DAILY UPDATE
Latest News
WWE Network to air Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee match, documentary
Lars Sullivan apologizes for past ‘inappropriate remarks’
LAX’s Santana suffered MCL tear at Impact Code Red show
El Desperado & Flip Gordon out of NJPW BOSJ, replacements set
TV title changes hands at ROH War of the Worlds: Toronto
ROH War of the Worlds Toronto results: Matt Taven vs. PCO
NXT Largo, FL, live results: Dream vs. Cole, Strong vs. Strickland
Latest Audio
WOL: Open line Fridays, news on AEW, WWE, tons more! 5/10
Wrestling Weekly: Press tours with Andre, AEW TV, WWE Wild Card 5/10
B&V&G: Granny, NXT, WWF Superstars of Wrestling from 1992! 5/9
We’re looking for reports from Raw tonight in Marseilles, France, Smackdown in Helsinki, Finland, Revolution Pro at York Hall in London (Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Aussie Open, David Starr vs. Phantasmo ladder match), Evolve in Livonia MI and NXT in Sebring, FL to [email protected].
EVOLVE TONIGHT FROM LIVONIA, MI AT 7 P.M. EASTERN
Anthony Greene vs. Stephen Wolf
Anthony Henry vs. Juntai
Josh Briggs vs. Adrian Jaoude
Eddie Kingston vs. Curt Stallion
Kassius Ohno & Harlem Bravado vs. AR Fox & Leon Ruff
JD Drake vs. Joe Gacy for WWN title
Austin Theory vs. Adam Cole non-title
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING AT 8 P.M. EASTERN ON AXS TV
Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Evil & Sanada
Dragon Lee vs. Taiji Ishimori for IWGP jr. title
CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. ON CMLL FACEBOOK AND YOU TUBE (after show)
Magia Blanca & Stigma vs. Espanto Jr. & El Hijo del Signo
Drone & Fuego & Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Kawato San & Polvora & Vangellys
Kaho Kobayashi vs. Amapola
Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs. El Hijo de Villano III & Villano IV & Rey Bucanero
Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero & Euforia vs. Mascara Ano 2000 & Sanson & Cuatrero
Dragon Lee & Volador Jr. & Mistico vs. Negro Casas & Cavernario & Mr. Niebla
Saturday has WWE Raw in Newcastle, UK, Smackdown in Stockholm, Sweden, ROH in Grand Rapids, MI, and NXT in St. Augustine, FL. We’re looking for reports on these shows to [email protected].
ROH WAR OF THE WORLDS SATURDAY NIGHT IN GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN AT 6 P.M. EASTERN ON HONOR CLUB
Coast 2 Coast vs. Alex Coughlin & Karl Fredericks
Cheeseburger vs. Clark Conners
Evil & Sanada vs. Beer City Bruiser & Brawler Milonas
Kelly Klein vs. Stacy Shadows for WOH title
PCO vs. Mask Haskins
Tracy Williams vs. Rush vs. Eli Isom vs. P.J. Black for ROH title shot
Jeff Cobb & Jay Lethal & Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto & Satoshi Kojima vs. Bully Ray & Shane Taylor & Mark & Jay Briscoe & Silas Young
Matt Taven & TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa & Hikuleo
UFC 237 ON SATURDAY FROM RIO DE JANEIRO
ESPN+ at 6:15 p.m. Eastern
Vivane Araujo vs. Talita Bernardo
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Raoni Barcelos
Sergio Moraes vs. Warlley Alves
Priscila Cachoeira vs. Luana Carolina
ESPN AT 8 p.m. Eastern
B.J. Penn vs. Clay Guida
Bethe Correia vs. Irene Aldana
Thiago Moises vs. Kurt Holobaugh
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Spann
ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Diego Ferreira
Laureano Staropoli vs. Thiago Alves
Jose Aldo vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Anderson Silva vs. Jared Cannonier
Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade for strawweight title
EVOLVE FROM SATURDAY NIGHT AT 7 P.M. FROM INDIANAPOLIS
Anthony Greene vs. Seven Pena
Leon Ruff vs. Stephen Wolf vs. Juntai
