Pretty quiet week leading to a monster week next week with three UFC events in three days including UFC 200. We’ll be doing one weekend poll which is for the New Japan show in Iwate on late Saturday night/Sunday morning with thumbs up, down or middle and best and worst match to [email protected]
No WWE shows tonight.
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING RETURNS AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TIME ON AXS TV
Kushida vs. Ricochet for IWGP Jr. title
Young Bucks vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly for IWGP jr. tag title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in G-1 Climax final
This is another two-hour show featuring the match that finished second in the 2015 Match of the Year balloting as the main event. This was all taped at last year’s final night of the G-1 in Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
CMLL IPPV AT WWW.CLEENG.COM FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME
Blue Panther & Blue Panther Jr. & The Panther vs. Felino & Puma & Tiger
Atlantis & Mistico & Stuka Jr. vs. Euforia & Mr. Niebla & El Terrible
Rey Cometa vs. Cavernario hair vs. hair
16-man One Night World Grand Prix tournament:
Diamante Azul, La Mascara, Maximo Sexy (CMLL world heavyweight champion), Rey Escorpion, Rush, Shocker, Ultimo Guerrero, Volador Jr., Johnny Idol, Kushida (IWGP jr champion), Michael Elgin (IWGP IC champion), Marco Corleone, Okumura Sam Adonis, Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa.
LEGACY FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS AT 10 P.M. TONIGHT ON AXS TV FROM DIAMOND JACK’S CASINO IN BOSSIER CITY, LA
Bi Nguyen (0-0, 106.5) vs. Andy Nguyen (2-2, 107.7)
Dan Ige (3-1, 146) vs. Craig Campbell (2-1, 146.1)
Joe Valdez (3-1, 156.3) vs. David Bosnick (6-3, 155.8)
Charles Byrd (7-4, 186.1) vs. Quentin Henry (10-3, 185.8)
David Burrow (14-7, 170.1) vs. Derrick Krantz (17-9, 170.8)
Tony Kelly (5-0, 143.4) vs. Kevin Aguilar (10-1, 14.3) for the featherweight title
Saturday has WWE in Tokyo Sumo Hall:
Asuka vs. Becky Lynch for NXT women’s title
Titus O’Neil vs Curtis Axel
Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
Charlotte vs. Natalya for WWE women’s title
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens
Usos vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
New Day vs. Vaudevillains for tag titles
John Cena vs. A.J. Styles
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho for WWE title
Saturday also has a WWE house show in Pikeville, KY (Kane, Big Show, The Miz, Sheamus, Sami Zayn, Rusev, Cesaro, Enzo, Cass, Dudleys, Kalisto, Sasha Banks). We’re looking for reports on the show at [email protected]
NEW JAPAN FROM IWATE ON NEW JAPAN WORLD AT 3 A.M. LATE SATURDAY NIGHT EASTERN AND MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME
David Finlay vs. Chase Owens
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Kazushi Sakuraba & Rocky Romero & Baretta
Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Togi Makabe & Juice Robinson
Kenny Omega & Young Bucks vs. Satoshi Kojima & Ricochet & Matt Sydal for Never six man titles
Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Seiya Sanada & Bushi in an elimination match
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma for Never Open weight title
Sunday has Raw in Huntington, WV (Kane, Big Show, The Miz, Sheamus, Sami Zayn, Rusev, Cesaro, Enzo, Cass, Dudleys, Kalisto, Sasha Banks).
Raw will be Monday night from Columbus, OH. Give that Raw is on July 4th, it is likely to be the lowest rating for a Raw show in the history of the show. Rusev vs. Titus O’Neil for the U.S. title has been announced. Shane McMahon is scheduled to return.
Smackdown is Tuesday night in Toledo. No John Cena or Seth Rollins advertised. Dean Ambrose, A.J. Styles and Kevin Owens are the top names advertised.
