FRI. UPDATE: Weekend preview, tons of TV tonight including Phoenix Jones, WWE surgery,TNA TV schedule., Japanese legend in U.S. this weekend, Sheamus gets mainstream coverage, TNA TV notes, Rock has new TV show, Lots of WWE ticket on-sales, Angle honored
By Dave Meltzer
dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE house shows in Sheffield, England (Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton; John Cena vs. Rusev) and Belfast (Roman Reigns vs. Big Show plus Daniel Bryan, Bad News Barrett, Sheamus, Finn Balor, Adrian Neville) plus NXT in Largo, FL.
New Japan World on AXS tonight at 9 p.m.
A.J. Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP heavyweight title
Bellator tonight at 9 p.m. on Spike
Will Brooks (155) vs. Dave Jansen (154.6) for the lightweight title
Joe Schilling (185.6) vs. Rafael Carvalho (185.8)
Marcin Held (155.8) vs. Alexander Tiger Sarnavskiy (155)
Alexander Volkov (243) vs. Tony Johnson (264)
Impact at 9 p.m. on Destination America
Khoya vs. Abyss vs. Manik
Drew Galloway & Eli (Shaun Ricker) & Myka (Tevita Fifita, formerly Camacho) vs. Kenny King & MVP & Low Ki
Davey Richards vs. DJ Zema Ion
Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong
Kurt Angle vs. Eric Young vs. Bobby Lashley (this was taped with the other matches but was not advertised, so it may not be on tonight’s show and it may be next week)
World Series of Fighting at 9 p.m. on NBC Sports Network
Ozzy Dugulubgov (155) vs. Lucas Montoya (155)
Juliano Coutinho (264) vs. Steve Mocco (246) – Mocco is a wrestling legend, former Hodge trophy winner and Olympic team member
Ben “Phoenix Jones” Fodor (174) vs. Emmanuel Walo (176)
Joe Condon (156) vs. Nick Newell (155)
Dave Branch (204) vs. Jesse McElligott (203) in the semifinal of the light heavyweight title tournament
Resurrection Fighting Alliance on AXS tonight at 10 p.m. from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Cameron Glesonvs. Khalil Rountree
Jarrod L’Heureux vs. Jordan Larson
LaRue Burley vs. T.J. Hepburn
Abel Cullum vs. Josh Rave
Gabriel Ghecco vs. Francisco France for the vacant middleweight title
Justin Lawrence vs. Sam Toomer for the featherweight title
The WWE’s European tour continues with the John Cena vs. Rusev and Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton in Birmingham on Saturday while Roman Reigns vs. Big Show headlines Nottingham. There is also an NXT show in Fort Pierce, FL..
UFC on Saturday in its debut in Krakow, Poland starting at 11:45 a.m. on Fight Pass/entire show is on Fight Pass exclusively in the U.S. but Fight Network airs the top matches in Canada
Rocky Lee (145) vs. Taylor Lapilus (144)
Marcin Bandel (154) vs. Stevie Ray (155)
Alexandra Albu (114) vs. Izabela Badurek (115.6)
Daniel Omielanczyk (243) vs. Anthony Hamilton (259)
Yaotzin Meza (146) vs. Damian Stasiak (145)
Mickael Lebout (169) vs. Sergio Moraes (171)
Bartosz Fabinski (184) vs. Garreth McLellan (184)
Seth Baczynski (170) vs. Leon Edwards (170)
Joanne Calderwood (115) vs. Maryna Moroz (115)
Pawel Pawlak (169) vs. Shelton Wescott (169)
Jan Blachowicz (204) vs. Jimi Manuwa (206)
Mirko Cro Cop (232) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (255)
Sunday has three shows. There is an afternoon show in Leeds, England headlined by Roman Reigns vs. Big Show, then most of that crew goes to Manchester, England for a Sunday night show where they will be joined by John Cena vs. Rusev. The other crew headlined by Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton will be in Cardiff, Wales.
