THE ROUND-UP
THE LATEST NEWS
Impact Wrestling ratings drop against night one of NFL draft
Impact Wrestling TV taping results: Slammiversary build begins
Saudi General Sports Authority apologizes for ‘indecent’ WWE ad
NXT Gainesville, FL, live results: Aleister Black vs. Tino Sabbatelli
THE LATEST AUDIO
WOR: Greatest Royal Rumble review and all the news! 4/28
WOL: Live show in the middle of Greatest Royal Rumble! 4/27
Wrestling Weekly: How Briscos-Funks & Bruno-Harley almost tore the NWA apart 4/27
We’re looking for reports from ROH in Lakeland, FL and NXT in Largo, FL.
ROH SATURDAY NIGHT IN LAKELAND, FL ON HONOR CLUB AT 7 P.M. EASTERN TIME
Flip Gordon vs. Scorpio Sky
Shane Taylor vs. Beer City Bruiser vs. Matt Taven vs. Kenny King
Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia
Jay Lethal vs. Josh Woods
Coast 2 Coast vs. losers of 4/27 tag title match
Adam Page vs. Punishment Martinez
Mark & Jay Briscoe (or Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) & Dalton Castle & Silas Young vs. Young Bucks & Cody & Adam Page in champions vs. Bullet club match
BELLATOR ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT 9 P.M. EASTERN FROM THE ALLSTATE ARENA IN CHICAGO ON PARAMOUNT
Dillon Danis (175) vs. Kyle Walker (174)
Rafael Lovato Jr. (186.5) vs. Gerald Harris (188)
Neiman Gracie (171) vs. Javier Torres (169)
Emmanuel Sanchez (145) vs. Sam Sicilia (146)
Frank Mir (261.5) vs. Fedor Emelianenko (240) in the heavyweight title tournament
NEW JAPAN WRESTLING HI NO KUNI FROM KUMAMOTO, JAPAN AT 2 A.M. EASTERN TIME LATE SATURDAY NIGHT ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Yuji Nagata & Ren Narita vs. Tomoyuki Oka & Shota Umino
David Finlay & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jay White & Rocky Romero & Sho & Yoh
Togi Makabe & Toa Henare vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano
Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Takashi Iizuka & Taichi & Taka Michinoku
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson & Michael Elgin & Kushida vs. Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Will Ospreay & Yoshi-Hashi
Bushi vs. Desperado
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Evil & Sanada vs. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. for IWGP tag titles
Minoru Suzuki vs. Tetsuya Naito for IC title
ALL JAPAN CHAMPION CARNIVAL AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN SUNDAY MORNING FROM TOKYO KORAKUEN HALL ON ALL JAPAN STREAMING SERVICE
Ryoji Sai vs. The Bodyguard
Shuji Ishikawa vs. Shingo Takagi
Joe Doering vs. Naoya Nomura
Kento Miyahara vs. Yuji Hino
ALL JAPAN CHAMPION CARNIVAL FINALS AT 5:30 A.M. MONDAY MORNING FROM TOKYO KORAKUEN HALL ON ALL JAPAN STREAMING SERVICE
WWE returns to North America with Raw on Monday in Montreal. Neither John Cena, Ronda Rousey nor Brock Lesnar are advertised for the show. There is also a Smackdown brand house show in Ottawa, ONT, and it will be Daniel Bryan’s first house show back. Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy are not advertised for either Smackdown show this week.
Smackdown and 205 Live will be Tuesday night in Montreal.
F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Winners and losers of the superstar shakeup
While both shows retained some of their core pieces, the rosters for Raw and SmackDown have been transformed since WrestleMania. The days after WWE’s biggest show of the year saw Bobby Lashley, The Authors of Pain, Ember Moon, and No Way Jose join Raw, while Peyton Royce and Billie Kay debuted on SmackDown and Paige was announced as the show’s new general manager. And that was just the prelude to this year’s Superstar Shakeup, which saw dozens of wrestlers switch brands.
WON NEWSLETTER: April 30, 2018 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: The story of Bruno Sammartino continued
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has more about the life and death of Bruno Sammartino, as well as Motoko Baba’s death, the Greatest Royal Rumble and news out of the Impact tapings, PWG shows and UFC shows.
The lead story goes in depth about the last several months of Sammartino, the nature of his death, his funeral, what was good and bad about the WWE documentary, what was going to be left out because it had to be, as well as details of how Sammartino and WWE got back together in 2012 and 2013 after nearly 25 years of being apart.
Also look at why Motoko Baba may have been the most influential woman in the history of the pro wrestling industry. Read about the heyday of All Japan Pro Wrestling, just who Giant Baba was and his level of popularity and respect, and how the Baba’s first met.
Read about the different controversies regarding WWE doing the show in Saudi Arabia this week, the ticket situation, the promotion of Saudi Arabia by WWE, the ethical issues particularly when pushing the women’s revolution theme, as well as looking at both the Saudi Arabia and the Backlash shows.
There is also more on John Cena and Nikki Bella, WWE gets a restraining order against a crazy fan, Reigns talks next year’s WrestleMania, updates on Dwayne Johnson and John Cena in the movie business, reaction to the death of Bruno Sammartino in WWE, as well as the most watched shows for the past week on the WWE Network.