Shotzi Blackheart vs. Natalia Markova
Curt Stallion vs. Ace Perry
Adrian Jaoude vs. Harlem Bravado
Eddie Kingston & Joe Gacy vs. JD Drake & Anthony Henry for Evolve tag title
Austin Theory vs. Nate Webb for Evolve title
Kassius Ohno vs. Josh Briggs
Adam Cole vs. AR Fox
BELLATOR ON DAZN AT 9 P.M. EASTERN
Tywan Claxton vs. James Bennett
Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) vs. T.J. Jones
A.J. McKee vs. Pat Curran
Douglas Lima vs. Michael Venom Page in welterweight tournament semifinal
Michael Chandler vs. Patricio Pitbull Freire for lightweight title
Sunday has WWE Raw in Liverpool, UK, Smackdown in Oslo, Norway and ROH TV tapings in Chicago (Allysin Kay vs. Marti Belle for NWA women’s title, Evil & Sanada & Yuji Nagata & Satoshi Kojima, Colt Cabana vs. James Storm for NWA National title, Jeff Cobb vs. Rush vs. Jay Lethal vs. PCO, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Mark & Jay Briscoe for ROH tag titles).
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS DAY ONE IN SENDAI ON MONDAY AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Yuya Uemura vs. Brody King
Flip Gordon & Yota Tsuji vs. Taichi & Desperado
Bandido & Rocky Romero & Shota Umino vs. Phantasmo & Robbie Eagles & Jado
Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoh & Ren Narita
Will Ospreay & Toa Henare vs. Tetsuya Naito & Bushi
Tiger Mask vs. Taka Michinoku
Titan vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Marty Scurll vs. Jonathan Gresham
Sho vs. Shingo Takagi
Dragon Lee vs. Taiji Ishimori
Raw will be Monday from the O2 Arena in London while there will be a Smackdown house show on Monday in Bornemouth, UK.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS DAY TWO IN SENDAI ON TUESDAY AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
Tiger Mask & Jonathan Gresham & Ren Narita vs. Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taka Michinoku
Juice Robinson & Dragon Lee vs. Sho & Shota Umino
Brody King & Marty Scurll vs. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
Titan & Toa Henare vs. Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi
Rocky Romero vs. Robbie Eagles
Flip Gordon vs. Desperado
Bandido vs. Phantasmo
Will Ospreay vs. Bushi
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoh
Smackdown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday at the O2 Arena in London while Raw has a house show in Paris, France.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS DAY THREE IN AOMORI WEDNESDAY AT 5:30 A.M. ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Yota Tsuji vs. Brody King
Flip Gordon & Ren Narita vs. Jado & Robbie Eagles
Ryusuke Taguchi & Shota Umino vs. Taichi & Desperado
Juice Robinson & Will Ospreay & Bandido vs. Rocky Romero & Yoh & Toa Henare
Tetsuya Naito & Bushi vs. Phantasmo & Gedo
Jonathan Gresham vs. Taka Michinoku
Tiger Mask vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Titan vs. Shingo Takagi
Marty Scurll vs. Taiji Ishimori
Dragon Lee vs. Sho
Wednesday has Raw in Birmingham, UK and Smackdown in Magdeburg, Germany.
F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Looking at AEW’s build to Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes
A brother vs. brother match will be one of the key pieces of All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing card.
After weeks of teases, Dustin Rhodes was confirmed as his brother Cody’s opponent for Double or Nothing at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 25. Dustin issued a statement about his status with WWE after the announcement was made, revealing that he had requested his release from WWE and was granted it. Dustin also posted a video where he said goodbye to his Goldust character.
