And the time has come for the show we all anticipated, yet dreaded - the finale of the WWE Decade In Review Series (WWEDIRS for the sake of catchiness), and well 2009 like JUST happened so we didn’t really feel the need to talk about it too much. Instead we sang about it. Well actually Justin sang about it - alot. Alan meanwhile gushed over CM Punk and Jeff Hardy, and Eamo talked about iPods. A good ‘ol time was had by all!!! Only here at THE BIG FIGURE.
Mar. 9 Observer Radio: Dave and Bryan review the new Monday Night Wars, plus news and more
Filed under Wrestling News
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez return tonight to talk the new Monday Night Wars! We’ll discuss, in detail, every single segment on Raw and Impact, what was good, what was bad, what was boring, what was stupid, where they appear to be going with certain angles, and so much more. We’ll also look at the build to both WrestleMania and TNA’s next PPV, plus talk some news including Kimbo Slice’s next big fight. A fun show as always so check it out~!
TNA Impact highlights
Filed under Wrestling News
We'll have the full report later tonight, but we'll update as the show goes on with major news.
They will be doing a match for the vacant Knockouts tag titles during the show with Awesome Kong being gone from the promotion.
Hogan Abyss vs. Ric Flair A.J. Styles is being put in the opening match slot. It ended in a no contest. Sting showed up and turned on Hogan Abyss with bat shots. Flair hit Hogan with a chair to the head (he pulled it enough to where it wasn't dangerous) and Hogan juiced. Security hit the ring. Hogan demanded a rematch before the end of the night in a no DQ match.
Doug Williams kept the X title in a three-way over Christopher Daniels and Kazarian when he pinned Daniels with a Chaos Theory suplex. Shannon Moore cleaned house on Williams after the match and Eric Bischoff announced Williams vs. Moore for the title on the PPV.
Dixie Carter announced Sting would face a mystery opponent later in the show.
3-team for vacant Knockouts tag title is next
Velvet Sky Madison Rayne won the titles over Tara Angelina Love and Taylor Wilde Sarita. Daffney hit Tara with her title belt and Sky got the pin.
Desmond Wolfe attacked Pope's ankle with a chain. They are supposed to wrestle later.
Sting vs. RVD
RVD won in 9 seconds but Sting laid him out after with a series of baseball bat shots, mostly to the ankle.
They put Sting over as a major heel, destroying RVD with a ton of bat shots, then he destroyed 2 referees with bat shots. Hogan came out but Bubba the Love Sponge and security held him back. Sting tried to get Hogan to come in and Sting hit Hogan with a bat shot to the gut, and then laid him out again with a bat shot.
They had an encounter with Young Nash vs. Hall Waltman. It set up a match at the Designation X PPV (well, that's what Nash said) where if Hall Waltman win, they get a TNA contract, but if they lose, they have to leave. Hall Nash shook hands. Young went to shake hands with Waltman, who slapped him. Bischoff ordered a Waltman vs. Young match
With both in their clothes, Young pinned Waltman in 1:00 with a piledriver
A ton of Army troops came out introducing Kurt Angle. Angle was doing a promo when Mr. Anderson did one backstage. Angle went after Anderson and threw him into the ring. Anderson got the edge hitting Angle with the medals, but as he went to leave, the troops stopped him. Angle came back, laid out Anderson with the Olympic slam, and threw him out of the ring over and over while the troops acted like lumberjacks pounding him and throwing him back in.
A.J. Styles vs. Abyss for the title is the main event on the PPV.
Beer Money beat down Jeff Jarrett to set up a match later. Mick Foley made an appearance in a suit.
Beer Money beat Jarrett in a handicap match. Foley was the ref, but Slick Johnson took the barbed wire bat away from Jarrett and the two refs argued. Beer Money won with a low blow by Roode and a DWI.
Brooke was crying and didn't want Hulk to wrestle. Hulk promised Brooke this would be his last match ever.
Hogan Abyss vs. Flair Styles - Jeff Hardy has to be involved in the finish
Abyss pinned Styles with the black hole slam. Hogan Flair bled heavily. Match had a lot of heat but wasn't pretty to watch. Wolfe came out for a post-match beatdown. Pope tried to save but got beaten down and Jeff Hardy was in at the end giving Styles a twist of fate and probably a swanton, although they went off the air just as he went to the top.
Ongoing Raw notes for tonight
Filed under Wrestling News
By Bryan Alvarez
figure4@ix.netcom.com
Ultimate Warrior appeared in the opening montage, so maybe a deal was made for the Hall of Fame after all.
Undertaker angle is opening the show.
The talk of the night may end up being whatever the fuck it is that Shawn is wearing.
They’ve added a no-DQ, no-countout stip to the match. Great interview. No goofy angles, just both guys vowing to beat the other and take what was most important to them in the process.
There was a segment with Jillian, Hornswaggle, the Bellas and Criss Angel which was proof WWE is unconcerned about people switching to Impact.
They did the Miz & Show vs. Morrison & Truth WrestleMania match for free with no build. It went maybe 10 seconds before the ref called for the bell, and then they didn’t even announce what the finish was. Babyfaces laid them out to prove they were deserving Mania contenders.
On January 4th our board broke its record with 275 people online (previous record was the day the Benoit news broke). We’re currently at about 170, which shows that interest is way, way down this time around. One would suspect that means bad news for TNA’s rating, but we’ll see.
Raw’s top of the hour segment is the Orton vs. Legacy handicap match which is absolutely nothing special at all, and in fact rather boring.
Big Dave swore on his title that he wouldn’t interfere in the Cena vs. Vince match. I call shenanigans.
They made Hunter vs. Sheamus official at WrestleMania in a segment where Hunter did his absurd promo about how working WrestleMania was a huge risk because you either won and became a legend or you lost and ended up mired in obscurity for the rest of your life. An outright lie, that.
So did you read the thing in the daily update about the host of Good Day Oregon being told that he couldn’t drop an elbow on a doll during a segment with MVP because kids may try it at home and get hurt, or some such nonsense? Well, Criss Angel just did a magic trick where he had Santino put a KNIFE, a fucking KNIFE under one of four cups, and then said he was going to use his magic to crush the three empty ones and avoid being stabbed. Not making this up. He didn’t get stabbed, but the fact that this aired on the supposed PG kid-friendly Raw was astonishing.
Evan Bourne qualified for Money in the Bank, beating Regal.
For those keeping track, with both shows moving into the last 20 minutes, we’re down to 143 people on our board. I’m not watching Impact so I don’t know what the quality of the show is like, but it appears interest in tonight’s war is badly waning.
They announced the Bret/Vince contract signing for next week with Steve Austin presiding over it.
Vince vs. Cena is now a “tag team gauntlet match”. So far Koslov, Drew McIntyre and Jack Swagger are all involved. Mark Henry was forced to get involved and refused, so Dave came out and speared him. Kofi tried to save and he was treated like a fool. Dave finally gave Cena the spear and powerbomb and Vince pinned him with his knee on Cena’s chest.
UFC release makes it clear who is not headlining the 4/17 show
Filed under Wrestling News
UFC just sent a release confirming Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione for 5/8 in Montreal. The match had been on the schedule for that night for some time. There had been serious talk of making a change in plans and having Slice, the most proven television drawing card in the sport, headline on 4/17 head-to-head with the Strikeforce show on CBS.
Where WWE makes the most profits; UFC vs. Strikeforce battle looked at; Death of Umaga; Flair
Filed under Wrestling News
Between unique wrestling shows, crazy promos, legal actions, more on WWE's business year in review, the most updated analysis of the chess game between UFC and Strikeforce, the death of Umaga, more on the Ric Flair situation with his wife, where MMA stands on CBS as well as the next planned show, we've got two issues of the Observer coming out this week.
Both issues are now available right now on the web site.
We look at the Frank Mir reaction to his own apology, and his reaction to his reaction, as well as comments by Brock Lesnar, and then the story behind Marcus Davis wishing a death of AIDS to Dan Hardy and why this stuff is more dangerous in UFC right now then if it was to happen in pro wrestling or boxing.
We also look at the UFC vs. Strikeforce promotional war regarding April, how the signing of James Toney fits in, proposed opponents for Toney, and a look at how ratings and buy rates could be affected depending on when the head-to-head battle takes place. We also look at Toney going in, his unique contract, his background as a boxer, the first time Toney was talked with about coming to UFC and his opponent scheduled at the time and more.
We also have as part of our business year in review, live attendance for WWE arena dates averaged for the last 18 years, ratings comparisons for the last several years, as well as TNA's numbers for the past few years.
We have more on the death of Edward Umaga Fatu, looking at his cause of death, his career, his getting fired by WWE and post-WWE.
We also look at the 10 questions for Linda McMahon, the reality of the situation and what questions are easy and difficult for her to answer.
We also have a look at the audience that watches, UFC, Strikeforce, WWE, TNA along with the NBA, NFL, boxing, NHL and baseball and compare and contrast, both in ages, ethnicity, education and earnings. This is some very interesting information that relate to advertising as well as showing the major differences in UFC vs. Strikeforce, UFC vs. WWE and TNA vs. WWE.
We also have more on the Ric Flair situation with the release of the 911 call by Rene Beems about the incident with Flair and Jacqueline Beems, the content of the call and more information on the incident.
We also have a look at the situation regarding Awesome Kong and Bubba the Love Sponge, and the unique situation it has put TNA in. We look at her claims, his responses, and more on the original incident between the two.
We look at the next Strikeforce show on CBS, the Strikeforce/Dream relationship, matches planned for the company's next two major events, why this CBS special is important and if it's successful, how that impact the business going forward. We also look at how CBS is going to cross-promote the show with one of its major prime-time series, a look at the three CBS matches, who is Shinya Aoki, as well as more on Herschel Walker, as well as obstacles put forth in the path of the company's PPV idea of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Alistair Overeem.
We also have a complete rundown of the Dragon Gate USA show that plays throughout March, with notes on the show and coverage of all the matches and angles.
We also have more on WWE business in 2009, including more notes on live attendance throughout the year, the drop in North American PPV vs. the drop in international PPV and why, a look at the government incentives WWE has been able to take advantage of, the growth in some revenue streams and losses in others. We look at the profitability of every aspect of company business as well as a chart showing which revenue streams are the most and least important right now. We also look at how much WWE spent on an average PPV in 2008 and 2009, and it's quite the eye opener.
We also have a look at comparing now to 1995, as where WWE and TNA are now leading into the new Monday Night Wars, and where WWF and WCW were leading into the first Monday Night Wars.