This issue covers the last two UFC events with the business notes on both of the shows, including notes on streaming viewership, pay records and more.
Read the run down of the PWG All-Star weekend with match-by-match coverage with star ratings, thoughts on the talent involved, the farewell to Reseda of the Young Bucks, more on the situation with Keith Lee, and where things go from here.
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].
Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)
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.
SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Finn Balor posted a tweet responding to those who criticized him or questioned why he wasn’t wearing his rainbow-colored/LGBT community supportive gear at the Greatest Royal Rumble: “My Rainbow Gear was a statement at Wrestlemania Weeekend. Although the gear has not been worn since in 6 appearances(Hartford CT, Cape Town x2,Pretoria, Johannesburg ,St.Louise Saudi Arabia) My support continues despite any color choice, change or laundry schedule. #dirtypants”
The Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, and BBC News are among the outlets that have picked up on the Saudi General Sports Authority’s apology for women appearing in an “indecent” way in an advertisement during the Greatest Royal Rumble.
Vince McMahon and Triple H’s Twitter accounts both posted messages thanking Saudi Arabia for yesterday’s event.
In a post-show interview, Daniel Bryan discussed facing off with Roderick Strong for the first time since 2009 in the Greatest Royal Rumble.
Steve Austin praised both Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles for their performances in Saudi Arabia: “Shinsuke so much better as a heel. AJ is off the charts good. #WGRR”
Titus O’Neil tweeted a picture of him standing next to the ring and joked that his slip in the Royal Rumble match was on purpose: “It was AT THIS MOMENT…My @WWE #WWEGGR Idea For The Greatest Royal Rumble Moment was Born @WWEShop Get That MERCH ready!!! I’m about to slide….These extra Checks right into the bank”
Aiden English wrote about sharing the ring with The Undertaker: “While the legendary Deadman thwarted my #WWEGRR efforts – believe it when I say it’ll take a lot more to keep me down, kids. Trust me – last night the starry eyed kid, who always dreamed of throwing on a pair of tights and boots, was smiling…all the way to the grave.”
Rey Mysterio explained that his gear yesterday was a tribute to the fans in Saudi Arabia for how loyal and supportive they are.
An article on WWE.com teased whether we would see sumo wrestler and Greatest Royal Rumble entrant Hiroki Sumi again.
Mike Mooneyham wrote a remembrance of Bruno Sammartino for the Charleston Post and Courier.
Fred Rosser, the former Darren Young, told Uproxx that he was “devastated” to not be included in or invited to sit in the crowd for Finn Balor’s LGBT-inclusive entrance at WrestleMania 34. Rosser also called Balor one of his favorite people in the company.
Triple H spoke to Newshub in New Zealand about Ronda Rousey’s in-ring debut: “I can’t think of a more meaningful, more successful and more impactful professional wrestling debut of anybody in history. She woke a lot of people up and made them realise that Ronda Rousey wants to be a WWE superstar for a long time to come. She is dedicated to this; she is 24/7 in this. She is a machine when it comes to training and focus and I have no doubt in my mind that she will be great at this.”
Rousey discussed being a doomsday prepper while at an event with director Peter Berg. Rousey has a role in Berg’s upcoming movie “Mile 22.”
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Brie Bella detailed how excited Daniel Bryan was the night before his return at WrestleMania: “The night before WrestleMania, it was actually really cute, he couldn’t sleep because he was so excited. I told him, ‘Think of everything you’ve done to get here.’ So to go from one night where we couldn’t sleep because we were both so sad to another night where we couldn’t sleep because we were so excited, that was so crazy. I’m so proud of him. He’s healthy, he deserves to be in that ring. It shows that with passion and dedication, you can truly accomplish anything.”
Bill Goldberg did an interview with the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, explaining how it was a difficult situation to go on last at the Hall of Fame with the show being so long and everyone needing to get their time in.
Pro Wrestling
Today is the 13th anniversary of Chris Candido’s passing.
Jeff Cobb has been announced for the CEO Fighting Game Championships/NJPW pro wrestling show in Daytona Beach, Florida on June 29th. David Finlay was also officially added.
Dragon Lee wrote that he’s rehabbing from his quad injury to be back in time for NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors. Lee, who suffered the injury during a match at Arena Mexico last week, noted that he’s the only Mexican wrestler booked for the tournament.
Konnan spoke to Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald about returning to AAA and mending fences with Marisela Pena and Dorian Roldan.
Shad Gaspard did motion capture work and was scanned for the Kratos character as part of the new God of War video game.
MLW added Jason Cade, Jimmy Yuta & Rhett Giddins vs. The Dirty Blondes & Mike Parrow to the lineup for their May 3rd TV tapings in Orlando.
UFC/MMA
Dave Meltzer wrote a piece for MMA Fighting on Art Davie’s upcoming UFC Hall of Fame induction.
After beating Frankie Edgar in March, Brian Ortega was rooting for Edgar in his fight with Cub Swanson.
Fedor Emelianenko said that he didn’t consider retiring after losing to Matt Mitrione last June.
Bellator released the third episode of their Countdown series ahead of tonight’s show, which will be headlined by Emelianenko vs. Frank Mir.
Daily Professional Wrestling History: Owen Hart wins Intercontinental title
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