WON NEWSLETTER: May 13, 2019 Observer Newsletter: AEW UK PPV details, WWE wild card rule, more
An update on AEW distribution, PPV, television and streaming, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Look at the full distribution around the world for Double or Nothing, as well as updating where things stand when it comes to television.
Look at pricing, preshow, who is carrying it, how strong ITV 4 is, how this compares with WWE’s distribution and probable viewership, where things stand with U.K. television, details on Casino Battle Royale plans, the main championship, updating the show and lots of new signings.
Go in-depth on not just the XFL television deal and finances, but the lessons of the deal and how the deal is a 180 from the UFC deal.
Also look at the changes in Raw and Smackdown this past week, why they were made, where NBC Universal and FOX stand, WWE star power, how the European tour affected this week’s television, how it affects touring, plus updates on the Money In The Bank show.
Also look at the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, including what matches to watch out for, the schedule, the positioning of Will Ospreay, and the schedule.
Look at the two New Japan Dontaku events, what the events say about both Japan and U.S. popularity, the story behind Okada vs. Sanada, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
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 [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
by Bryan Rose, Ethan Renner and Joseph Currier
WWE
The Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee match and documentary special is listed as airing on the WWE Network from 11 to 11:30 p.m. Eastern time on Monday night.
WWE put out a press release saying that Kofi Kingston will be visiting his home country of Ghana, West Africa from May 30 through June 2. It will include a courtesy call from the President of Ghana H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. A WWE film crew will be there to document the trip for a future documentary.
Kingston wrote on Instagram: “Well it’s officially official. For the first time since 1993, I’m going back to my home country! Though it was 26 years ago, I still have so many vivid memories of my last visit to Ghana. I’m beyond excited to make many more in a few short weeks!”
The WWE Network will no longer be available on the following devices as of May 21: Amazon Fire Tablets, Apple TV 3rd Generation and earlier models, LG 2016 and earlier models, PlayStation 3, Samsung 2016 and earlier models, Samsung and Sony Blu-Ray Players, Sony non-Android TVs, Windows 10 Desktop, and Xbox 360.
WWE stock closed the week at $84.03 per share, up slightly from yesterday.
Nikki Cross says she needs to change in an interview after a loss on Main Event, saying it may be time to step out of the dark.
Paige talked to Comic Book about how she became the manager for the new tag team of Kairi Sane and Asuka. “I pitched to manage Ronda Rousey, kind of like the Paul Heyman-Brock Lesnar thing,” she said. “And then also be with Asuka, because Asuka had trouble speaking on the mic sometimes. As much as she’s an amazing athlete, an incredible wrestler, and I was like, ‘I’ll help her, give me the microphone, I’ll talk for her.’ And then Paul Heyman called me one day and said, ‘We have a great role for you. You can be the next me with these two women.’ I was like, ‘Wow, what a crazy tag team, they’re incredible…. Absolutely, I’ll take it!'”
Comic Book also talked to Becky Lynch about Money in the Bank and SmackDown Live.
Kofi Kingston also got new tattoos this week.
Goldberg has started to train in preparation for his match next month in Saudi Arabia.
Pro Wrestling
Tickets are still available for the F4W/Wrestling Observer Live Q&A featuring Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez that will take place the morning of Double or Nothing (May 25) in Las Vegas, Nevada. More information can be found here.
Willie Mack told Wrestling Inc that he wasn’t sure of his Lucha Underground status, saying “I’m not sure because I’m still a part of them. If they want me, they can call me. But I’m just trying to do other stuff and keep everything going and positive because I’m a chill dude and I’m just gonna sit this thing out and see what happens.”
NJPW has revealed ticket information for Wrestle Kingdom 14, including the logo for next year’s shows.
A falls count anywhere match between Sami Callihan and Mance Warner is set for MLW’s TV tapings in Waukesha, Wisconsin on June 1. In storyline, the match between the two friends was made by Salina de la Renta.