We also have a WrestleMania update, more update on WWE changes in PPV in 2010 and why one of the weakest PPV shows of last year wasn't cut. We also have a rundown of WWE firings over the past week, who was and wasn't expected, why and notes on all involved including some comments from people on the firings. We look at each person's chances with TNA, a bio of Mad Dog Vachon, lots of more Hall of Fame notes, more on NXT and different ideas that were batted around and may or may not show up in future episodes.
We've got more on Jim Ross' future, probably the most-watched pro wrestling match on U.S. TV of the 70s, update on guest hosts and injuries, several new wrestlers signed, new DVDs, some new angles talked about, something about NXT and finishing moves that came up, more on comments by Shad Gaspard, developmental news as well as business notes and highlights from the weekend house shows.
We also have updates on the Linda McMahon senatorial campaign and how pro wrestling is being dragged more and more into the campaign.
We also have a rundown of the next season of Ultimate Fighter, with a complete look at the cast, who they are, their record, what they've done and personality notes.
We've got a rundown of two major Japanese events, the NOAH show at Budokan Hall and atmosphere of NOAH vs. New Japan, as well as the pro wrestling world champion vs. kickboxing world champion match and pro wrestler bench press contest held at a unique show this past week.
We also have our usual weekly features such as the results of the
biggest matches of the week and rundown of the major television shows.
biggest matches of the week and rundown of the major television shows.
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–Title with the longest history in the business may be taken from its hosting promotion after more than 70 years
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MON. UPDATE: Mickie James foot surgery; Linda McMahon 10 questions update; RVD talks Umaga death
Filed under Wrestling News
dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We're looking for your thoughts on both Friday night's Dragon Gate USA PPV and Saturday night's WEC show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We're also looking for live reports on tonight's WWE Raw show in Portland, with Superstars matches, dark matches, and anything else not on the live show at dave@wrestlingobserver.com We're also looking for reports on the Saturday night house show in Pullman, WA and yesterday's house show in Boise, ID.
The Monday Night Wars return tonight with Raw from Portland, OR, with John Cena vs. Vince McMahon and Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase Cody Rhodes as the main matches. Criss Angel will be the guest host.
TNA goes live head-to-head at 9 p.m. Eastern from Orlando. Hulk Hogan Abyss vs. Ric Flair A.J. Styles is the only thing announced. Jeff Hardy, Sting and Rob Van Dam are all scheduled tonight, and Scott Hall's remarks on the web say he and Syxx-Pac face Kevin Nash and some guy whose name he doesn't remember (Eric Young) tonight. And if you can't believe Scott Hell, who can you believe?
Tuesday has Smackdown NXT both being taped in Seattle, while the 3/15 Impact will be taped on Tuesday in Orlando.
UFC Unleashed airs 7-9 p.m. tonight on Spike before Impact.
ROH tonight at 8 p.m. on HDNet has:
Skullcrusher Rasche Brown vs. Caleb Konley
Chris Hero Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bravado Brothers
Kevin Steen vs. Rhett Titus in a TV title tournament match
El Generico vs. Kenny King in a TV title tournament match
Between unique wrestling shows, crazy promos, legal actions, more on WWE's business year in review, the most updated analysis of the chess game between UFC and Strikeforce, the death of Umaga, more on the Ric Flair situation with his wife, where MMA stands on CBS as well as the next planned show, we've got two issues of the Observer coming out this week.
Both issues are now available right now on the web site.
We look at the Frank Mir reaction to his own apology, and his reaction to his reaction, as well as comments by Brock Lesnar, and then the story behind Marcus Davis wishing a death of AIDS to Dan Hardy and why this stuff is more dangerous in UFC right now then if it was to happen in pro wrestling or boxing.
We also look at the UFC vs. Strikeforce promotional war regarding April, how the signing of James Toney fits in, proposed opponents for Toney, and a look at how ratings and buy rates could be affected depending on when the head-to-head battle takes place. We also look at Toney going in, his unique contract, his background as a boxer, the first time Toney was talked with about coming to UFC and his opponent scheduled at the time and more.
We also have as part of our business year in review, live attendance for WWE arena dates averaged for the last 18 years, ratings comparisons for the last several years, as well as TNA's numbers for the past few years.
We have more on the death of Edward Umaga Fatu, looking at his cause of death, his career, his getting fired by WWE and post-WWE.
We also look at the 10 questions for Linda McMahon, the reality of the situation and what questions are easy and difficult for her to answer.
We also have a look at the audience that watches, UFC, Strikeforce, WWE, TNA along with the NBA, NFL, boxing, NHL and baseball and compare and contrast, both in ages, ethnicity, education and earnings. This is some very interesting information that relate to advertising as well as showing the major differences in UFC vs. Strikeforce, UFC vs. WWE and TNA vs. WWE.
We also have more on the Ric Flair situation with the release of the 911 call by Rene Beems about the incident with Flair and Jacqueline Beems, the content of the call and more information on the incident.
We also have a look at the situation regarding Awesome Kong and Bubba the Love Sponge, and the unique situation it has put TNA in. We look at her claims, his responses, and more on the original incident between the two.
We look at the next Strikeforce show on CBS, the Strikeforce/Dream relationship, matches planned for the company's next two major events, why this CBS special is important and if it's successful, how that impact the business going forward. We also look at how CBS is going to cross-promote the show with one of its major prime-time series, a look at the three CBS matches, who is Shinya Aoki, as well as more on Herschel Walker, as well as obstacles put forth in the path of the company's PPV idea of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Alistair Overeem.
We also have a complete rundown of the Dragon Gate USA show that plays throughout March, with notes on the show and coverage of all the matches and angles.
We also have more on WWE business in 2009, including more notes on live attendance throughout the year, the drop in North American PPV vs. the drop in international PPV and why, a look at the government incentives WWE has been able to take advantage of, the growth in some revenue streams and losses in others. We look at the profitability of every aspect of company business as well as a chart showing which revenue streams are the most and least important right now. We also look at how much WWE spent on an average PPV in 2008 and 2009, and it's quite the eye opener.
We also have a look at comparing now to 1995, as where WWE and TNA are now leading into the new Monday Night Wars, and where WWF and WCW were leading into the first Monday Night Wars.
We also have a WrestleMania update, more update on WWE changes in PPV in 2010 and why one of the weakest PPV shows of last year wasn't cut. We also have a rundown of WWE firings over the past week, who was and wasn't expected, why and notes on all involved including some comments from people on the firings. We look at each person's chances with TNA, a bio of Mad Dog Vachon, lots of more Hall of Fame notes, more on NXT and different ideas that were batted around and may or may not show up in future episodes.
We've got more on Jim Ross' future, probably the most-watched pro wrestling match on U.S. TV of the 70s, update on guest hosts and injuries, several new wrestlers signed, new DVDs, some new angles talked about, something about NXT and finishing moves that came up, more on comments by Shad Gaspard, developmental news as well as business notes and highlights from the weekend house shows.
We also have updates on the Linda McMahon senatorial campaign and how pro wrestling is being dragged more and more into the campaign.
We also have a rundown of the next season of Ultimate Fighter, with a complete look at the cast, who they are, their record, what they've done and personality notes.
We've got a rundown of two major Japanese events, the NOAH show at Budokan Hall and atmosphere of NOAH vs. New Japan, as well as the pro wrestling world champion vs. kickboxing world champion match and pro wrestler bench press contest held at a unique show this past week.
We also have our usual weekly features such as the results of the
biggest matches of the week and rundown of the major television shows.
biggest matches of the week and rundown of the major television shows.
The Wrestling Observer ranges from 25,000 to 40,000 words covering
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Also in this week's issues
–Hulk Hogan talks Vince McMahon
–Update on Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy
–Pro wrestling Hall of Famer gets shut down in run for major political office and why
–Ken Anderson talks about what happened the night he was fired by WWE
–Title with the longest history in the business may be taken from its hosting promotion after more than 70 years
–Wrestler claims wrestling icon threatened to legitimately kill him
–A look back at the name TNA and where it started
–TNA's new U.K. deal for PPV shows and the power of the station they are on
–Eric Bischoff talks the recent ratings
–More on the Chuck Liddell nude video as well as the woman in it with him
–UFC sets a company event business record
–More on recent PPV business
–New TV commercial with MMA star
–Update on states that do not regulate MMA in the U.S.
–Latest Chael Sonnen comment
–A look at the price tag for the WEC PPV and what our poll shows about the best price point
–Tons of new UFC and WEC matches either signed or in the process of discussion
–Update on negotiations for interpromotional angle
–Unique look at a legend to be honored at a show in a few weeks because of what he did to screw with the ruling family that is still in power
–TV ratings for Mexico
–Complete lineup for AAA's first major show of the year including TNA star challenging for the world title
–New tournament taking place patterned after legendary tournaments of the past
–NOAH talking about big show plans for the summer
–New Japan instituting its Hall of Fame equivalent
–Hall of Famer comes out of retirement to team with son in his pro wrestling debut
–Different title vs. title matches signed
–A big promotion vs. promotion main event takes place this week
–Two wrestling theme songs played at Olympic closing ceremonies
–Two pro wrestlers get roles in upcoming major movie
–Wrestler arrested in sexual assault case against a 12-year-old
–More on the death of Ron Martinez and the attempt in 1975 to build a national wrestling promotion with one of baseball's most well-known owners
–A look back at Jack Brisco vs. Billy Robinson as well as the first stadium Dory Funk Jr. vs. Jack Brisco match, when they were just in prelims
–The Thesz/Tragos Hall of Fame inductees for this year
–TV commercial featuring a former pro wrestling star banned by DirecTV
–Iron Sheik ruins a wedding
–A crazy indie lineup
–The next Dream show
–Man who drew second biggest buy rate of 2006 debuts in MMA
–WWE execs get huge money benefits this past week
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues can get free issues from the
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issues and one for 24. Let us know which stories you are most interested
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we'll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We've got
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issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue. Our most requested issues in
our history are:
*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous
wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a
history of in-ring double-crosses)
last 18 years. You can get 2 free back issues by ordering 40 or more
issues and one for 24. Let us know which stories 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 18 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. Our most requested issues in
our history are:
*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous
wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a
history of in-ring double-crosses)
*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation
right before the Survivor Series match so you'll know exactly what was
said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural
broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but
everything that was said between the two about the match that was going
to take place that same night)
*August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon
steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article
and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)
*March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner
networks)
*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such
great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)
*July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid
trial)
*February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)
*May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career
ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our
history)
*January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career
and life of The Sheik)
*February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people
who worked with him and where he stands historically)
*March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino,
Backlund and Backlund era)
*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally,
the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk
Hogan)
*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth, and the rise of fall of
Lex Luger)
*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say
was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)
*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals
and friends)
*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the
plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the
night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined
for a joint show and what happened)
*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the
controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as
historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)
*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the
seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s,
Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding
world title and much more)
*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of
Road Warrior Hawk)
*January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)
*February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story,
Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)
*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy's win over Brock
Lesnar)
*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the
company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the
business changed)
*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best
and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and
Wrestlemania history books)
*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair's book and his
background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)
*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair's book and his comments on
Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)
*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)
*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year
with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund,
Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts
as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately,
due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)
*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details
of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in
pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)
*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle
and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the
history of TNA)
*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)
*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a
look at their Hall of Fame)
*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)
*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW,
as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and
behind the scenes of both shows)
*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at
the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings,
Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental
territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized
issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul
Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)
*September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)
*October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)
*November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double
issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on
its own, $7 overseas)
*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New
Year's Eve 2005 coverage)
*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)
*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller
Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)
*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame
week)
*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class
Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)
*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame
inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and
Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from
the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working
in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7
overseas)
*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of
Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him
tick as his real objectives)
*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff's book and how
the industry was changed forever)
*November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How
Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro,
Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania
planned celebrity away)
*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged
McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and
why it didn't click)
*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride's offers to sell promotion and
Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why
there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real
reasons the company fell apart)
*January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8
overseas)
*February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bam Bigelow)
*March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)
*March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)
*March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)
*April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are
calling one of the best issues in history)
*July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his
influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)
*October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas
including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler
Lewis)
*November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S.