Freestyle World Cup from the Forum in Los Angeles
The top ten wrestling countries in the world, including the U.S., send national teams. Among those coming are Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Chiba, Turkey and Mongolia.
The bronze medal matches will air at 7:30 p.m. on Universal Sports
The gold medal matches will air on NBC Sports Network at 9 p.m.
Raw is Monday in London at the O2 Arena. It’s one of the rare taped Raws, as the show will be taped several hours before air time.
Tuesday has Smackdown tapings in London at the O2 Arena. There is also a house show on Tuesday in Bornemouth, England. The Smackdown headliners are scheduled as John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Big Show, Bray Wyatt and Dolph Ziggler. The house show has Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Ryback, Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper and Kane.
Wednesday there is a WWE show in Warsaw, Poland (Roman Reigns vs. Big Show, Daniel Bryan, Bad News Barrett, Sheamus) and Hamburg, Germany (John Cena vs. Rusev; Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton).
The move of Smackdown, notes on the new season of Tough Enough, the retirement of A.J. Lee, a major UFC hire outside the cage in regard to the drug policy, behind the judges ruling on the Rampage Jackson case, the story behind the forgotten Ric Flair/Harley Race title change and the story of Steve Rickard, the New Japan PPV, G-1 and more, WWE PPV numbers, WrestleMania 32, Austin and WWE truth vs. fiction, and tons more are covered in the current issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The new issue is up on the site at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/41993-april-13-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-smackdown-to-usa-network-aj-lee-retires-ufc-drug-czar-death-of-steve-rickard-and-much-more
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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 looks behind the move of Smackdown to the USA Network, what it means to USA and Syfy as far as the change goes, why NBC Universal and WWE are partnering to change the perception of wrestling, notes on the return of Tough Enough, and another Dwayne Johnson deal.
We also look at why A.J. Lee left WWE, a look at her last year with the company, her controversy before her return, her early days with the company and her most famous storylines.
We also look at the UFC fire of Jeff Novitzky and why this could lead to significant changes in the sport.
We go through all the details of the Rampage Jackson legal case and why the judge ruled against him fighting on 4/25. We look at the key argument points on both sides, how much money Jackson neared in UFC and Bellator, what happened with Jackson and pro wrestling, what this says about the larger lawsuit and why decisions Jackson is going to have to make regarding his career.
We look at how this affects the next UFC PPV show and why it’s the weakest of the year
We also look at WrestleMania 32, how the Rousey/Rock angle at WrestleMania 31 came to be, links with Rousey and Dwayne Johnson, Extreme Rules notes, Roman Reigns future, new WWE negotiations, and Scott Steiner says what his version if of what happened and why with Hulk Hogan’s wife.
We also have more on legal action against WWE, a Daniel Bryan pitch for a huge match that won’t go anywhere, Bryan talks about things management has told him,. Steve Austin/WWE update, what happened with Tough Enough and the podcast on the network, Jericho’s podcast with John Cena and notes and highlights, the WWE no blood policy, indie star starts in Orlando, new WWE movies, and notes on the European tour.
We also look at ESPN covering WWE, a new DVD release, Editing from the weekend, and tons of developmental news including details of new wrestlers who have just debuted with the company.
We look at the heyday of wrestling in New Zealand and Steve Rickard. We look at his career around the world, and most notably in New Zealand. We look at what wrestling legends Rickard started and how he found them. We look at the stars who worked the New Zealand territory during its heyday, as well as the background of the two Flair/Race title change matches that history has forgotten.
We’ve got full coverage of the New Japan Invasion Attack PPV show and the great A.J. Styles vs. Kota Ibushi main event. We’ve got poll results as well as star ratings and business notes on the show. We look at the new audience for New Japan, the title changes, as well as the next three events on New Japan World including the next New Japan PPV event.
We also look at last week’s UFC show in Fairfax, VA, and what the early start time meant as far as ratings.
