four-man tournament to win the vacant IWGP title beating Tatsumi Fujinami and then Shinya Hashimoto. Kickboxing legend Benny Urquidez did his only pro wrestling match, a draw with Shinya Asuka. Jushin Liger beat Kuniaki Kobayashi, which was notable because Kobayashi was the big Japanese rival of Tiger Mask. Lou Thesz was there as a referee. A number of top Soviet amateur wrestlers and judokas made their debuts on the show.
- I’ve been reading more of Bryan Danielson’s autobiography this past week (I’m still not finished) but it is amazing how honest it is. There are a lot of people who will have a lot of fantasies shattered in this one.
- Eric Young was the host of the Nashville Predators vs. Chicago Blackhawks NHL playoff game last night in Nashville. Rusev & Lana were both at the game wearing Predators jerseys.
- Weird Ben Askren vs. Luis Santos fight this morning in The Philippines. Santos took Askren down three times (Askren would try for takedowns and constantly get reversed) and then 2:30 in, Askren went for another takedown, but got his finger in Santos’ eye and Santos couldn’t continue to it was ruled a no contest.
Results:
Wang Ya Wei b Sumoto Peringkat via TKO 1:21 third round
Xiaoyang Liu b Nicholas Lee knockout 1:59
Amir Khan b Bashir Ahmad doctor stoppage 3:20 third round
Edward Kelly b Jimmy Yabo choke 4:05
Eugene Toquero b Brianta Rosadhi TKO from strikes 3:41
Anatpong Bunrad b Geje Eustaquio via split decision
Mark Striegl b Casey Suire choke 3:48
Ben Askren NC Luis Santos to retain the welterweight title
- The 5/22 PWG show in Reseda, CA, sold out in four minutes.
- Michael Page vs. Rudy Bears at welterweight has been added to the 7/17 Bellator show in Uncasville, CT.
- IWF on 5/2 in Nutley, NJ at the Parks & Rec Center headlined by Tommy Dreamer and Tito Santana.
- An interview with John Cena from talkSPORT in the U.K.
- Tuesday night CMLL in Guadalajara: Dr. Freezer & Reycko b Evola & Exterminador, Flash II & Soberano & Stigma b Canelo Casas & El Hijo del Signo & Sadico, Puma King & Tiger & Virus b Dragon Lee & Fuego & Triton, Angel de Oro & Brazo de Plata & La Mascara b Ephesto & Luciferno & Mephisto, Euforia & Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero b Mistico & Valiente & Volador Jr. to set up a CMLL trios title match (thanks to Kris Zellner)
- Jake Roberts and Terry Funk will be appearing at the RF Video table at Chiller Theater in Parsippany, NJ today through Sunday. More info
- In that Dolph Ziggler rant, some of the words were from Quiet Riot’s song “Metal Health,” which was the entrance music in the 80s for the Missing Link. (thanks to Joe Puccio and others)
- WWE 2K is now out in the Google Playstore for $7.99 and had 5,000 downloads as last look. The reviews seem to want a control button on screen, but overall people were satisfied with it, but are hoping future updates will include things you cannot do on the console game, or at least add more things from the console game (thanks to Daniel Beling)
- AAW on 5/1 in Marionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street with Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Kingston vs. Samoa Joe for the AAW title, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Davey Richards, Ethan Page vs. CJP, Johnny Gargano vs; Chris Sabin and more.