THE ROUNDUP
CMLL wrestler Thunder passes away at 34
A Chicago Weekend at SHIMMER pt. 1
NXT Winter Haven, FL, live results: Hideo Itami returns
WWE Smackdown results: Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz; U.S. title match
WWE Honolulu, HI: Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens; Ambrose vs. Styles vs. Jericho vs. Rollins
The 10th annual Wrestling Observer/F4W convention in Las Vegas takes place during UFC’s International Fight Week from July 7 – 11. Ed in San Antonio has information on Facebook, or you can email him at [email protected]. It’s always a fun time, so hurry up and make your plans to join Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, Vinny, Granny, Ed, Peach, Dez, Dr. Lucha, Rodney, Sr. Jaialai, “Filthy” Tom, and the rest of the group in beautiful Las Vegas this July. Plus… some extra secret surprises.
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Figure Four Weekly
READ IT HERE: Figure Four Weekly 6/27/2016: WWE concussion lawsuit update, more – The latest information in WWE’s concussion lawsuit.
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Wrestling Observer Newsletter
READ IT HERE: July 4, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: NJPW G1 tournament preview, Ali vs. Inoki anniversary, more – A preview of NJPW’s G1 tournament, notes on the anniversary of Ali vs. Inoki, plus tons more.
It’s a double issue week featuring a look back 40 years at what was the biggest undertaking up to that point in pro wrestling history, and Inoki vs. Ali match, how it came together, what happened that night, coverage of the upcoming G-1 Climax tournament, coverage of Ultima Lucha 3 and details on where the company stands, full coverage of the WWE cruiserweight classic, ROH Best in the World coverage as well as a look at those coming and going from the promotion, the death of Ryan Jimmo, the life and times of Gypsy Joe, and far more about the fallout of the Roman Reigns suspension.
The lead story details this years G-1 tournament including what will air in English, newcomers to the tournament, some interesting political news regarding who is and isn’t in it, as well as a complete lineup for every show.
This issue looks at the background of Ali vs. Inoki, the first time boxer vs. wrestler with major stars came close to happening, boxing champions who did wrestling and wrestlers who faced boxers including involving one of the all-time greats, Thesz vs. Marciano talk, and the two best known mixed matches prior to Ali vs. Inoki in the U.S.
There is also a look at Japanese pro wrestling in the 70s and how that led to the match, the business of Billy Robinson involving Inoki vs. Baba, how Inoki was being marketed, and the attempts to put together Ali vs. Bruno Sammartino and how that led to this.
The goals of Ali vs. Inoki for the New Japan side, the pro wrestling angles, just how big the match was why the match wasn’t a work, where Ali’s career stood at the time, media coverage, how the terrible rules were the reason the fight, Sammartino’s broken neck and return, Stan Hansen becoming a superstar in Japan, and why Ali vs. Inoki was not a success in much of the U.S, and much more in this issue of the Wrestling Observer.
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Wrestling Observer Newsletter BACK ISSUE
READ IT HERE: May 24, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: ECW Hardcore Heaven/WWF No Mercy – Amidst rumors flying everywhere of the possible demise of the company and others who are talking that the company is a short period away from growing bigger than ever, the ECW Hardcore Heaven PPV came off like a show that was a bridge for the company to something new, but when it was over, there were still no answers over whether what is new is good news or bad news… Current subscribers click here to continue reading.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Jerry Lawler was reinstated by WWE as soon as charges were dropped in his domestic violence case. He is expected to return on the Tuesday tapings in Toledo.
Ric Flair and co-host Conrad Thompson return to podcasting this week as part of MLWRadio.com starting on Wednesday. The show had gone on a hiatus after their prior contract with contract with CBS Radio Play It.
At a court hearing earlier this week, it was ruled that Armando Montalvo was competent to stand trial. Montalvo was the man shot in front of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando who had been harassing people at times and was all messed up in love with Lita at the time. His family stated he suffered from bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses. A pretrial hearing is set for 8/31.
Judge Vanessa Bryant ruled that Christopher Nowinski will not have to be deposed in the lawsuits by Vito LoGrasso and Evan Singleton against WWE regarding concussions. Bryant ruled she couldn’t find any reason where Nowinski would have knowledge that would be revelant to the case.