We also have updates on WWE on PPV with Fast Lane’s numbers.
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:
–The firing of Mr. Niebla and him being brought back
–A story about a wrestler who allegedly attacked an announcer
–AAA’s tribute shows for Perro Aguayo Jr.
–Two of the largest and most famous pro wrestling families are linked with an engagement.
–Wrestle-1 title changes hands
–Dragon Gate title change
–Legends coming to big Dragon Gate shows
–Unique main event and stips for upcoming Dragon Gate major show
–Champion Carnival tournament begins
–Update on how New Japan World is doing
–New Japan talks about increase in popularity of women
–Olympic gold medalist who was expected to be major MMA star announces retirement
–How Antonio Inoki made worldwide news with a crazy story
–Update on Kenta Kobashi
–FMW coming back
–A Hall of Famer challenges another to a barbed wire match, but this is not your normal challenge
–Genichiro Tenryu retirement tour
–Notes on last week’s PWG show as well as next week’s show
–Monster Mafia member moons Four Horsewomen
–A wrestler worth going out of your way to see
–Lawler vs. Dundee fund raiser
–Death of Roller Games promoter Bill Griffiths Sr. and the heyday of the league
–Bischoff and Prichard talk more Monday Night Wars
–One of the greatest heels you probably never saw
–Bischoff talks the Nick Patrick count in Hogan vs. Sting
–Bischoff talks about challenging Vince to a fight
–Cauliflower Alley Club honorees
–Promotion looks too be down for the count and did piracy lead to it
–AGON Wrestling with Olympic hopefuls
–Hodge trophy winner
–Former WWE star expecting child
–What is next for Lucha Underground
–Lucha Underground tribute to Perro Aguayo
–Jay Lethal passes one year as ROH TV champion
–A look at the next month of ROH television and plans for the next PPV show
–TNA returning to live PPV
–More on TNA getting TV in Canada
–Angle talks about his attempt to talk with Vince McMahon when his TNA deal was up
–Some TNA injuries
–UFC lawsuit against New York State thrown out and why
–Fighter retires after finding out he’s had 30 concussions
–The crazy fight with Ronda Rousey and Walmart
–UFC’s thoughts on creating its own WrestleMania week
–Dana White on the WWE Network
–Notes on Ultimate Fighter Brazil
–Lots of new UFC fights
–Highest paid athlete of all-time
–MMA death
–Update on UFC legend and a recent arrest for brawling
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
–With UFC this weekend, Bryan and I will be doing our weekend show tomorrow night.
–The scheduled Yoel Romero vs. Ronaldo Jacare Souza fight for 4/18 in Newark, NJ, on FOX is off due to a Romero injury. It’s the second time, at least, that the fight has been moved due to injury.
–Japanese legend Mayumi Ozaki is working the Shimmer tapings in Berwyn, IL this coming weekend.
–Los Perros Del Mal will have a special mass tomorrow in Mexico City honoring Perro Aguayo Jr.
–Sheamus got some mainstream coverage after running down Conor McGregor in a promo to get heel heat, as well as beating down Adrian Neville and Finn Balor, early in last night’s show in Dublin.
–TNA’s Unlocked show, which has been bounced around, was supposed to air at 1 a.m. last night but ended up not airing. It is scheduled late tonight at 1 a.m. after Impact and the replay of Impact. As noted before, there is no more TNA programming on Destination America on Saturday. Destination America is constantly changing its mind regarding the programming schedule past the Impact on Friday and immediate replay.
–The next Evolve iPPV show is 4/17 in Ybor City, FL at 9 p.m. Eastern at www.WWNLive.com with Roderick Strong vs. Timothy Thatcher 2/3 falls with the winner getting a shot at Drew Galloway’s title, Rich Swann vs. Ethan Page, TJ Perkins vs. Biff Busick, Caleb Konley vs. Rey Hours and Anthony Nese vs. Martin Stone. That main event really sounds special.
