TUES UPDATE: WWE Divas in bar fight, WWE PPV survey, & more
by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix
Show notes for tonight:
Total Divas at 9:00 p.m. ET on E! is titled “Gone with the Wine” and features Nikki Bella vacationing in Napa; Trinity/Naomi taking her family on a camping trip that nobody actually wants to go on, and Eva Marie having to choose between her career and her husband for some reason.
SmackDown and Main Event will be taped tonight in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Please send reports to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com,
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Figure Four Weekly:
The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring plenty of details on the Jimmy Snuka murder indictment including how the media covered his domestic abuse arrest and Nancy Argentino’s death back in 1993, just how on the ball Irv Muchnick was in writing about the case, the contradictions of the investigator, Snuka’s claims about his finances vs. the reality, and more. On top of that, we have all the usual stuff like Vinny’s reviews and international news from Dr. Lucha Steve Sims and and Alan”4L” Counihan.
The recnt FREE Figure Four Weekly is still up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture.
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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Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
It’s a gigantic news week in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with the main feature story on everything that led to the indictment of Jimmy Snuka after 32 years, plus Irv Muchnick, who has reported on the story for years gives his views on the proceedings, and we also look at Hulk Hogan’s attempt at redemption of his character, the full story behind the shooting at the Performance Center, notes from Battle of Los Angeles, the retirement of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Hayabusa walks to the ring, Bram gets arrested, WWE fires Zahra Schreiber, UFC brings back Travis Browne, a rundown of the PPV business in WWE in 2015 and the latest monthly business report from WWE & TNA.
The latest Wrestling Observer: September 7, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Snuka indicted, shooting at WWE Performance Center and tons more
Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!
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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 goes back to 1983 with an in-depth look at the death of Nancy Argentino, how the media caused the case to be reopened, a look at the charges against Jimmy Snuka, the different statements on the subject by Snuka, Snuka’s lawyer speaks, notes on documentation and testimony from the time, lots of notes regarding evidence, where Jimmy Snuka stood in the wrestling business in 1983, how Buddy Rogers fits into this story, what Snuka told police the morning after Argentino died as well as testimony from those who treated Argentino before her death.
We also look at the autopsy report, the police report from that time, the strange question that was never answered regarding the case being dropped, what Snuka has said to different people, the brawl in Syracuse before Argentino’s death, how the pro wrestling business in 1983 is so completely different from today and the previous legal action regarding this case.
Irv Muchnick also does a piece on the indictment talking about several points from the indictment.
We also look at Hulk Hogan appearing on Good Morning America and Nightline in a way to get his job back and repair his public image. We look at the WWE reaction, what Hogan said, what does and doesn’t hold up, the timeline issues with his various stories, neighbors of his growing up contradict his story and more.
We also look at the story of the man who was shot in front of the Performance Center, the circumstances of the shooting, and the different things he had done in recent months regarding his obsession with wrestling.
We also look at Battle of Los Angeles, how the tournament went, highlights from the weekend and celebrities at the shows.
We also look back at the career of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, including his new job with UFC, his becoming the top heavyweight in the sport at one time, his background, his debut in RINGS, his move to Pride, his fight with Bob Sapp, his three fight series with Fedor and his UFC run.
We look at the arrest of Thomas “Bram” Latimer of TNA, police details of what happened, TNA’s response and what is next for him.
We’ve got a story on Hayabusa, one of the best high flyers from 15-20 years ago and his attempted recovery from near paralysis.
We’ve got a look at Travis Browne and his reinstatement in UFC.
We look at the firing of Zahra Schreiber, the girlfriend of Seth Rollins, by WWE.
We also look at WWE & TNA business when it comes to house shows, merchandise, ratings and other categories for the past month.
We also have a PPV chart with how all the shows in the first seven months of the year have been, and compared them with the last few years.
We also look at WWE signing one of the major international women stars and why she’s not going to be wrestling in NXT, the return of Dr. Wagner Jr. & L.A. Park to Arena Mexico and how it got over, top pro wrestling star gets a reality show gig, and some major title changes.
We also look at maneuvering for the 2017 and 2018 WrestleMania, and the favorites, the 10/3 Madison Square Garden WWE live special, notes on lots of indie stars on WWE’s radar, ticket sales for NXT in the U.K., a new WWE movie, Update on Wade Barrett, action figure sales, announcing changes, SummerSlam edits, lots of notes on various WWE lawsuits, Dean Ambrose talks Renee Young, Fan tries to attack Ambrose, Sara Lee in NXT, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT house shows over the past week.
We also look at a number of top stars who worked recently in Bolivia, the last AAA TV taping and AAA wrestlers in a bodybuilding contest.
We update Wrestle-1 and the three generations of green mist stars trios match.
We also look at the Dragon Gate summer tag team tournament and its big show in Fukuoka and what came out of it.
We look at All Japan’s last major show and its current singles tournament.
We look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s next major show, including a title match that was set up in the U.S., a well as the bracketing in the upcoming junior heavyweight tag team tournament.
We look at the weekend IGF show, a record that will be set at the next Tokyo Dome show, and the NWA title change.
We also look at U.S. stars who usually don’t tour Japan that are going shortly.
We’ve got more on the planned bio movie on Chris Benoit, Angelo Mosca getting his number retired, the weekend GFW shows and angles, Preston City Wrestling’s weekend show, former TNA star retires and a unique main event, plus early notes on this year’s WWC Anniversary show.
We also update the TNA TV situation, the Lucha Underground TV situation, the next ROH PPV show, new roles for people in ROH and notes from the weekend show.