women's wrestling) .
*December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at
the Greensboro Coliseum)
*January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8
overseas)
*March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)
*March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)
*April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks
of Flair's meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on
its own, $8 overseas)
*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers
and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)
*September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8
overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)*September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)
*September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our
most in-depth bios)
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To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a
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–We want to express our condolences to Todd Martin, a member of the Observer family who does the Raw reports, whose mother passed away this morning.
–The Rob Simmons campaign put out another press release regarding the ten questions to Linda McMahon, claiming she has dodged the questions now for six days. They have a running clock up on their web site. The release lists reaction to the ten questions leading off with and including a lot of stuff from this coming Wednesday's Observer Newsletter story.
–David Hasselhoff will be the guest host of the 4/12 Raw show in London, England.
–A Shawn Michaels/Undertaker confrontation is scheduled to start Raw tonight at 9 p.m.
–Al Snow is getting a tryout for a job as an agent with TNA at the tapings this week.
–Mickie James was released from the hospital over the weekend after undergoing surgery to treat a staph infection in her foot.
–We will have Observer radio tonight covering both Impact and Raw late tonight. If you've got any questions on the show, send them to the address on the front page and we'll try and get to them.
–Rob Van Dam on the death of Umaga: Umaga's toxicology report came back and to the surprise of no one, he was quite medicated. The one that gets them every time is a muscle relaxer called soma…or technically referred to as carisprodol Oh, the boys are hating read this, but I'm not giving up any secret to success. I'm just telling it like it is, like I always do. I'm not rehashing old news that was just bad publicity and better off left alone. I'm talking about current life. It's really good and I'd like my friends to continue enjoying it, so please stay the fuck away from soma abuse. If anyone does the research on the dozens of my deceased brethren, and finds that my claim that 75% or more of the drug-related deaths is inconsistent with the truth, please tell me. I bet you'll learn something during the research.
–Jesse Ventura will be a guest on Larry King Live tonight at 9 p.m. talking about more government lies.
–Bubba the Love Sponge and Hulk Hogan tried to set Ventura up, as Ventura was a guest on the show, but Ventura went and signed off himself before they could get to him.
–Bubba said he wanted Hulk Hogan to talk to Dixie Carter about doing a Bubba Night. Hogan said they need to get out of the studio (Impct Zone).
–The Charlotte Observer has a note on Ric Flair wrestling tonight at http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/08/1299317/flair-returns-to-wrestling-tonight.html Just a five paragraph story that doesn't really say much other than Flair coming out of retirement for the match.
–TNA contacted Harley Race to appear at its Fan Fest before Bound for Glory in St. Louis. Race told them he would only do it if Vince McMahon gives him permission because he won't do anything to hurt his relationship with McMahon.
–Poll on Smackdown from Friday night:
Excellent 17.3%
Good 52.0%
Average 15.6%
Fair 5.2%
Poor 9.8%
30.8% of those responding didn't see the show
–Who do you consider the biggest star in wrestling or MMA?
Brock Lesnar 29.7%
Hulk Hogan 25.5%
John Cena 14.8%
Undertaker 7.3%
GSP 6.6%
Shawn Michaels 4.9%
Chris Jericho 4.6%
Jeff Hardy 3.2%
Randy Orton 1.8%
HHH 1.0%
Rey Mysterio 0.4%
B.J. Penn 0.3%
–TNA will be doing house shows this weekend after on Friday night in Erie, PA, Saturday in Pittsburgh and Sunday in Wheeling.
–UFC TV schedule on Spike this week has Unleashed tomorrow from 8-10 p.m. with Wanderlei Silva vs. Keith Jardine, Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. future porn star nut case Jon Koppenhaver, Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes, Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Heath Herring, Marcus Davis vs. Paul Taylor, Matt Serra vs. Kelly Dullanty and Wanderlei Silva vs. Tony Petarra. Wednesday will be a replay of UFC 108, headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva,. from 7:30 - 10 p.m., followed by the debut of UFC Prime Time, building up Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy. The show airs at 10 p.m. and will be replayed at 10:30 p.m. It will be the first of a three week series leading up to the 3/27 fight.
–Versus will be airing a replay of Saturday night's show from Columbus, OH at 9 p.m. on Wednesday or head-to-head with UFC on Spike./
–Dragon Gate USA has tickets on sale starting today for the 5/7 show in Windsor, Ontario, the 5/8 show in Mississauaga, ONT and the first anniversary show on 7/24 in Philadelphia. Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk and Pac are booked on the Canadian shows.
–Punks International Wrestling drew 1,100 fans on Saturday night in Cedartown, GA: Simon Sermon b John Arden, David Young b Shaun Banks, Tracy Taylor b Velvet Sky, Nigel Sherrod b Too Talll Shortts in a loser leaves town match, Alexander the Great Terry Lawler Bobby Hayes b Chris Ganzer Chris Lightning to win the tag team titles, A.J. Styles NC Air Paris in 22:24. Styles was about to win when Ron Simmons came out, and they argued, with Styles called Simmons, Boy and Simmons decked him. (thanks to Larry Goodman)
–Jim Ross noted on his blog at http://www.jrsbarbq.com that yesterday was the date Paul Boesch died at the age of 76 and was also the birthday of Bruce Prichard, who got started in wrestling working as an office assistant for Boesch when he was a teenager. Ross noted about the arguments between Boesch and Bill Watts when Watts ran Mid South and Boesch's city, Houston, was the largest market they ran in and both had very different ideas about booking. He also noted doing commentary with Boesch was not one of his favorite things to do. Boesch and Ross had very different commentary styles. By how I would judge an announcer, Boesch was not very good, but in Houston, he was the local institution on television. He talked folksy to the people while Ross was high intensity trying to get over the storylines as he was taught by Watts and it was a contrast that wasn't comfortable for either.
–The ESPN sports anchor who called Winthrop College's Matt Morgan The Blueprint over the weekend is Robert Flores, and it's not the first time he's made a pro wrestling reference during highlights (thanks to Robert Miqueli)
–Grant Zwarych has a History of WCW Slamboree special with the eight issues (1993-2000) of the Observer covering Slamboree for $34 in the U.S. or Canada or $57 overseas. You can order via paypal to grantsindex@nexicom.net You can also get a $2 discount on orders via U.S. postal money order which have to be peach international money orders to Grant Zwarych, 151 Hart Ave., Peterborough, ONT K9J 5C5
–Joe
dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We're looking for your thoughts on both Friday night's Dragon Gate USA PPV and Saturday night's WEC show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We're also looking for live reports on tonight's WWE Raw show in Portland, with Superstars matches, dark matches, and anything else not on the live show at dave@wrestlingobserver.com We're also looking for reports on the Saturday night house show in Pullman, WA and yesterday's house show in Boise, ID.
The Monday Night Wars return tonight with Raw from Portland, OR, with John Cena vs. Vince McMahon and Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase Cody Rhodes as the main matches. Criss Angel will be the guest host.
TNA goes live head-to-head at 9 p.m. Eastern from Orlando. Hulk Hogan Abyss vs. Ric Flair A.J. Styles is the only thing announced. Jeff Hardy, Sting and Rob Van Dam are all scheduled tonight, and Scott Hall's remarks on the web say he and Syxx-Pac face Kevin Nash and some guy whose name he doesn't remember (Eric Young) tonight. And if you can't believe Scott Hell, who can you believe?
Tuesday has Smackdown NXT both being taped in Seattle, while the 3/15 Impact will be taped on Tuesday in Orlando.
UFC Unleashed airs 7-9 p.m. tonight on Spike before Impact.
ROH tonight at 8 p.m. on HDNet has:
Skullcrusher Rasche Brown vs. Caleb Konley
Chris Hero Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bravado Brothers
Kevin Steen vs. Rhett Titus in a TV title tournament match
El Generico vs. Kenny King in a TV title tournament match
Between unique wrestling shows, crazy promos, legal actions, more on WWE's business year in review, the most updated analysis of the chess game between UFC and Strikeforce, the death of Umaga, more on the Ric Flair situation with his wife, where MMA stands on CBS as well as the next planned show, we've got two issues of the Observer coming out this week.
Both issues are now available right now on the web site.
We look at the Frank Mir reaction to his own apology, and his reaction to his reaction, as well as comments by Brock Lesnar, and then the story behind Marcus Davis wishing a death of AIDS to Dan Hardy and why this stuff is more dangerous in UFC right now then if it was to happen in pro wrestling or boxing.
We also look at the UFC vs. Strikeforce promotional war regarding April, how the signing of James Toney fits in, proposed opponents for Toney, and a look at how ratings and buy rates could be affected depending on when the head-to-head battle takes place. We also look at Toney going in, his unique contract, his background as a boxer, the first time Toney was talked with about coming to UFC and his opponent scheduled at the time and more.