–They also run 4/18 in Orlando at the Barnett Park & Gym at 7 p.m. for an iPPV with Caleb Konley & Anthony Nese vs. Johnny Gargano & Rich Swann in a street fight for the Open the United Gate tag titles, plus Roderick Strong vs. Biff Busick, Timothy Thatcher vs. TJ Perkins, Davey Richards vs. Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett vs. Rey Hours and Martin Stone vs. Ethan Page.
–Dwayne Johnson’s new HBO Series “Ballers” debuts on 6/21 in a Sunday at 10 p.m. time slot.
–Lilian Garcia is having surgery today to repair a torn meniscus in her right knee.
–The Fight Network will have both pre-and-post fight coverage of tomorrow’s UFC event and will be airing the main card exclusively in Canada at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
–East Coast Pro Wrestling tonight in Middle Village, NY in Queens at the St. Margaret Catholic School with Jim Duggan, Greg Valentine, Jay Santana and Jason Knight as headliners.
–Tickets for the 6/6 UFC show in New Orleans with Daniel Cormier vs. Ryan Bader, Ben Rothwell vs. Matt Mitrione, Tim Boetsch vs. Dan Henderson and Shawn Jordan vs. Derrick Lewis go on sale today priced from $175 down to $50.
–There will be Lucha Arts show on Saturday at the Plaza Del La Raza Cultural Center for the Arts & Education in Los Angeles. More than 150 artists will be doing live matches, performing music and more. There will also be a tribute to Perro Aguayo Jr. at the event. It’s only open to people 21 and older.
–Kurt Angle will be attending the induction ceremony at the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame on 7/9 to 7/11 in Waterloo, IA. Angle will be a special honoree. The 2015 induction class will include Brian Blair getting the Lou Thesz award, Wade Keller getting the James Melby Award, Beth Phoenix getting the Frank Gotch Award, Matt Lindland getting the George Tragos award, and Greg Wojciechowski (Great Wojo) and Jim Londos for Hall of Fame induction. Jim Londos is arguably the biggest U.S. wrestling star of all-time as far as long-term drawing power. Steve Johnson, one of the leading historians, told me in doing research on Hulk Hogan, Londos and Bruno Sammartino and others as far as the greatest babyface star of all-time, said when he was done with his research, it wasn’t even close.
–Sting, Roman Reigns, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton and Paige are scheduled for the Wizard World Comic Con in Philadelphia from 5/7 to 5/9. Reigns and Paige appear 5/7 signing autographs, posing for photos and doing a Q&A panel. Ziggler has a Q&A on 5/8. Orton will be there 5/8. Sting will be there on 5/9. It will be Sting’s first-ever appearance at a Wizard World convention.
–WrestleCentrer from last night in Halifax, NS: Nick Diggz b Markus Burke, Julien Young b Big Daddy Coupar, Lincoln Steen b James Carr, Titus b Shane Stephens, Tommy Starr b Nick Fisk, Double XL b Matt Sydal, Matt Bullen b Max Power, Wildman Gary Williams b Brody Steele, Christopher Daniels b Samoa Joe with tons of outside interference, notably from JP Simms, who Daniels was feuding with but turned on Joe at the end to keep the IFWA title (thanks to Steven Ashe and John Greely).
–Some matches at the Cauliflower Alley Club festivities this week at the Gold Coast Hotel in Las Vegas include Greg Antony vs. Brian Kendrick and Jax Dane vs. Tim Storm to unify the NWA National and North American titles on Sunday night. Monday night will have Matt Riviera vs. Americos for the NWA Western States Heritage title, Jushin Liger vs. Steve Anthony for the NWA jr. tite and a Battle Royal.
–Last night on Inside the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal said he was going to be at WrestleMania next year. Keep in mind he’s said that in the past and it never happened. He also called Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies “Stone Cold Zach Randolph” (thanks to Brian Henke)
–WWE stock closed at $13.42 today at the end of the week, down 30 cents per share from yesterday.
