THE ROUND-UP
The Latest from the F4W Staff
NEWS
Bagwell & Raven WWE royalties lawsuit dropped as agreement reached
MLW Never Say Never results: Matt Riddle vs. ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor
AUDIO
JNPO Classic: Marcus Davis and the reality of post-UFC life 12/8
WOL: WWE lawsuit, GSP vacates title, Tanahashi injury, tons more! 12/8
Dr. Keith Presents: Calm Down Captain Lou!!! 12/8
We’ll be doing one poll this week, which will be for Monday’s New Japan tag team tournament finals from Fukuoka.
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING ON AXS TV AT 8 P.M. EASTERN
Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll for IWGP jr. title
Kenny Omega vs. Baretta for U.S. title
INVICTA AT 8 P.M. EASTERN ON TONIGHT ON UFC FIGHT PASS
Kay Hansen vs. Emilee Prince
Christine Ferea vs. Karina Rodriguez
Amber Brown vs. Tessa Simpson
Virna Jandiroba vs. Amy Montenegro
Milana Dudieva vs. Vanessa Porto
Janaisa Morandin vs. Kinberly Novaes
Mackenzie Dern vs. Kaline Medeiros
Jennifer Maia vs. Agnieszka Niedzwiedz for flyweight title
CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN
Shockercito & Stukita vs. Pequeno Olimpico & Mercurio
Oro Jr. & Pegasso & Star Jr. vs. Misterioso Jr. & Sagrado & Virus
Drone & Guerrero Maya Jr. & Rey Cometa vs. Euforia & Hechicero & Polvora
Dragon Lee vs. Titan
Pierroth & Rush & Sam Adonis vs. Negro Casas & Valiente & Marco Corleone
Caristico & Soberano Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Mistico & Volador Jr. & El Terrible
NEW JAPAN B BLOCK FINAL NIGHT FROM EHIME AT 4 A.M. EARLY SATURDAY MORNING ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Tetsuhiro Yagi & Jushin Liger vs. Ren Narita & Shota Umino
Manabu Nakanishi & Hirai Kawato vs. Evil & Seiya Sanada
Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Desperado
Yuji Nagata & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens & Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi & Leo Tonga
Togi Makabe & Henare vs. David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura
Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb vs. War Machine
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Baretta & Chucky T vs. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay & Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito & Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi
Saturday we’re looking for reports from the WWE Raw show in New Delhi, India (HHH vs. Jinder Mahal), Smackdown in Pikeville, KY and NXT in Tampa to [email protected].
UFC FROM FRESNO, CALIFORNIA ON SATURDAY
Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time
Trevin Giles vs. Antonio Braga Neto
Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Davi Ramos
Iuri Alcantara vs. Alejandro Perez
FS1 at 8 p.m. Eastern
Frankie Saenz vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Carls John de Tomas vs. Alex Perez
Luke Sanders vs. Andre Soukhamthath
Liz Carmouche vs. Alexis Davis
Benito Lopez vs. Albert Morales
Eryk Anders vs. Markus Perez
Scott Holtzman vs Darrell Horcher
Marlon Moraes vs. Aljamain Sterling
Gabriel Benitez vs. Jason Knight
Cub Swanson vs. Brian Ortega
EVOLVE ON SATURDAY NIGHT FROM THE ELMCOR YOUTH AND ADULT ACTIVITIES CENTER IN CORONA, NY AT 8 P.M. EASTERN
Jason Kincaid vs. AR Fox
Darby Allin vs. Austin Theory
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. DJZ
Matt Riddle vs. Fred Yehi no rope break match
Jake & Tracy Williams vs. James Drake & Anthony Henry for tag titles
Keith Lee vs. Walter for WWN title
BELLATOR MMA FROM FLORENCE, ITALY ON SPIKE TV AT 8 P.M. EASTERN SATURDAY NIGHT
Gregory Babene (185.2) vs. Tony Zanko (185)
Mihail Nica (155.6) vs. Carlos Miranda (156)
Lena Ovchynnikova (124.4) vs. Alejandra Lara (125)
Brandon Girtz (156) vs. Luka Jelcic (155.6)
Rafael Carvalho (184.6) vs. Alessio Sakara (184.2) for Bellator middleweight title
Sunday has WWE Smackdown in Louisville, KY and we’re also looking for reports from the Arolucha tapings in Nashville at the Fairgrounds.