We also have as part of our business year in review, live attendance for WWE arena dates averaged for the last 18 years, ratings comparisons for the last several years, as well as TNA's numbers for the past few years.
We have more on the death of Edward Umaga Fatu, looking at his cause of death, his career, his getting fired by WWE and post-WWE.
We also look at the 10 questions for Linda McMahon, the reality of the situation and what questions are easy and difficult for her to answer.
We also have a look at the audience that watches, UFC, Strikeforce, WWE, TNA along with the NBA, NFL, boxing, NHL and baseball and compare and contrast, both in ages, ethnicity, education and earnings. This is some very interesting information that relate to advertising as well as showing the major differences in UFC vs. Strikeforce, UFC vs. WWE and TNA vs. WWE.
We also have more on the Ric Flair situation with the release of the 911 call by Rene Beems about the incident with Flair and Jacqueline Beems, the content of the call and more information on the incident.
We also have a look at the situation regarding Awesome Kong and Bubba the Love Sponge, and the unique situation it has put TNA in. We look at her claims, his responses, and more on the original incident between the two.
We look at the next Strikeforce show on CBS, the Strikeforce/Dream relationship, matches planned for the company's next two major events, why this CBS special is important and if it's successful, how that impact the business going forward. We also look at how CBS is going to cross-promote the show with one of its major prime-time series, a look at the three CBS matches, who is Shinya Aoki, as well as more on Herschel Walker, as well as obstacles put forth in the path of the company's PPV idea of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Alistair Overeem.
We also have a complete rundown of the Dragon Gate USA show that plays throughout March, with notes on the show and coverage of all the matches and angles.
We also have more on WWE business in 2009, including more notes on live attendance throughout the year, the drop in North American PPV vs. the drop in international PPV and why, a look at the government incentives WWE has been able to take advantage of, the growth in some revenue streams and losses in others. We look at the profitability of every aspect of company business as well as a chart showing which revenue streams are the most and least important right now. We also look at how much WWE spent on an average PPV in 2008 and 2009, and it's quite the eye opener.
We also have a look at comparing now to 1995, as where WWE and TNA are now leading into the new Monday Night Wars, and where WWF and WCW were leading into the first Monday Night Wars.
We also have a WrestleMania update, more update on WWE changes in PPV in 2010 and why one of the weakest PPV shows of last year wasn't cut. We also have a rundown of WWE firings over the past week, who was and wasn't expected, why and notes on all involved including some comments from people on the firings. We look at each person's chances with TNA, a bio of Mad Dog Vachon, lots of more Hall of Fame notes, more on NXT and different ideas that were batted around and may or may not show up in future episodes.
We've got more on Jim Ross' future, probably the most-watched pro wrestling match on U.S. TV of the 70s, update on guest hosts and injuries, several new wrestlers signed, new DVDs, some new angles talked about, something about NXT and finishing moves that came up, more on comments by Shad Gaspard, developmental news as well as business notes and highlights from the weekend house shows.
We also have updates on the Linda McMahon senatorial campaign and how pro wrestling is being dragged more and more into the campaign.
We also have a rundown of the next season of Ultimate Fighter, with a complete look at the cast, who they are, their record, what they've done and personality notes.
We've got a rundown of two major Japanese events, the NOAH show at Budokan Hall and atmosphere of NOAH vs. New Japan, as well as the pro wrestling world champion vs. kickboxing world champion match and pro wrestler bench press contest held at a unique show this past week.
We also have our usual weekly features such as the results of the
biggest matches of the week and rundown of the major television shows.
biggest matches of the week and rundown of the major television shows.
The Wrestling Observer ranges from 25,000 to 40,000 words covering
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Also in this week's issues
–Hulk Hogan talks Vince McMahon
–Update on Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy
–Pro wrestling Hall of Famer gets shut down in run for major political office and why
–Ken Anderson talks about what happened the night he was fired by WWE
–Title with the longest history in the business may be taken from its hosting promotion after more than 70 years
–Wrestler claims wrestling icon threatened to legitimately kill him
–A look back at the name TNA and where it started
–TNA's new U.K. deal for PPV shows and the power of the station they are on
–Eric Bischoff talks the recent ratings
–More on the Chuck Liddell nude video as well as the woman in it with him
–UFC sets a company event business record
–More on recent PPV business
–New TV commercial with MMA star
–Update on states that do not regulate MMA in the U.S.
–Latest Chael Sonnen comment
–A look at the price tag for the WEC PPV and what our poll shows about the best price point
–Tons of new UFC and WEC matches either signed or in the process of discussion
–Update on negotiations for interpromotional angle
–Unique look at a legend to be honored at a show in a few weeks because of what he did to screw with the ruling family that is still in power
–TV ratings for Mexico
–Complete lineup for AAA's first major show of the year including TNA star challenging for the world title
–New tournament taking place patterned after legendary tournaments of the past
–NOAH talking about big show plans for the summer
–New Japan instituting its Hall of Fame equivalent
–Hall of Famer comes out of retirement to team with son in his pro wrestling debut
–Different title vs. title matches signed
–A big promotion vs. promotion main event takes place this week
–Two wrestling theme songs played at Olympic closing ceremonies
–Two pro wrestlers get roles in upcoming major movie
–Wrestler arrested in sexual assault case against a 12-year-old
–More on the death of Ron Martinez and the attempt in 1975 to build a national wrestling promotion with one of baseball's most well-known owners
–A look back at Jack Brisco vs. Billy Robinson as well as the first stadium Dory Funk Jr. vs. Jack Brisco match, when they were just in prelims
–The Thesz/Tragos Hall of Fame inductees for this year
–TV commercial featuring a former pro wrestling star banned by DirecTV
–Iron Sheik ruins a wedding
–A crazy indie lineup
–The next Dream show
–Man who drew second biggest buy rate of 2006 debuts in MMA
–WWE execs get huge money benefits this past week
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues can get free issues from the
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we'll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We've got
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into those descriptions over the past 18 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. Our most requested issues in
our history are:
*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous
wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a
history of in-ring double-crosses)
last 18 years. You can get 2 free back issues by ordering 40 or more
issues and one for 24. Let us know which stories 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 18 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. Our most requested issues in
our history are:
*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous
wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a
history of in-ring double-crosses)
*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation
right before the Survivor Series match so you'll know exactly what was
said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural
broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but
everything that was said between the two about the match that was going
to take place that same night)
*August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon
steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article
and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)
*March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner
networks)
*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such
great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)
*July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid
trial)
*February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)
*May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career
ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our
history)
*January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career
and life of The Sheik)
*February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people
who worked with him and where he stands historically)
*March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino,
Backlund and Backlund era)
*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally,
the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk
Hogan)
*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth, and the rise of fall of
Lex Luger)
*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say
was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)
*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals
and friends)
*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the
plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the
night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined
for a joint show and what happened)
*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the
controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as
historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)
*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the
seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s,
Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding
world title and much more)
*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of
Road Warrior Hawk)
*January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)
*February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story,
Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)
*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy's win over Brock
Lesnar)
*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the
company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the
business changed)
*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best
and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and
Wrestlemania history books)
*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair's book and his
background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)
*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair's book and his comments on
Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)
*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)
*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year
with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund,
Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts
as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately,
due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)
*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details
of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in
pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)
*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle
and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the
history of TNA)
*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)
*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a
look at their Hall of Fame)
*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)
*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW,
as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and
behind the scenes of both shows)
*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at
the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings,
Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental
territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized
issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul
Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)
*September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)
*October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)
*November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double
issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on
its own, $7 overseas)
*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New
Year's Eve 2005 coverage)
*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)
*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller
Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)
*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame
week)
*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class
Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)
*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame
inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and
Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from
the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working
in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7
overseas)
*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of
Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him
tick as his real objectives)
*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff's book and how
the industry was changed forever)
*November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How
Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro,
Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania
planned celebrity away)
*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged
McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and
why it didn't click)
*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride's offers to sell promotion and
Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why
there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real
reasons the company fell apart)
*January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8
overseas)
*February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bam Bigelow)
*March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)
*March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)
*March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)
*April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are
calling one of the best issues in history)
*July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his
influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)
*October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas
including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler
Lewis)
*November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S.
women's wrestling) .
*December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at
the Greensboro Coliseum)
*January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8
overseas)
*March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)
*March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)
*April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks
of Flair's meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on
its own, $8 overseas)
*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers
and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)
*September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8
overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)*September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)
*September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our
most in-depth bios)
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To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a
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can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.
–We want to express our condolences to Todd Martin, a member of the Observer family who does the Raw reports, whose mother passed away this morning.
–The Rob Simmons campaign put out another press release regarding the ten questions to Linda McMahon, claiming she has dodged the questions now for six days. They have a running clock up on their web site. The release lists reaction to the ten questions leading off with and including a lot of stuff from this coming Wednesday's Observer Newsletter story.
–Mickie James was released from the hospital over the weekend after undergoing surgery to treat a staph infection in her foot.
–We will have Observer radio tonight covering both Impact and Raw late tonight. If you've got any questions on the show, send them to the address on the front page and we'll try and get to them.
–Rob Van Dam on the death of Umaga: Umaga's toxicology report came back and to the surprise of no one, he was quite medicated. The one that gets them every time is a muscle relaxer called soma…or technically referred to as carisprodol Oh, the boys are hating read this, but I'm not giving up any secret to success. I'm just telling it like it is, like I always do. I'm not rehashing old news that was just bad publicity and better off left alone. I'm talking about current life. It's really good and I'd like my friends to continue enjoying it, so please stay the fuck away from soma abuse. If anyone does the research on the dozens of my deceased brethren, and finds that my claim that 75% or more of the drug-related deaths is inconsistent with the truth, please tell me. I bet you'll learn something during the research.
–The Charlotte Observer has a note on Ric Flair wrestling tonight at http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/08/1299317/flair-returns-to-wrestling-tonight.html Just a five paragraph story that doesn't really say much other than Flair coming out of retirement for the match.
–TNA contacted Harley Race to appear at its Fan Fest before Bound for Glory in St. Louis. Race told them he would only do it if Vince McMahon gives him permission because he won't do anything to hurt his relationship with McMahon.
–Poll on Smackdown from Friday night:
Excellent 17.3%
Good 52.0%
Average 15.6%
Fair 5.2%
Poor 9.8%
30.8% of those responding didn't see the show
–Who do you consider the biggest star in wrestling or MMA?