–AAW tonight in Berwyn, IL with Eddie Kingston vs. Ethan Page, Samoa Joe vs. Josh Alexander, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Tommy End, Allysin Kay & Kimber Lee vs. Athena & Veda Scott plus Johnny Gargano, Tyson Dux, Silas Young, Colt Cabana and ACH.
–UFC is offering refunds I think through today if you purchased a ticket for UFC 186 due to the card changes at the building (thanks to Andre Allen)
–Inside MMA tonight after the Resurrection Fighting Alliance show at about 12:30 a.m. Eastern features Freddy Roach, Phil Davis and Paige VanZant.
–Raw pre-sale for the 6/22 show in Indianapolis has a pre-sale that ends at 10 p.m. tonight using the code WWEINDY
–Pre-sale for the Battleground PPV on 7/19 in St. Louis ends at 10 p.m. tonight with the code word BATTLE. Tickets go on sale to the public tomorrow.
–Pre-sale for Raw on 10/19 in Dallas ends tonight at 10 p.m. with the code DALLAS.
–Four our annual web site readers convention in July in Las Vegas, we have a Facebook page for the activities at
https://www.facebook.com/events/1586025628342840/
–FOX will be airing UFC’s Road to the Octagon previewing next weekend’s big show in Newark, NJ with Luke Rockhold vs. Lyoto Machida at 5 p.m. Eastern time.
–There is another Premier Boxing Championship show on NBC tomorrow night with Danny Garcia (29-0) vs. Lamont Petersno (33-21- and Irish Andy Lee (34-2) vs. Peter Quillin (31-0) starting at 8:30 p.m.
–There will be the amateur MMA world championship tournament taking place in Las Vegas from 7/6 to 7/11. The final two days, on 7/10 and 7/11 will be taking place at the UFC Fan Expo at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas and will be airing live on UFC Fight Pass.
–The Empire Wrestling Federation is doing a tribute show for Greg Daves aka Cincinnati Red on 4/24. We’ll have more on that in the weeks to come.
–New Style Wrestling on Sunday in Mount Pleasant, TN at 1131 1st Avenue North.
–SWF tonight in Tullahoma, TN at 106 Southside St.
–Southside Wrestling Entertainment on 4/12 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England at the Gordon Craig Theater.
–Road Warrior Animal & Mickie James appear from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Collector’s Realm in Fishkill, NY at the Dutchess Marketplace.
–High Impact Wrestling has a free show on Sunday in Tucson at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet at Noon. They also tape TV on 4/26 in Tucson at he Midtown Bar & Grill. Tickets are $6 and kids under 12 are free with a paying adult. Show is at 6 p.m.
–Grand Slam Wrestling on Saturday night in Moosic, PA at the Moosic Youth Center.
–Rockstar Pro Wrestling on 4/17 at the Rockstar Pro Arena in Dayton. They also have a show on 4/22 with Ethan Carter III and an iPPV show on 5/1 with Ethan Carter III and Tommy End.
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1960 – Shirley Crabtree, before being Big Daddy, beat Ed Bright in London to win the British heavyweight title
1971 – Mark Lewin & King Curtis Iaukea beat Killer Kowalski & Bulldog Bob Brown in Melbourne to win the IWA tag titles. Lewin & Kowalski were the champions and split up and each picked a partner.
1975 – Mad Dog Vachon beat Mighty Inoue in Tokyo to win the IWE world title
1979 – Lizmark beat Americo Rocca in Acapulco to win the Mexican national welterweight title
1999 – Jushin Liger & Great Sasuke beat Kendo Ka Shin & Dr. Wagner Jr. in Tokyo to win the IWGP jr. tag title
2011 – Aja Kong beat Mayumi Ozaki in Tokyo to win the Oz Academy Open weight title
–Jersey Pro Wrestling tonight in Manville, NJ at the VFW Hall has the J Cup tag team tournament featuring 90s stars The Head Hunters, Tommy Dreamer & Devon Storm, as well as Nick Gage returns from a stint in prison for bank robbery to wrestle
–Uproar Pro Wrestling on Saturday night in New Port Richey, FL at the Verizon Event Center with a Battle Royal featuring Jay Lethal.