EVOLVE ON SUNDAY AT 7 P.M. EASTERN FROM MELROSE, MA MEMORIAL HALL
Jason Kincaid vs. Jarek 1:20
AR Fox vs. DJZ
Fred Yehi vs. Austin Theory for FIP title
Matt Riddle vs. Walter
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jake for Evolve title
NEW JAPAN WORLD TAG LEAGUE FINALS FROM THE FUKUOKA CONVENTION CENTER MO AT 4:30 A.M. EARLY MONDAY MORNING ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Kota Ibushi & Kushida vs. Cody & Marty Scurll
Rocky Romero & Sho & Yoh vs. Kenny Omega & Young Bucks
Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
World Tag League championship match
Raw will be Monday from Cleveland. Matches announced are Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro, Dean Ambrose vs. Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins vs. Sheamus, Kane vs. Braun Strowman and Drew Gulak vs. Rich Swann for the top contender for the cruiserweight title. There is also a Smackdown brand house show in Terre Haute, IN.
Smackdown will be Tuesday from Cincinnati.
FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: Figure Four Weekly 12/4/2017: Looking at WWE’s match of the year candidates
While there’s still some time for WWE to shape how the company’s 2017 will be remembered, the beginning of December marked the end of this year’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards calendar. The insane output of high-end matches New Japan Pro Wrestling had during the voting period will rightfully lead to a strong showing in the Match of the Year category, but WWE’s in-ring year shouldn’t be forgotten.
Subscribers click here to continue.
WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: December 11, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 218 review, Impact management changes, more
There are a number of different features in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, including why last week’s UFC show is so important historically, an update on the Shane McMahon-Daniel Bryan storyline, the changes in direction at Impact once again and the new power structure, a look at the Clash of Champions show, the Konnan / Crash split, U.S. TV coverage of Wrestle Kingdom and how New Japan is doing on U.S. TV, the idea behind a 205 Live tour and much more.
Look at the last three UFC events and why they are important, including lessons regarding the value of titles or shows that on paper look to be filled with action and what it means to the public. Read our poll results for UFC 218 and full coverage of the show including the good and bad of China, the creation of the women’s flyweight title, two match-of-the-year candidates, as well as questions regarding sport vs. spectacle and the message being sent.
Examine the business numbers for the shows including UFC 218 preliminary PPV numbers.
Look at the changes at the top with Impact, Don Callis’ background in wrestling, who looks to be gone from Impact next, and the directives the company is under.
Read about the WWE Smackdown direction leading into the PPV show, and the long-term of Daniel Bryan and where things currently stand.
This issues goes into detail on the Konnan / Crash split, the different factors that led to it, what Konnan said about it, the Aroluxe deal and what this means long-term for Crash.
Have a look at the New Japan TV deal in the U.S., viewership update on the show, plans for Tokyo Dome coverage and what led to numbers increasing.
Check out WWE’s plans for a 205 Live tour, including plans for the division.
Also, look at Jim Johnston leaving WWE and his work in the promotion, why the WWE stock price is rising and what UFC has to do with it, more WWE injuries, and WWE Week on the USA Network.
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 [email protected].
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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: November 20, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Shinya Hashimoto fired from NJPW, Wrestlemania X7 sets records
Shinya Hashimoto, who headlined more big gates at the Tokyo Dome than any wrestler in history, was shockingly fired by New Japan Pro Wrestling on 11/13 after a weekend filled with turmoil after news got out he was negotiating with Pro Wrestling NOAH. The story was among many things that is threatening the future of the All Japan/New Japan relationship, which started off with the big success on 10/9 at the Tokyo Dome and has since seemed to start falling apart.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
New Japan World will be carrying a press conference on Monday night at 1 a.m. to announce the full card for the Tokyo Dome. It will be free even if you are not a subscriber.
There will be a head-to-head battle on Saturday night with UFC, Bellator and the Vasiliy Lomachenko (9-1) vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0) battle of gold medalists for the WBO jr. lightweight title which airs at 9 p.m. Eastern from the Theater in Madison Square Garden on ESPN. ESPN is pushing this as the first time in boxing history that two different two-time gold medalists will face each other in a pro fight. Rigondeaux was a 2000 and 2004 gold medalist while Lomachenko won in 2008 and 2012.