- National Fighting Championships on 4/25 at 8 p.m. at Center Stage in Atlanta
- Former AWA TV announcer Ralph Strangis is leaving his job as an annuoncer with the Dallas Stars
- A story on Blake Murphy in Australia
- Why Dwayne Johnson should host the Oscars
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1965 – Mitsu Arakawa beat Dominic DeNucci in Melbourne to win the IWA title
1968 – Brute Bernard & Skull Murphy beat Mario Milano & Antonio Pugliese in Brisbane to win the IWA tag title
1984 – Clive Myers beat Mal Sanders in Croydon to win the European middleweight title
1987 – Stan Hansen beat Hiroshi Wajima to win the vacant PWF title in Yokohama
1992 – Steve Gray beat Mal Sanders in Walthamstoe to win the European middleweight title
1993 – Sakie Hasegawa & Kaoru Ito beat Bat Yoshinaga & Tomoko Watanabe to win the Japanese womens’ tag title
2012 – Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora beat Takuya Sugawara & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi in Tokyo to win the NWA Int. lightweight tag titles
2013 – Aja Kong & Hikaru Shida beat Tomoka Nakagawa & Hiroyo Matsumoto to win the Oz Academy tag team tiles
TODAY’S PRO WRESTLING VIDEOS (thanks to Thomas Rude)
WWE
Five Things You Didn’t Know About John Cena
Sheamu Discusses His New Attitude And Why The Era Of Underdogs Is Over; April 22, 2015
4/23/15 WWE Smackdown “Fallout”-Seth Rollins Is Not Happy
TNA
I’m With Spud Wednesdays (Episode 26)
IMPACT WRESTLING Unlocked: IMPACT Top Five Of April 17, 2015
EC3 Gives Some Insight About His “Major Announcement”
Who Is Laura Dennis? Find Out Before TKO Night Of Knockouts
INDY TV SHOWS
America’s Most Like Wrestling TV (Episode 7)
Smash Wrestling TV (Episode 48)
Reality Of Wrestling TV (Episode 49)
MISC. STUFF
Dad You Don’t Work, You Wrestle (Episode 118)
Ringside Collectibles’ “Ringside Or Riot” (Season 4, Episode 22)
TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall)
12:00 AM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Witness some of the rarest matches from Hulk Hogan’s 30-year career. This special is an absolute must-watch for all Hulkamaniacs!
2:00 AM ET
WWE NXT Alex Riley looks to finally silence Kevin Owens in a heated rematch!
3:00 AM ET
WWE SUPERSTARS WWE Superstars features the best of the best in matches you’ll have to see to believe. You never know what to expect – so expect everything.
4:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki plans a future without boyfriend John Cena. Eva’s life is turned upside down when she must decide between family and her husband.
5:00 AM ET
WCW MONDAY NITRO ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage battles The Giant in the main event. Ric Flair faces Eddie Guerrero. Madusa makes a shocking announcement.
6:00 AM ET
WWE EXTREME RULES 2014 It’s time to get extreme! John Cena, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Batista, and your favorite WWE Superstars at Extreme Rules 2014!
9:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Nikki plans a future without boyfriend John Cena. Eva’s life is turned upside down when she must decide between family and her husband.
10:00 AM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Witness some of the rarest matches from Hulk Hogan’s 30-year career. This special is an absolute must-watch for all Hulkamaniacs!
12:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH The remaining contestants’ agility is tested when they are tasked with serving lunch to a busy crowd at a 50’s diner while on roller skates.
1:00 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Craziest Ladder Matches ever in WWE History, as voted by the WWE Universe.
2:00 PM ET
THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and Smackdown with This Week in WWE.
2:30 PM ET
WWE QUICK HITS WWE Quick Hits brings you some of the most unique, entertaining, and sometimes outrageous clips, unearthed from the depths of WWE Network.
3:00 PM ET
SATURDAY NIGHTS MAIN EVENT Hulk Hogan battles Harley Race. ‘Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase faces Randy Savage. Greg Valentine collides with Brutus Beefcake.
4:15 PM ET
STONE COLD PODCAST MR. MCMAHON WWE Hall of Famer and Icon Stone Cold Steve Austin will have a no holds barred LIVE interview with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
5:30 PM ET
THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and Smackdown with This Week in WWE.
6:00 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Craziest Ladder Matches ever in WWE History, as voted by the WWE Universe.
7:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR Mick Foley’s unorthodox style makes him an unlikely success story and a unique weapon for WWE in their war with WCW.
8:00 PM ET
SATURDAY NIGHTS MAIN EVENT Hulk Hogan battles Harley Race. ‘Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase faces Randy Savage. Greg Valentine collides with Brutus Beefcake.
9:15 PM ET
STONE COLD PODCAST MR. MCMAHON WWE Hall of Famer and Icon Stone Cold Steve Austin will have a no holds barred LIVE interview with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
10:30 PM ET
THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and Smackdown with This Week in WWE.
11:00 PM ET
SATURDAY NIGHTS MAIN EVENT Hulk Hogan battles Harley Race. ‘Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase faces Randy Savage. Greg Valentine collides with Brutus Beefcake.