–Mountain Championship Wrestling tonight in Dunlap, TN at he Cagle Mountain Fire Department.
–USA Championship Wrestling tomorrow night in Selmer, TN at the Community Center.
–Tennessee Wrestling Alliance tomorrow night in Winchester, TN at 401 1st Avenue.
–The National Fighting Championships run 4/25 at Center Stage in Atlanta with eight fights.
–Saraya Knight, Paige’s mother , had a seminar at the I Belive in Wrestling Dojo on Tuesday night and among those at the seminar were Santana Garrett, Jessicka Havok, Leva “Blue Pants” Bates, Andrea (Rosie Lottlelove who has done an amazing physical transformation) and Cherry Layne.
–Championship Wrestling Entertainment tonight in Port St. Lucie, FL
–I Believe in Wrestling at the Team Vision Dojo tomorrow night in Orlando.
–Ring Warriors has a TV taping tomorrow in Miami.
–The debut of a film short documentary called “Sharkey” about Eddie Sharkey, who trained the Road Warriors, Jesse Ventura, Nikita Koloff, Tom Zenk, Rick Rude, Barry Darsow and tons of others will be at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday night at St. Anthony Main 4 in Minneapolis.
–The third annual Brad Armstrong Memorial show, with proceeds going for his daughter’s college education takes place tomorrow night in Milton, FL at the Milton Community Center. Brad Armstrong was one of those guys who everybody in wrestling liked outside the ring and loved to work with inside the ring because of his impeccable timing. It’s too bad he didn’t come along now because he’d have fit in better where fans have more appreciation for guys who can go.
–United Wrestling Federation on Sunday in Georgetown, KY at the Bullpen.
–Underground Empire Wrestling on Saturday night in Los Angeles at 926 Ciela Avenue.
–Jim Duggan and Scotty 2 Hotty headline tonight in Avenel, NJ for Superstars of Wrestling at the Avenel Columbus Club.
–NWF tonight in Cincinnati at Bogart’s on 2621 Vine St. features Machine Gun Karl Anderson, Abyss, Chris Harris, and Rocky Romero appear tonight at Bogart’s in Cincinnati for Thunderdome.
–CWF has a charity event in Port Colborne, ONT tomorrow night at 101 McRae Ave.
–A play about the end of Northern Ontario wrestling in 1982 starts 4/24 at 8 p.m. at the Bad Dog Theater Company in Toronto and runs through 5/22.
–Empire Wrestling Federation at 8 p.m. tonight in Covina, CA at 4315 N. Vincent Ave.
–Hulk Hogan interview at
–Preston City Wrestling Shooting Star fundraising show for Kris Travis
now available free on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdIPbLN65XE featuring Chris Masters,
Mark Andrews, and a lot of UK talent.