Both Kevin Nash and Madusa have undergone major knee surgeries in recent days. Madusa had a full knee replacement done. Nash will be on the 1/22 Raw 25th anniversary show.
Tonight’s Arena Mexico has a very interesting main event with usual tecnicos Caristico & Soberano Jr. teaming with Ultimo Guerrero against rudo El Terrible and tecnicos Volador Jr. & Mistico. You have Mistico against Caristico and Soberano against Volador match-ups. There is also the first-ever Dragon Lee vs. Titan match ever at Arena Mexico, with a 10:00 time limit.
The Nashville Tennessean has a story on Aro Lucha. The story notes Jason Brown, head of Aroluxe, saying the goal is to do a family friendly product and get it on regular and digital television and do house shows. Konnan is mentioned as booker. As for the obvious comparisons with Lucha Underground, Ron Harris said, “We’re trying to do it on a much bigger level and build it into a much bigger company.” The show Sunday will be taped for marketing use and also to get new investors into the project. Vince Russo’s involvement, which we had written about for months, was released by the company earlier today. He was to be the assistant writer.
Seiya Sanada & Evil are in the finals as the A block rep in the New Japan World Tag League tournament. Results from the final day of the A block which was today in Hiroshima:
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi (2-5) beat Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens (3-4)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (3-4) beat Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka via DQ (3-4)
Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan (4-3) beat Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi (4-3)
Evil & Sanada (5-2) beat Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi (4-3)
Tonight in Ehime is the B block final. There are six teams left, all with 4-2 records, all facing each other. So there will be three winning teams tied at 5-2 most likely, unless there is a draw or a no contest and the winner will be based on head-to-head records so there are a multiple
of possibilities. The three matches are:
Chucky T & Baretta vs. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb vs. War Machine
Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
WWE
Jerry Lawler said some stuff about sexual harassment and sexual assault covered in this article and there is video that didn’t come off very well.
They are advertising Roman Reigns vs. John Cena for the IC title as the new main event for the 12/26 show in Madison Square Garden.
The company announced today at its show in Abu Dhabi the signing of Nasser Airywayehi, first person from Kuwait ever signed by WWE.
WWE will be doing both Raw and Smackdown on 2/20 and 2/21 in Phoenix. Tickets go on sale a week from today.
UFC
The Edmonton council voted today to not issue any new licenses for combat sports until December 31, 2018. This tied into the death of former UFC fighter Tim Hague, who passed away as the result of a boxing match in Edmonton. A report on the investigation into the death of Hague will be released on Thursday.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk announced today that she was breaking ties with Perfecting Athletes, the company that handled her nutrition and weight cut. She believes she lost the fight because she cut from 131 to 115 in 14 hours. She said the mistakes they made helping her make weight were unforgivable, that she forgives them as humans but not as people she hired to help her. She had previously praised them in her prior weight cuts over the past year, when he started working with them.
MISCELLANEOUS
The YouTube app will no longer be available on Amazon Firesticks and Amazon Fire TVs as of 1/1. Google owns YouTube and is in a dispute with Amazon.
James Ellsworth, Earl Hebner and James Storm are taking bookings through Bill Behrens at www.sbibookings.com and [email protected]. Ellsworth will be available in mid-February based out of Baltimore. Hebner will be available for referee and appearance bookings out of Richmond, VA and Storm is out of Nashville. Among other names are Matt Sydal, Sean Waltman, Tessa Blanchard, Flip Gordon, Jay Lethal (outside U.S. & Ontario only), Young Bucks (outside U.S. & Ontario only), Christopher Daniels (outside U.S. and Ontario only), Frankie Kazarian (outside U.S. and Ontario only), Shane Helms, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, DDP, Jim Ross, Eric Bischoff, Corey Hollis, Slim J and others.
Hulk Hogan has cut a deal with Pro Wrestling Tees for merchandise.
NWL tonight in Overland Park, KS: Rumble for the NWL title, Jimmy Jacobs vs. Leonel Howlett, Savanna Stone vs Carolina Rodriguez and more.
A weird story on Brian Lawler.
Today in Professional Wrestling History: Harlem Heat win WCW tag titles
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