Shawn Spears (the former Tye Dillinger) appeared on this week’s episode of the Edge & Christian podcast.
Kenny Omega on Twitter wrote that starting next week there will be a mailbag section for BTE.
Michael Elgin talked to Wrestling Inc about turning down NJPW to join Impact Wrestling.
Access covered the David Arquette/Jungle Boy match that was a tribute for Jungle Boy’s father Luke Perry.
Brandi Rhodes is featured in this month’s Muscle and Fitness magazine.
The second episode of NJPW’s official English podcast is now up. It features Chris Charlton and Gino Gambino.
Jerry Lawler and Baron Von Raschke will be at Crusherfest, which will take place on June 8 and 9. The event is centered around an unveiling of a statue of The Crusher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Memorial services for Florida promoter Paul Spiegel will will be at 2:00 pm on this Saturday at Memorial Park 5750 49th. St. in St .Petersburg.
UFC/MMA
ESPN reported that the UFC is close to finalizing Tony Ferguson vs. Donald Cerrone for UFC 238, which will be held in Chicago on June 8. Cerrone had challenged Conor McGregor after winning at a UFC Fight Night event this past Saturday. As recently as Tuesday, when appearing on The Jim Rome Show, Dana White had said that a fight between the two made sense to put together.
Ariel Helwani tweeted about Cerrone’s decision to face Ferguson: “Credit to Cerrone on this one. They sent out feelers about the McGregor fight after the Iaquinta win, but there wasn’t much movement so they moved on again. Justin Gaethje was also discussed a potential return fight for Ferguson but didn’t materialize, obviously. The beauty in this for Cerrone is the fight is in 29 days. So if all goes well, it’s not like he took himself out of the running for McGregor. Wouldn’t be surprised if the winner of this fight ends up becoming the McGregor frontrunner when it’s all said and done, too.”
Bethe Correia weighed in at 141 for her UFC 237 bantamweight fight against Irene Aldana, and will forfeit 30 percent of her purse.
The scheduled UFC 237 Diego Ferreira vs. Francisco Trinaldo lightweight fight has been called off by the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission. Ferreira fell ill with kidney stones and could not weigh in. Trinaldo had already successfully made weight before the fight was called off.
All other fighters for Saturday’s UFC 237 card made weight. The ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 237 can be found here.
The UFC uploaded episode five of Embedded for Saturday’s PPV.
British heavyweight MMA fighter and former Glory kickboxer Chi Lewis-Perry had a verbal exchange with Jon Jones at a fitness expo in Birmingham, England. The two have had issues dating back to when Daniel Cormier brought Lewis-Perry in as a sparring partner before their scheduled 2016 fight, according to MMA Fighting. There is a video of the exchange here.
Frankie Edgar issued a challenge to UFC Featherweight Max Holloway on Instagram. The two have been scheduled to face off twice before, but injuries caused changes to opponents both times.
Bloody Elbow’s John Nash has an interesting tweet thread here, with some informed speculation on the finances of the UFC/ESPN PPV deal.
The Bellator 221 weigh-ins were held today. A prelim bantamweight fight between Askar Askar and Taylor Moore was called off when Askar missed weight by five pounds. A prelim bantamweight bout between Jose Leon and Christian Rodriguez was changed to a 140-pound catchweight fight after Rodriguez missed weight. Leon agreed to the catchweight, but Rodriguez will give up half of his purse.
Jake Hager does an interview with MMA Fighting here. He says he should be ready to fight for the Bellator Heavyweight Championship by next year.
The Professional Fighters League kicked off their 2019 season last night. Kayla Harrison beat Larissa Pacheco in the main event, 30-25, 30-27, 30-27. Lilian Garcia debuted as the cage announcer for the PFL. Full results from the show are here
Daily Pro Wrestling History: Verne Gagne retires as AWA Champion
F4W Empire Convention Info:
Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25
Purchase tickets here.
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