Brock Lesnar 29.7%
Hulk Hogan 25.5%
John Cena 14.8%
Undertaker 7.3%
GSP 6.6%
Shawn Michaels 4.9%
Chris Jericho 4.6%
Jeff Hardy 3.2%
Randy Orton 1.8%
HHH 1.0%
Rey Mysterio 0.4%
B.J. Penn 0.3%
–TNA will be doing house shows this weekend after on Friday night in Erie, PA, Saturday in Pittsburgh and Sunday in Wheeling.
–UFC TV schedule on Spike this week has Unleashed tomorrow from 8-10 p.m. with Wanderlei Silva vs. Keith Jardine, Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. future porn star nut case Jon Koppenhaver, Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes, Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Heath Herring, Marcus Davis vs. Paul Taylor, Matt Serra vs. Kelly Dullanty and Wanderlei Silva vs. Tony Petarra. Wednesday will be a replay of UFC 108, headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva,. from 7:30 - 10 p.m., followed by the debut of UFC Prime Time, building up Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy. The show airs at 10 p.m. and will be replayed at 10:30 p.m. It will be the first of a three week series leading up to the 3/27 fight.
–Versus will be airing a replay of Saturday night's show from Columbus, OH at 9 p.m. on Wednesday or head-to-head with UFC on Spike./
–Dragon Gate USA has tickets on sale starting today for the 5/7 show in Windsor, Ontario, the 5/8 show in Mississauaga, ONT and the first anniversary show on 7/24 in Philadelphia. Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk and Pac are booked on the Canadian shows.
–Punks International Wrestling drew 1,100 fans on Saturday night in Cedartown, GA: Simon Sermon b John Arden, David Young b Shaun Banks, Tracy Taylor b Velvet Sky, Nigel Sherrod b Too Talll Shortts in a loser leaves town match, Alexander the Great Terry Lawler Bobby Hayes b Chris Ganzer Chris Lightning to win the tag team titles, A.J. Styles NC Air Paris in 22:24. Styles was about to win when Ron Simmons came out, and they argued, with Styles called Simmons, Boy and Simmons decked him. (thanks to Larry Goodman)
–Jim Ross noted on his blog at http://www.jrsbarbq.com that yesterday was the date Paul Boesch died at the age of 76 and was also the birthday of Bruce Prichard, who got started in wrestling working as an office assistant for Boesch when he was a teenager. Ross noted about the arguments between Boesch and Bill Watts when Watts ran Mid South and Boesch's city, Houston, was the largest market they ran in and both had very different ideas about booking. He also noted doing commentary with Boesch was not one of his favorite things to do. Boesch and Ross had very different commentary styles. By how I would judge an announcer, Boesch was not very good, but in Houston, he was the local institution on television. He talked folksy to the people while Ross was high intensity trying to get over the storylines as he was taught by Watts and it was a contrast that wasn't comfortable for either.
–The ESPN sports anchor who called Winthrop College's Matt Morgan The Blueprint over the weekend is Robert Flores, and it's not the first time he's made a pro wrestling reference during highlights (thanks to Robert Miqueli)
–Grant Zwarych has a History of WCW Slamboree special with the eight issues (1993-2000) of the Observer covering Slamboree for $34 in the U.S. or Canada or $57 overseas. You can order via paypal to grantsindex@nexicom.net You can also get a $2 discount on orders via U.S. postal money order which have to be peach international money orders to Grant Zwarych, 151 Hart Ave., Peterborough, ONT K9J 5C5
–Joe Vithayathll, a feature reporter for Good Day Oregon on KPTV in Portland, who did a segment with MVP to promote tonight's Raw in the city, wrote a story on why he will never interview a WWE performer on the show again http://www.kptv.com/joev/index.html
–Kofi Kingston will be signing autographs at the FCW show on 3/31 in Fort Myers, FL at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center. The first 500 fans get a free beach ball and there will be a Big Wiggle contest with the ten finalists getting to do the Big Wiggle in the ring with Norman Smiley, an FCW coach.
–ESPN in the U.K. announced its schedule for 3/27. MMA Live will air at 11:45 p.m., followed by an All Access with Quinton Jackson special at 12:30 a.m. The Countdown to UFC 111 airs at 1 a.m. and the live show starts at 2 a.m.
–NWS from Saturday night in Point Pleasant, NJ: Joey Janella Rocco Dorsey b Mikey Pacifica Judas Young, Illegal Outer Space Alien Gee-Had DCOR Manual Manny Moore Slayer, Nigerian Nightmares b J.D. Smoothie A.C. Kewl, Ryan Blackheart Ray-Ray Marz b Corey Havoc Nicky Oceans, Snitsky The Equalizer b Baghdad Bullies
–WSU before a sellout on Saturday night in Union City, NJ for a DVD taping: Angelina Love b Sassy Stephanie, Amber Lexxus b Tina San Antonio Marti Belle, Alere Little Feather b Rick Cataldo, Cindy Rogers b Allere Little Feather, Jana b Lathasha in a submission match, Angel Orsini won three-way street fight over Sumie Sakai and Amy Lee, Brittney Savage b Alicia, April Hunter b Traci Brooks (the two after the match announced they were becoming a tag team), Amber O'Neal b Jazz, Mercedes Martinez b Rain to keep their world title with Molly Holly as referee in 35:00. They also did a Hall of Fame ceremony with Alicia inducting Dawn Marie, Orsini inducting Molly Holly and Martinez inducting Jazz.
–The Sporting News web site had a note about Lamar Odom of the Lakers comparing Matt Barnes of the Orlando Magic to Ric Flair. Odom
noted how Barnes got the crowd into the game just like Ric Flair would do in a match.
–CZW on Saturday night in Philadelphia at the Arena has Jon Moxley defending the CZW title against Nick Gage, Thumbtack Jack vs. J.C. Bailey, B-Boy vs. Sami Callihan, The Best Around vs. Ryan McBride Rich Swann and more. There is also a 2:30 p.m. wXw show at the Arena headlined by Drake Younger vs. Thumbtack Jack, B-Boy vs. Chris Hero and American Wolves vs. Moxley Callihan
–Dynamic Championship Wrestling on 3/13 in Piqua, OH at the National Guard Armory
–Classic Championship Wrestling on 3/27 in Marysville, PA at the Lion's Club
–EWF from last night in Covina, CA: Ray Rosas b Brandon Parker, Maxx Damage (big guy from New Zealand training here for a WWE tryout) b El Gran Maravilla, Scorpio Sky b Jeremey Jaeger, David Jones Ryan Stone b SoCal Crazy Espiritu Infernal, Tim Lovato b Jarek Matthews, Extreme Loco b Chris Kadillak, Ryan Taylor b Mondo Vega in a street fight to keep EWF title
–Cage Wars in the U.K. will be airing in the U.S. on Sun Sports in Florida
–Irv Muchnick, author of Chris Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death will appear at the Borders in Stamford, CT on Thursday at 7 p.m. and in Farmington on Saturday at 1 p.m.
–Al Snow, Greg Valentine and Roni Jonah appears this weekend at Monster Mania in Cherry Hill, NJ at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. For more info go to http://www.monstermania.net
–Showtime All-Star Wrestling on Saturday night in Nashville at the Fairgrounds features a cage match with Chase Stevens vs. Andy Douglas for the International; title, Hammerjack vs. Mark Anthony in a street fight, PG-13 defending the tag titles against Derrick King Enterprises and Brian Christopher vs. Rick Santel, plus Downtown Bruno.
–Former Elite XC promoter Gary Shaw's father passed away a few days ago. One thing from a historical standpoint is that if it wasn't for Shaw's belief in Gina Carano as a star in 2007, women's MMA would have never gotten the exposure it did. Showtime was negative about allowing Carano to fight, and he was insistent, and it came down to a deal where Showtime gave Carano one shot, and she and Julie Kedzie stole the show and it was never an issue again.
–All Star Wrestling on 3/20 in Abbotsford, BC at the Abbey Arts Centre headlined by Disco Fury vs. Christopher Ryseck
–Jim Duggan headlines a 4/30 show for WWA in Melbourne, FL at the County Line Saloon. Also on the show are Jesse Neal and Kizarny
–Ed Loredo and Cutrer talk about women's wrestling on the Drunkcast at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Edward-Loredo
–A Bay Bombers vs. Brooklyn Red Devils Roller Derby game on Saturday night nearly sold out Kezar Pavilion (about 3,500 seats). 70s star Little Richard Brown, who is older than Ric Flair, skated on the show. The line to get into the building was two blocks down the street. The next game is 5/1 and they are bringing in Judy Arnold, a legend from the 70s, as well as Mike Flaningam, who in the 80s was an unreal performer, as well as former RollerJam stars Sean Atkinson and Denice Loden.
–Greg Valentine headlines for NWS on 3/12 in Long Branch, NJ at the Seashore Broadway Gym and 3/13 in Sayreville, NJ at the Knights of Columbus Hall
–Jonny Fairplay interviews Larry Zbyszko and Tajiri about Survivor at http://www.geekweek.com/2010/03/jonny-fairplays-survivor-heroes-vs-villains-4.html
–Michael Blanton wrote that he tried to purchase tickets for the Mick Foley comedy show the night before WrestleMania in Phoenix today, but Ticketmaster had no tickets on sale. They were at first supposed to go on sale today.
–Time Warner on Demand has a UFC 111 preview in its Events Free preview section covering the two main events, GSP vs. Dan Hardy and Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin
–Maria Kanellis has started a web site at www.mariakanellis.net talking about her release. She said she's not mad and she understands.
Bithayathll, a feature reporter for Good Day Oregon on KPTV in Portland, who did a segment with MVP to promote tonight's Raw in the city, wrote a story on why he will never interview a WWE performer on the show again at http://www.kptv.com/joey/index.html
–Kofi Kingston will be signing autographs at the FCW show on 3/31 in Fort Myers, FL at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center. The first 500 fans get a free beach ball and there will be a Big Wiggle contest with the ten finalists getting to do the Big Wiggle in the ring with Norman Smiley, an FCW coach.
–ESPN in the U.K. announced its schedule for 3/27. MMA Live will air at 11:45 p.m., followed by an All Access with Quinton Jackson special at 12:30 a.m. The Countdown to UFC 111 airs at 1 a.m. and the live show starts at 2 a.m.