We also look at changes in UFC main events, can UFC sell 70,000 tickets to its November show with Ronda Rousey, Rousey talks when she expects to retire, Cyborg, the date with the marine and notes about live shows on Fight Pass this month. We also look at this week’s PPV show, talks about the Jan. 2 Las Vegas card, a star fighter retires, Chad Mendes wants a rematch with McGregor, what happened recently with Jose Aldo, Rousey T-shirt sales, plus lots of more fights.
We also have a look at Bellator’s next major show, including the updated card, as well as plans for the big November show. We look at the Fan Fest with Fedor and Sakuraba, as well as notes on last week’s show.
We also look at the arrest of Chris Leben, and new restrictions on weight cutting that is being tried out for in California.
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.
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
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Tuesday Daily Update
— TMZ has a story about Paige and Alicia Fox getting int an altercation with a bar patron at a steakhouse last night in Baltimore. Apparently, the woman started agressively taking photos and videos of them, drinks went flying, and employees threw all three out.
— From a reader: I attended the Raw in Tampa a few weeks ago. WWE sent me a survey today asking all kinds of questions about what I liked and didn’t like, and what I like and don’t like about the Network. But one question they asked was intriguing – it asked which PPV start time I would prefer out of 1PM, 5PM, 7PM and 8PM. Thought it was interesting.
— WWE raised over $200,000 for the families of deceased New York police officers and firefighters.
— Kotaku has an amusing article about game developer Jon Jones, who’s @JonJones on Twitter and…well, you can guess where it goes from there.
— Marc Raimondi is reporting at MMAFighting.com that the controversial unregulated Xplode Fight Series will start using th UMMAF (the American MMA sanctioning arm of the same organization that includes the IMMAF and KICK for kickboxing) as a third party sanctioning body. The UMMAF, which includes recognizable referees such as Steve Mazzagatti, Kim Winslow, and Frank Trigg, typically does amateur cards but sees XFS as part of their mission since they run mixed amateur/pro events. Xplode has come under fire for booking extreme mismatches to help fighters (especially those from San Diego Combat Academy’s Team Hurricane Awesome and the now defunct Reign Training Center) pad their records, with many of the designated jobbers looking like they’re completely untrained.
— Main event fight announcement from Bellator: After his explosive Bellator MMA debut, Hisaki Kato (5-1) will return to action on November 20 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, OK., to main event “Bellator 146” against Melvin Manhoef (29-12-1, 2 NC).The middleweight contest will serve as the main event of “Bellator 146: Kato vs. Manhoef,” which airs live on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary bouts will stream on Spike.com at 6 p.m. CT.
— WWE’s nw Monday Night War Vol. 2: Know Your Role set is out on DVD and Blu-Ray today. Also, Bob Backlund’s book is now in stock at and shipping early from Amazon.
— WrestlingDVDNetwork.com has revealed the following matches so far as being part of WWE’s upcoming “Owen: Hart of Gold” DVD set:
* Blue Blazer vs. Mr. Perfect – Meadowlands • May 8, 1989
* Owen Hart vs. Mark Kyle – World Championship Wrestling • March 16, 1991
* WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Owen Hart vs. Shawn Michaels Wrestling Spotlight • August 28, 1993
* Exhibition Match: Owen Hart vs. Nick Barberri – WrestleMania XI Public Workout; Times Square, NYC • March 28, 1995
* North American Heavyweight Championship Match: Owen Hart vs. Makhin Singh – Stampede Wrestling • May 1988
* Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart – WrestleMania X • March 20, 1994
* King of the Ring Finals: Owen Hart vs. Razor Ramon – King of the Ring • June 19, 1994
* Lumberjack Match for the WWE Championship: Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart – Portland, ME • August 17, 1994
* WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. The Allied Powers – In Your House • July 23, 1995
* # 1 Contender for the WWE Championship: Owen Hart vs. Shawn Michaels – In Your House • February 18, 1996
— NWAClassics.com added a new Magnum T.A. vs. Ernie Ladd match today for subscribers.
— Dave has two new articles at MMAFighting.com:
Fortunes changed for five at UFC 191
UFC plans to have weekly live events on Fight Pass in near future
— Chikara King ofTrios 2015 Night 1 is now available.
— On the latest Between the Sheets podcast, Barbed Wire City director John Philapavage joins Kris Zellner and myself to discuss all of the wrestling news from September 1-7, 1995 including the premiere of WCW Monday Nitro with Lex Luger’s surprise appearance.
— Brian Fritz talks to Kana about signing with WWE at The Sporting News.
— Brandon Howard analyzes wrestlng TV show viewership at Voices of Wrestling.
— Great North Wrestling has a benefit show for the Canadian Cancer Society this Saturday, September 12th, at 1:30 pm at Hawkesbury Ford in Hawkesbury, Ontario. Former WWE manager Frenchy Martin will manage Hannibal in the main event when he takes on Myzery Barbarian. Carl Leduc, Jeremy Prophet, Sexy Eddy and other GNW regulars will be on the event. Greatnorthwrestling.ca
— Empire Wrestling Federation results from Knights of Columbus Hall September 4th 2015 Covina, CA: “The Sunset Blvd Bad Boy” Richie Slade def “The OC Assassin” RJ Ruiz, The Viking Warrior def Sergio Santana, EWF American Championship: “The Incredible” Anthony Idol (w/Walt Wizeone Zeman) def “The Baby Bull” Vance Garayt to become the NEW EWF American Champion, “Big Money” Tyshaun Prince def “The Definition of Pain” Terex, “Russian Chain Match” Gatson def “The SuperTsar” Sasha Darevko, EWF Tag Team Championship:
“Uptown” Andy Brown & Adrian Quest def The Congregation of Pain” (Friar Juan Roman & Archimedes) to become the NEW EWF Tag Team Champions, EWF Heavyweight Championship: The Man in Black (w/Gary Yap) def Misterioso Jr to retain the EWF Heavyweight Championship