–Nice articles on Gerald Brisco, who will be honored Wednesday by the Cauliflower Alley Club at
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2015/03/24/22305651.html
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2015/03/24/22305661.html
–Preview of a Young Bucks shoot interview at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk2aJNe0nek
–Preview of Rey Mysterio shoot interview at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyFwOLdKhQs
–Story on former WWF, WCW and TNA writer Ed Ferrara at
http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/new-jersey/2015/04/08/ferrara-script-film/25487129/
–Noelle Foley, Mick’s daughter, and Playboy at
http://www.playboy.com/galleries/insta-crush-noelle-foley/slide-1?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=Playboy&utm_campaign=Playboy.com&linkId=13357691
–Jim Ross talks about his upcoming show in Baltimore at
–Match of the month at
http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2015/04/09/match-of-the-month-march-2015/
–Dwayne Johnson’s food intake at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/09/the-rock-diet-10-pounds-of-food_n_7031122.html
–A look at last night’s WWE show in Newcastle, England at
–CM Punk talks his MMA training at
http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/04/10/cm-punk-wwe-ufc-training
–His wife, AJ Lee, is now working against cruelty to animals with the ASPCA
http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2015/04/aspca-gets-tough-against-dogfighting
–The New York Times ran a piece on the Mountain Goats at
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/arts/new-music-from-the-mountain-goats-joey-calderazzo-becca-stevens-band-and-more.html?_r=0
–Kevin Eck talks working with Scott Steiner at
sb.gg/1DlBtKp
TODAY’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (Thanks to Bert Duckwall)
7:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH Special Guest John Cena offers advice. The remaining contestants learn a lesson about courage before another potential elimination.
8:00 PM 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.
9:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Hulk Hogan: Ultimate Anthology chronicles the Hulkster’s amazing career and spotlights some of his classic matches.
11:00 PM 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.
TOMORROW’S SCHEDULE
12:00 AM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Hulk Hogan: Ultimate Anthology chronicles the Hulkster’s amazing career and spotlights some of his classic matches.
2:00 AM ET
WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow – this is NXT!
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 The Bellas clash as Brie’s wedding fastly approaches and Nikki avoids telling John about her previous marriage.
5:00 AM ET
WCW MONDAY NITRO ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage puts the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Lex Luger. Sting and many more are featured.
6:00 AM ET
WWE EXTREME RULES 2009 World Champion Edge vs Jeff Hardy in a Ladder Match. Randy Orton defends the WWE Title in a Steel Cage vs Batista and John Cena vs Big Show.
9:00 AM ET
LEGENDS HOUSE The WWE Legends reminisce about their time in the Legends’ House, reliving the highlights from the season.
10:00 AM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Hulk Hogan: Ultimate Anthology chronicles the Hulkster’s amazing career and spotlights some of his classic matches.
12:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH Special Guest John Cena offers advice. The remaining contestants learn a lesson about courage before another potential elimination.
1:00 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most Thunderous returns 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 5 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 defends the WWE Title against King Kong Bundy. ‘Macho Man’ Randy Ravage faces Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. Bam Bam Bigelow and more.
4:30 PM ET
DX: CONFIDENTIAL Triple H and Shawn Michaels take you inside all things Degeneration X in this never before seen tell-all panel. Are you ready?
5:00 PM ET
THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and Smackdown with This Week in WWE.
5:30 PM ET
WWE QUICK HITS WWE Quick Hits 5 brings you some of the most unique, entertaining, and sometimes outrageous clips, unearthed from the depths of WWE Network!
6:00 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most Thunderous returns ever in WWE History, as voted by the WWE Universe.
7:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR Media mogul Ted Turner launches WCW Monday Nitro in direct competition against Vince McMahon and WWE
8:00 PM ET
SATURDAY NIGHTS MAIN EVENT Hulk Hogan defends the WWE Title against King Kong Bundy. ‘Macho Man’ Randy Ravage faces Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. Bam Bam Bigelow and more.
9:30 PM ET
DX: CONFIDENTIAL Triple H and Shawn Michaels take you inside all things Degeneration X in this never before seen tell-all panel. Are you ready?
10:00 PM ET
THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and Smackdown with This Week in WWE.
10:30 PM ET
WWE QUICK HITS WWE Quick Hits 5 brings you some of the most unique, entertaining, and sometimes outrageous clips, unearthed from the depths of WWE Network!
11:00 PM ET
SATURDAY NIGHTS MAIN EVENT Hulk Hogan defends the WWE Title against King Kong Bundy. ‘Macho Man’ Randy Ravage faces Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. Bam Bam Bigelow and more.