–NWS from Saturday night in Point Pleasant, NJ: Joey Janella Rocco Dorsey b Mikey Pacifica Judas Young, Illegal Outer Space Alien Gee-Had DCOR Manual Manny Moore Slayer, Nigerian Nightmares b J.D. Smoothie A.C. Kewl, Ryan Blackheart Ray-Ray Marz b Corey Havoc Nicky Oceans, Snitsky The Equalizer b Baghdad Bullies
–WSU before a sellout on Saturday night in Union City, NJ for a DVD taping: Angelina Love b Sassy Stephanie, Amber Lexxus b Tina San Antonio Marti Belle, Alere Little Feather b Rick Cataldo, Cindy Rogers b Allere Little Feather, Jana b Lathasha in a submission match, Angel Orsini won three-way street fight over Sumie Sakai and Amy Lee, Brittney Savage b Alicia, April Hunter b Traci Brooks (the two after the match announced they were becoming a tag team), Amber O'Neal b Jazz, Mercedes Martinez b Rain to keep their world title with Molly Holly as referee in 35:00. They also did a Hall of Fame ceremony with Alicia inducting Dawn Marie, Orsini inducting Molly Holly and Martinez inducting Jazz.
–The Sporting News web site had a note about Lamar Odom of the Lakers comparing Matt Barnes of the Orlando Magic to Ric Flair. Odom
noted how Barnes got the crowd into the game just like Ric Flair would do in a match.
–CZW on Saturday night in Philadelphia at the Arena has Jon Moxley defending the CZW title against Nick Gage, Thumbtack Jack vs. J.C. Bailey, B-Boy vs. Sami Callihan, The Best Around vs. Ryan McBride Rich Swann and more. There is also a 2:30 p.m. wXw show at the Arena headlined by Drake Younger vs. Thumbtack Jack, B-Boy vs. Chris Hero and American Wolves vs. Moxley Callihan
–Dynamic Championship Wrestling on 3/13 in Piqua, OH at the National Guard Armory
–Classic Championship Wrestling on 3/27 in Marysville, PA at the Lion's Club
–EWF from last night in Covina, CA: Ray Rosas b Brandon Parker, Maxx Damage (big guy from New Zealand training here for a WWE tryout) b El Gran Maravilla, Scorpio Sky b Jeremey Jaeger, David Jones Ryan Stone b SoCal Crazy Espiritu Infernal, Tim Lovato b Jarek Matthews, Extreme Loco b Chris Kadillak, Ryan Taylor b Mondo Vega in a street fight to keep EWF title
–Cage Wars in the U.K. will be airing in the U.S. on Sun Sports in Florida
–Irv Muchnick, author of Chris Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death will appear at the Borders in Stamford, CT on 3/25 at 7 p.m. and in Farmington on 3/27 at 1 p.m.
–Al Snow, Greg Valentine and Roni Jonah appears this weekend at Monster Mania in Cherry Hill, NJ at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. For more info go to http://www.monstermania.net
–Showtime All-Star Wrestling on Saturday night in Nashville at the Fairgrounds features a cage match with Chase Stevens vs. Andy Douglas for the International; title, Hammerjack vs. Mark Anthony in a street fight, PG-13 defending the tag titles against Derrick King Enterprises and Brian Christopher vs. Rick Santel, plus Downtown Bruno.
–Former Elite XC promoter Gary Shaw's father passed away a few days ago. One thing from a historical standpoint is that if it wasn't for Shaw's belief in Gina Carano as a star in 2007, women's MMA would have never gotten the exposure it did. Showtime was negative about allowing Carano to fight, and he was insistent, and it came down to a deal where Showtime gave Carano one shot, and she and Julie Kedzie stole the show and it was never an issue again.
–All Star Wrestling on 3/20 in Abbotsford, BC at the Abbey Arts Centre headlined by Disco Fury vs. Christopher Ryseck
–Jim Duggan headlines a 4/30 show for WWA in Melbourne, FL at the County Line Saloon. Also on the show are Jesse Neal and Kizarny
–Ed Loredo and Cutrer talk about women's wrestling on the Drunkcast at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Edward-Loredo
–A Bay Bombers vs. Brooklyn Red Devils Roller Derby game on Saturday night nearly sold out Kezar Pavilion (about 3,500 seats). 70s star Little Richard Brown, who is older than Ric Flair, skated on the show. The line to get into the building was two blocks down the street. The next game is 5/1 and they are bringing in Judy Arnold, a legend from the 70s, as well as Mike Flaningam, who in the 80s was an unreal performer, as well as former RollerJam stars Sean Atkinson and Denice Loden.
–Greg Valentine headlines for NWS on 3/12 in Long Branch, NJ at the Seashore Broadway Gym and 3/13 in Sayreville, NJ at the Knights of Columbus Hall
–Jonny Fairplay interviews Larry Zbyszko and Tajiri about Survivor at http://www.geekweek.com/2010/03/jonny-fairplays-survivor-heroes-vs-villains-4.html
–Michael Blanton wrote that he tried to purchase tickets for the Mick Foley comedy show the night before WrestleMania in Phoenix today, but Ticketmaster had no tickets on sale. They were at first supposed to go on sale today.
–Time Warner on Demand has a UFC 111 preview in its Events Free preview section covering the two main events, GSP vs. Dan Hardy and Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin
–Maria Kanellis has started a web site at www.mariakanellis.net talking about her release. She said she's not mad and she understands.
WEC 47 live coverage from Columbus, OH
Filed under Wrestling News
Welcome to our live coverage of UFC 47 from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. We're looking for your thoughts on tonight's show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Bendy Casimir vs. Ricardo Lamas
I thought Lamas was coming out to the theme from Sex and the City but it was actually a Mexican song that sounds almost identical. They are expecting 7,000 to 8,000 tonight which is a pretty good crowd for WEC. A lot of people are here already. I think close to that number already.
Casimir is from France, now training in Las Vegas. Lamas has a contingent with him from Chicago.
Traded high kicks, Lamas had better sound but it was mostly blocked. Casimir ducked low for a takedown but didn’t get it. Body kick by Lamas. Casimir with a kick very close to the groin. Another looked right on the groin but Lamas didn’t sell. Maybe he has no groin. Lamas back with a good body kick. Hard body kick by Lamas. Casimir definitely felt that one. Casimir shot for a takedown and didn’t get it. Now Lamas going for a single leg. Lamas throwing a punch and knee from the clinch. They are locked in a clinch and Lamas threw a knee to the body. Lamas connected with punches and knocked him cold with a flying knee to the chin. Lamas made a go to sleep motion. That was a killer left knee, mouthpiece went flying. This will probably make television.
Standing ovation from the crowd.
Casimir was walking fine as he went to the back which was a good sign.
Courtney Buck vs. Fredson Paixao
Paixao is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion. This is a striker vs. grappler match-up. Buck with body kick. Buck much taller. Listed at a 4 inch difference but looks more like 6. Buck threw a leg kick that put Paixao down, but he was happy to be down because he maneuvered to the top and then behind Buck. Paixao trying to soften him up for choke. Buck is all tied up. Paixao has kept back position for about two minutes now. He’s got in there and choked him out. Buck didn’t tap and we’ve got another guy old cold.
Leonard Garcia vs. George Roop
Roop came out to Iron Man. Garcia got a very big reaction. It was that this is the first guy we know pop.
Garcia with low kick. Roop ducked under a punch with a double leg and got Garcia on the ground. Garcia going for a guillotine and has it but not tight enough. He better be careful not to burn himself out. Roop escaped and on top. Roop now got behind Garcia and threw knee to the head. Garcia up. People popped just for Garcia getting up. Garcia threw a kick that missed bad, slow and telegraphed. Trading low kicks. Takedown attempt by Roop that didn’t work. Garcia threw big punches late. Roop back with a jab and front kick. Good ending to the round. Close round. Garcia 10-9
Garcia with a body kick. Roop back and then Garcia with two more body kicks. Garcia with a flying kick. Roop missed a big punch. Garcia looked like he tried a running clothesline. That didn’t work. Big punch by Garcia. Roop tried a takedown and didn’t come close. Roop tried another takedown and shaken off easily. Trade of punches, Roop got a good punch in and Garcia back with one but Roop has the best punch of the round. Now Roop did an running takedown. Garcia again trying a guillotine but didn’t have it. Garcia trying a guillotine again. Didn’t have it. Roop not doing any damage from the top. He threw a knee to the head, it wasn’t hard, but it was a foul. Garcia was thrilled becaues he wasn’t hurt but got a stndup out of it. It may not have even hit the head. Roop threw two good shots and a jab. Now Roop getting confidenc in his stand-up. Garcia losing control and throwing haymakers. Garcia threw a kick, Roop caught it and threw him on his ass. Garcia with a high kick and Roop back with a high kick. Roop with a punch and Garcia swing wildly and missed. Jab by Garcia. Knee by Roop. Roop’s round so I’ve got it 19-19.
A lot more competitive than most expected. Looks like Garcia took Roop too lightly. Garcia landing kicks to the lead leg. Roop’s left leg looks like shit around the knee and thigh. Garcia threw a big right but mostly blocked. Roop with another running takedown and now has Garcia’s back. Garcia back to his feet. Garcia looks tired. Punch by Roop. Roop tried a superman punch, missed and Garcia threw a big punch and a knee. Garcia badly missed a spinning kick. Roop in with a forearm and a front kick. Ref warning Roop about a low blow and took a point away. Crowd booing that. Garcia didn’t look hurt from it but that point makes a big difference here. Garcia with two more low kicks on the left leg. Trade and Garcia landed two good ones. Garcia throwing big punches but Roop took him down again. Garcia throwing elbows from the bottom. Garcia up. Roop with a jab. Garcia loading up and throwing but not landing clean. Roop with a front kick. Garcia with big punches late and Roop with a high kick. I think Roop won the round but with the penalty point it’s a 9-9 round so 28-28.
Scoring: Doug Crosby 29-27 Roop, 29-27 Garcia, fans booing that one, 28-28 draw. Fans really unhappy. The 29-27 for Garcia is a tough one but round three wasn’t a blow out. Garcia said let’s go one more round. Fans liked that. Roop said he wanted to go 2 more rounds. But this isn’t pro wrestling so we’re getting no more rounds and we have a draw.
Doug Crosby had all three rounds for Roop (losing one point for the low blow). Cardo Urso had first and third for Garcia. I’d disagree on round three but it’s not a bad call as the round was close. Harry Hiles had the same score as I did. Since first and third rounds were close, can’t fault judges. The low blow point was a bad call, though, but that was out of the judges’ hands. As far as who really won the fight, Roop won the fight.