The Stardom promotion in Japan will be streaming all of their shows live going forward on the new Stardom World streaming service which costs 750 yen ($7.29) per month. To sign up: http://www.stardom-world.com/
WWE
The WWE Network has uploaded 80 new episodes of Nitro meaning every episode of now up.
Adam Rose talks what went wrong with is character on the main roster on the Pancakes and Powerslam Radio show:
“I did a commercial, and once I did the commercial, I realized that we were going down the wrong path,” said Rose. “I think on the main stage, it needed to be introduced as a heel, because it was so quirky and so different. I think if it was introduced as a heel, then people wouldn’t have felt forced to love it, and then I felt that they would have naturally fell in love with certain parts of the quirkiness, and it would have naturally evolved to something or someone who people liked. I think that was a big mistake.” Rose adds, “I think one of the hardest things to do in this industry is to get over as a babyface. Some people have a natural connection with the audience. [Someone] like Sami Zayn has a natural connection with the audience. I don’t think Adam Rose had any with the audience because he was completely quirky and over-the-top and ridiculous. And I think that’s why it would have been better introduced as a heel because your automatic reaction to seeing someone like that is not to like it.”
At the conclusion of Adam Rose’s WWE career, he was placed in a misfit group named the Social Outcasts, along with Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, and Heath Slater. Rose admits that he had no idea about the group until he was given the idea only a few hours before the show started.
“We had no idea,” said Rose. “I think we were told about 5 o’clock on a Monday night that we were now going to be a group. I think we were four guys who the company saw had something, but we were doing nothing. So I think the idea was like, okay, let’s put them together collectively in a group, and these are guys who don’t know each other really well. I think the awkwardness of it was actually one of the reasons [why it worked]. You get all these well-polished teams, and the idea was for the faction to not be well-polished, and the idea was for us not to get along, to almost be bumping heads and trying to one-up each other the whole time. I think the Social Outcasts has talented individuals in it. I don’t think the Social Outcasts is going to be a deal loss; I think it is going to be, given the right structure, could take off. But, it’s all a matter of where you put it.
MISCELLANEOUS
Regarding the Ali vs. Inoki fight, this was Ali and Fred Blassie on The Tonight Show with McLean Stevenson as host just days before leaving for Japan.
Tammy Sytch is scheduled to be sentenced for a few DUI arrests this coming Tuesday. Sytch just completed rehab.
The Matt Mitrione vs. Oli Thompson fight that was promoted last Friday night in Bellator is, in fact, now official for 7/16 in London at the O2 Arena, as the Missouri commission cleared Mitrione. Mitrione was knocked silly in the opening moments of his fight with Carl Seumanutafa and his fighting again three weeks later seemed way too early. But it’ll be the semi-main event on that show.
Roderick Strong vs Matt Riddle was announced for the 7/16 Evolve show in Queens, NY at La Broom at 4 p.m. The early start time is to avoid going head-to-head with the WWE show in Madison Square Garden. Other new Evolve matches announced are Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tony Nese and Riddle vs. Marty Scurll on 7/17 in Melrose, MA.
They are also running a Sunday at 3 p.m. show before SummerSlam in with a show in Brooklyn headlined by Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak, Tommy End vs. Matt Riddle, Sabre Jr. vs. Cedric Alexander plus Cody Rhodes, Drew Galloway, Chris Hero, Tracy Williams, Scurll, TJP, Ethan Page, Fred Yehi and Peter Kaasa.
Silas Young on Twitter noted that his ROH contract has expired and he’s now a free agent.
Alpha 1 Wrestling on 8/21 at 4 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus in Hamilton, ONT.
NWA Cajun Heat tomorrow night in Morgan City, LA at the Municipal Auditorium with Jax Dane vs. Mustang Mike for the NWA title plus Kevin Nash appears, Greg Anthony vs. Americos, Rob Conway vs Rodney Mack and Jeremy Moore vs Matt Riviera.
Today is the 50th anniversary of an Ernie Ladd vs. Destroyer match plus a Battle Royal at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston (thanks to Tom Blatter)
There is an RF Video interview with Hornswoggle being released Check out this preview
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