Anthony Pettis vs. Danny Castillo
Trading, nobody landed. Low kick by Castillo. Takedown by Castillo. He got right back up as he didn’t want to be on the ground with Pettis, who is really good there. Pettis thought flying knee and changed his mind halfway into the move. Castillo with a knee to the groin and the ref stopped it until Pettis recovered. Great left high kick knocked Castillo down hard. He may have been pretty much done from the kick but followed with four punches on the ground. I think he was out cold after punch No. 3 on the ground. This KO and the Lamas KO would win KO of the night on most shows. This will almost surely make the TV.
Duke Roufas told him to pump the jab and do the high kick, so he did. Said he was injured in the Bart Palaszewski loss.
Just saw the Urijah Faber TV commercial that debuts on the TV show tonight.
Also just played the Faber-Aldo PPV TV commercial. Just like most UFC commercials with Dana White and Joe Rogan putting it over.
Chad Mendes (who people are touting as the new big thing at 145, he was an awesome wrestler at Cal Poly, ranked No. the entire 2008 season until losing a controversial match in the finals) vs. Erik Koch.
Two unbeaten fighters. Mendes moved in bulling Koch into the cage. Koch doing a good job avoiding a throw. Koch with jabs . Mendes rushed in, but couldn’t get the takedown and again bulled him into the cage. Crowd already booing. Mendes threw a knee and got the takedown. Mendes with a left. Koch back up. Body punch by Mendes and knee by Koch. Koch separated and taunting Mendes. Koch with punches and Mendes basically stampeded him with a takedown. Mendes isn’t doing anything from the top. Koch using a rubber guard from the bottom. Mendes did nothing with his takedowns. Crowd booed the round. I’d have it 10-10 but nobody will. I suspect Mendes will get the round.
Mendes with a right. Koch started punching and Mendes took him right down. Koch trying to work from a rubber guard. Mendes with body punches and Koch with elbows from the bottom. Koch with some short punches. Mendes hit a good punch on the ground, mostly body punches. Koch staying busy. Crowd losing patience with the ground fighting. Crowd booing. Koch can’t get up. He’s been flattened the entire round. Mendes with a short elbow. Crowd started to catcall and want a stand-up. Mendes broke free with a few punches fro the top. Mendes kept him down the entire round. Mendes’ round easily so 20-19 (I’d go 10-8.5 if it’s half-points), I’d expect the judges have 20-18.
Low Kicks by Mendes and body kick by Koch. Several punches by Koch standing. Mendes tied him up and bulled him to the fence. Koch actually got Mendes down but Mendes right up. Koch threw a kick that busted Mendes up bad. Mendes came back with another takedown against the fence. Mendes burying his face in Koch’s body so the ref couldn’t see it. The ref finally stopped it and called for the doctor. It’s a nasty cut right above the right eye. They are going to let it go with2:40 left. Koch throwing punches and targeting the cut. They are around the fence. Koch tried a knee and Mendes took him down with the old Maeda captured suplex. Koch back up but ended up with a finger in his eye. They gave him time to recover. 1:25 left. Koch tried to kick the eye but was taken down again. Mendes is trying to hold him down while Koch trying to target the eye. Mendes is bleeding like crazy and just holding him down. Mendes has him flattened as time is running out. Crowd didn’t like the fight. I’d give Koch the round but I don’t think the judges will, so I’ve got a 29-29 draw. Koch did more damage but Mendes mostly just held him down. I’m guessing it goes 30-27 for Mendes though. If I was judging with half points I’d have Mendes 29.5 to 28.5.
All three judges had it 30-27 for Mendes as I expected.
For what it’s worth, Lamas has a slight edge in knockout of the night bonus because of the flying spinning mouthpiece even though I’d vote for Pettis.
Scott Jorgensen vs. Chad George
George shot in and Jorgensen sprawled and has a guillotine and won in 31 seconds. When George tapped, Jorgensen let go and George dropped.
Karen Daradebyan vs. Bart Palaszewski
Karen coming out to Frank Mir hand-me-down music. Should have come out to A Boy Named Sue.
Good left by Bart. Bart threw a low kick. Karen in fast with punches and a takedown. Now Karen throwing hammer punches while Bart tried an armbar. Karen powered out. Karen with more punches from the top. Karen with more hard punches from the top. Now throwing body punches while in a full guard. Karen is beating him up with punches. But Bart got an armbar from the bottom and won the fight.
Deividas Taurosevicius vs. L.C. Davis
Taurosevicius is coming up to the latest rocking Lithuanian hip hop music. Davis bulled him into the cage. The ref separated them. They are against the cage. Davis with a few body punches . Hard knee by Davis. Taurosevicius trying a takedown but not getting it trying to use a judo throw. Crowd mildly booed the round. Davis 10-9
Both throwing, neither connecting. Taurosevicius in for a takedown, but Davis hung tough. Taurosevicius trying for all he’s worth . He got it to the ground. Taurosevicius with a few punches. Davis back up. Looked like a low blow missed by the ref by Taurosevicius. There may have been as many as three as two more were close. Taurosevicius with a lot of body punches standing. Now Davis in a clinch threw a few body punches and did a foot stop. They are both throwing from a clinch and the crowd is booing wanting the ref to separate them. Ref listened to the crowd. Taurosevicius in for another takdown attempet. Didn’t get it. Both against the cage, Davis with more foot stomps. Crowd booing some more. Close round, maybe Taurosevicius close so it’s 19-19.
Taurosevicus with a knee. They are back against the cage. A few knees by Taurosevicius and punches. Davis with a body punch. Now they are at a distance. Crowd booing some more. Ref separated them. Kick by Taurosevicus stunned Davis but Davis came back with a takedown. 1:44 left and it’s anyone’s round. Taurosevicius doing more from the bottom but both are throwing ineffective shots. Fans now want a stand-up. Ref ordered a stand-up. I don’t know about that one. Taurosevicus in for takedown but shot from too far out and didn’t get it. Crowd booing a lot as they were in a clinch throwing knees. Honestly, this round can go either way. Maybe Davis slightly 29-28. Second and third rounds could go either way.
Scores Blatnick 29-29 draw, Other two have is 29-28 for Davis. Crowd booed.
Cardo Urso had Davis with rounds one and three. Blatnik had the second round even and third round for Taurosevicius. John Beltz had rounds and three for Davis. Can’t fault the judges here. The right guy won.
Javier Vazquez vs. Jens Pulver
Vazquez booed a lot. Pulver got the best reaction of the night. Not a standing ovation. People trying to get a Pulver chant going but not picking up.
Now the chant is getting loud. Vazquez throwing punches. Vazquez with a takedown and Pulver grabbed a guillotine. Doesn’t have it but is on top. Pulver let him back up. Vazquez with a takedown and has Pulver’s back. Pulver reversed. Place went nuts for that. Pulver with a punch, and got up. Vazquez tackled him back down. Vazquez throwing a lot of punchesfrom the top. Pulver can’t reverse and seems in trouble. Now Vazquez has his back working for a choke. Pulver out of the choke. Pulver’s has a huge knot on his forehead. Now an armbar by Vazquez and the ref stopped it. Pulver looks like he’s hurt.
The place went dead silent. Some people are trying to start a Pulver chant but it didn’t get going. Pulver is crying and blowing kisses. His arm seems okay now.
What a fucking promo by Pulver. Holy shit. A lot of people were crying including his opponent when that thing was over. Basically thanked everyone and said he loves the fans too much to put them through this again.
Miguel Angel Torres vs. Joseph Benavidez
Torres got a big reaction. Close to as big as Pulver. Torres has a big height advantage, but everyone does against Benavidez. Some Torres chants. Body kick on a counter by Torres. Left over the top by Benadidez. Low kick by Torres. Kick by Torres and big punch by Benavidez. Low kick by Benvadiez. Big exchange. Low kick by Benavidez . Tores threw a kick and Benavidez countered with a punch that knocked Torres down. He’s back up. Benavidez bulled Torres into the cage. Benavidez got the takedown. Torres doing a bunch of kidney kicks. Benavidez with a punch and Torres immediately went for an armbar and Benavidez got out. Benavidez keeping him down. Ref told them to work. Benavidez threw a few punches. More kidney kicks by Torres and again tried an armbar from the bottom. Benavidez got up. Benavidez 10-9 .
Benavidez in with a flurry of punches. Low kick by Benavidez who came in with punches by Torres backed out. Torres with a body kick as Benavidez came in. Body kick by Benavidez. Now Torres tying to use his jab but mostly dancing backwards. Another jab by Torres. Another jab by Torres. He keeps throwing it to keep Benavidez from getting in. Benavidez shot under his jab and took him down and started pounding on him. More kidney kicks by Torres. Torres is busted up and bleeding badly. Benavidez caught him with a guillotine. Torres tapped. What a huge win.
That is one nasty cut right in the middle of Torres’ forehead.
Brian Bowles vs. Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title ends the show
Good leg kick by Cruz. Another one by Cruz. Bowles just missed on a punch and Cruz out of the way of another. Cruz out of the way of everything Bowles threw and nailed Bowles. Cruz showing a quickness edge. Now Cruz missed bad with a punch. Cruz in with a kick and Bowles tried to counter. Bowles missed again. Trading and Bowles didn’t miss. That man can hit. Cruz hurt Bowles with a punch. Cruz connected with another punch. Bowles with a body punch. A trade and Cruz hit after Bowles missed. Both missing now. Good body punch by Cruz. Bowles went for a takedown but is on his back. Crowd quiet. Really after Jens, crowd has been emotionally spent. Cruz let him up and nailed a low kick. Bowles bleeding from the nose. Cruz with a series of punches and Bowles landed a counter. Cruz with a high kick. Great round for Cruz 10-9
Cruz landing nand Bowles coming up short in exchanges. Low Kick by Cruz. Bowles is getting tired. He cracked Cruz with a punch though. Bowles can’t keep up this pace for five rounds. Swung and missed again. Off balance, Cruz landed a punch. Cruz in with punches and low kicks and put Bowles down. They were trading and Cruz with a nice right. Another punch by Cruz and danced away. Low kick and Bowles tried to respond didn’t land flush. Bowles shaking out his hand, he hurt it, probably broke it. Cruz with a series of punches and low kick combo. Another series by Cruz. Bowles went for a takedown and didn’t get it. Cruz kneed him low. Cruz is breathing heavy as well because of the pace but Bowles has no answer because he can’t connect solid. Bowles landed one but Cruz right back. Cruz with a takedown. Bowles tried an armbar but Cruz out easily. 20-18 Cruz.
Bowles broke his hand during the round and his corner told him to stop. Cruz won the title. Crowd booing thinking he quit. A lot of guys would have gone on, but it was probably the smart move. Anti-climactic finish to the match.
Bowles said he broke the hand on the first punch of the fight and it threw him off.
.
SAT UPDATE: TNA morale, more Impact and MNW thoughts, WEC line-up, DGUSA replay, Gail Gagne trial
Filed under Wrestling News
By Bryan Alvarez
Bryan Alvarez: bryan@wrestlingobserver.com
Dave Meltzer: dave@wrestlingobserver.com
The weekend itself isn’t loaded, with the biggest event being the WEC
show tonight, before the return of the Monday Night Wars,
full-time.
We’re looking for your thoughts on the Dragon Gate USA PPV show, so you
can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a
best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We’re looking for reports on last night’s ROH TV tapings in Philadelphia at
the Arena at dave@wrestlingobserver.com and bryan@wrestlingobserver.com
There is another taping tonight as well.
Tonight’s major show is WEC from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus,
OH, with Brian Bowles defending the bantamweight title against Dominick
Cruz and Joseph Benavidez vs. Miguel Angel Torres to determine the top
contender for that title. In addition, it is likely do-or-die for Jens
Pulver, as he faces Javier Vazquez. With four straight losses, and six
losses in his last seven fights, it is only his popularity, being likely
the second most popular fighter in the company behind Urijah Faber, that
has saved him from being cut. The show will air live on Versus starting
at 10 p.m. Eastern time, with L.C. Davis vs. Deividas Taurosevicius and
Karen Daradebyan vs. Bart Palaszewski rounding out the live show. Chad
Mendes, one of the top featherweight prospects, who placed second in the
2008 NCAA tournament and is unbeaten in MMA, makes his WEC debut against
Eric Koch in an undercard match.
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s Raw show in Salt Lake City
and Smackdown show in Pullman, WA. Sunday has Raw in Boise and Smackdown
in Yakima.
Monday has a live Raw in Portland, featuring Criss Angel as the guest
host, John Cena vs. Vince McMahon and Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted
DiBiase. Spike will air Impact live from Orlando with Hulk Hogan & Abyss
vs. Ric Flair & A.J. Styles as the only match announced, but it is
believed that Sting and Rob Van Dam will appear on that show. Sting is
confirmed.
Tuesday will have a Smackdown and NXT taping in Seattle, while the Impact
show for 3/15, against a Steve Austin-hosted Raw, will be taped Tuesday
night in Orlando.
Between unique wrestling shows, crazy promos, legal actions, more on WWE’s business year in review, the most updated analysis of the chess game between UFC and Strikeforce, the death of Umaga, more on the Ric Flair situation with his wife, where MMA stands on CBS as well as the next planned show, we’ve got two issues of the Observer coming out this week.
Both issues are now available on the web site.
We look at the Frank Mir reaction to his own apology, and his reaction to his reaction, as well as comments by Brock Lesnar, and then the story behind Marcus Davis wishing a death of AIDS to Dan Hardy and why this stuff is more dangerous in UFC right now then if it was to happen in pro wrestling or boxing.
We also look at the UFC vs. Strikeforce promotional war regarding April, how the signing of James Toney fits in, proposed opponents for Toney, and a look at how ratings and buy rates could be affected depending on when the head-to-head battle takes place. We also look at Toney going in, his unique contract, his background as a boxer, the first time Toney was talked with about coming to UFC and his opponent scheduled at the time and more.
We also have as part of our business year in review, live attendance for WWE arena dates averaged for the last 18 years, ratings comparisons for the last several years, as well as TNA’s numbers for the past few years.
We have more on the death of Edward “Umaga” Fatu, looking at his cause of death, his career, his getting fired by WWE and post-WWE.
We also look at the 10 questions for Linda McMahon, the reality of the situation and what questions are easy and difficult for her to answer.
We also have a look at the audience that watches, UFC, Strikeforce, WWE, TNA along with the NBA, NFL, boxing, NHL and baseball and compare and contrast, both in ages, ethnicity, education and earnings. This is some very interesting information that relate to advertising as well as showing the major differences in UFC vs. Strikeforce, UFC vs. WWE and TNA vs. WWE.
We also have more on the Ric Flair situation with the release of the 911 call by Rene Beems about the incident with Flair and Jacqueline Beems, the content of the call and more information on the incident.
We also have a look at the situation regarding Awesome Kong and Bubba the Love Sponge, and the unique situation it has put TNA in. We look at her claims, his responses, and more on the original incident between the two.
We look at the next Strikeforce show on CBS, the Strikeforce/Dream relationship, matches planned for the company’s next two major events, why this CBS special is important and if it’s successful, how that impact the business going forward. We also look at how CBS is going to cross-promote the show with one of its major prime-time series, a look at the three CBS matches, who is Shinya Aoki, as well as more on Herschel Walker, as well as obstacles put forth in the path of the company’s PPV idea of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Alistair Overeem.
We also have a complete rundown of the Dragon Gate USA show that plays throughout March, with notes on the show and coverage of all the matches and angles.
We also have more on WWE business in 2009, including more notes on live attendance throughout the year, the drop in North American PPV vs. the drop in international PPV and why, a look at the government incentives WWE has been able to take advantage of, the growth in some revenue streams and losses in others. We look at the profitability of every aspect of company business as well as a chart showing which revenue streams are the most and least important right now. We also look at how much WWE spent on an average PPV in 2008 and 2009, and it’s quite the eye opener.
We also have a look at comparing now to 1995, as where WWE and TNA are now leading into the new Monday Night Wars, and where WWF and WCW were leading into the first Monday Night Wars.
We also have a WrestleMania update, more update on WWE changes in PPV in 2010 and why one of the weakest PPV shows of last year wasn’t cut. We also have a rundown of WWE firings over the past week, who was and wasn’t expected, why and notes on all involved including some comments from people on the firings. We look at each person’s chances with TNA, a bio of Mad Dog Vachon, lots of more Hall of Fame notes, more on NXT and different ideas that were batted around and may or may not show up in future episodes.
We’ve got more on Jim Ross’ future, probably the most-watched pro wrestling match on U.S. TV of the 70s, update on guest hosts and injuries, several new wrestlers signed, new DVDs, some new angles talked about, something about NXT and finishing moves that came up, more on comments by Shad Gaspard, developmental news as well as business notes and highlights from the weekend house shows.
We also have updates on the Linda McMahon senatorial campaign and how pro wrestling is being dragged more and more into the campaign.
We also have a rundown of the next season of Ultimate Fighter, with a complete look at the cast, who they are, their record, what they’ve done and personality notes.
We’ve got a rundown of two major Japanese events, the NOAH show at Budokan Hall and atmosphere of NOAH vs. New Japan, as well as the pro wrestling world champion vs. kickboxing world champion match and pro wrestler bench press contest held at a unique show this past week.
We also have our usual weekly features such as the results of the
biggest matches of the week and rundown of the major television shows.
The Wrestling Observer ranges from 25,000 to 40,000 words covering
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– Morale, obviously, is way down in TNA. Just one person after another astounded by Thursday night’s Impact. They not only did a terrible job building up Monday, and keep in mind they have at least three surprise names set to debut on that show that they didn’t plug at all, but they did zero to build up the Destination X PPV. The whole show was about building up Hogan, and they couldn’t even build him up as a killer, they built him up as an old cripple who shouldn’t be in the ring.
– Also, a correction from last night’s Bryan & Vinny Show. The only PPV match I thought they built towards — and poorly at that — was AJ vs. Pope, but that’s not even on this PPV. It’s actually the main event of Lockdown. So I have no idea of a single match for Destination X.
– I should also note, as it has been pointed out to me today, that the Hulk Hogan angle doesn’t make any sense at all. Hogan claims he was called out, punked out and challenged, and that he has to do this match on Monday to get his self-respect back. What actually happened was that AJ and Flair attacked Abyss last week and Hogan took it upon himself to come out and make the save. He threw the first punch, and then after he got beaten up he was the one who challenged the heels and booked himself in the match. So he wasn’t called out or challenged, and he was punked out because of something he did on his own. Not to mention I still have absolutely no idea why Hogan bloodying up and destroying Ric Flair is supposed to make us want to see their match on Monday. The babyfaces already got their revenge and completely destroyed the heels, so what are they wrestling for?
– They’re saying they have a huge angle planned for the first five minutes of the show. But it’s a secret.
– Dave has a look at UFC vs. Strikeforce here
– WEC line-up and weigh-ins for tonight:
For Saturday night’s show in Columbus, OH
Bendy Casmir (155.5) vs. Ricardo Lamas (155)
Courtney Buck (145) vs. Fredson Paixao
Leonard Garcia (145) vs. George Roop (145)
Danny Castillo (155.5) vs. Anthony Pettis (154.5)
Chad Mendes (145) vs. Eric Koch (144)
Scott Jorgenson (135) vs. Chad George (135.5)
Live matches starting at 10 p.m. Eastern on Versus
Bart Palaszewski (155) vs. Karen Daradebyan (156)
Deividas Taurosevicius (145) vs. L.C. Davis (144.5)
Jens Pulver (145.5) vs. Javier Vazquez (145)
Miguel Torres (134.5) vs. Joseph Benavidez (135)
Brian Bowles (134.5) vs. Dominick Cruz (134) for WEC bantamweight title
– The Dragon Gate PPV replay at 1 PM Eastern Sunday.
– Rogers Cable is listing Monday’s show as “Global Impact”.
– There is a thirteen minute audio interview with The Miz up here.
– Colin Moore writes: Local media are reporting that the New England Patriots have resigned Stephen Neal. Looks like we won’t be losing him to MMA.
– Gail Gagne is preparing to go to trial
– A look at the Strikeforce vs. UFC battle here
– Scott Hall has his own Youtube channel. Trouble in the making there.
– Jereme writes: Top Rank’s Bob Arum told the Associated Press on Thursday that the deal is complete for Yuri Foreman to defend his 154-pound title against Miguel Cotto at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York on June 5. The stadium will be configured for between 30,000 and 35,000 fans. The hold up had been that the stadium had been booked for a Bar Mitzvah that day. (It was the Bar Mitzvah of the son of the largest bond lawyer in New York. This lawyer did the majority of the bond work to pay for this new version of Yankee Stadium.) There is tremendous irony in this as Foreman is training to be a rabbi. The last boxing match at Yankee Stadium was at the old Yankee Stadium on September 28,1976. That was the first year Yankee Stadium had re-opened after being renovated. It was a Top Rank show that saw Muhammad Ali defend his heavyweight titles against Ken Norton, Sr. via 15-round unanimous decision. I guarantee this show will not be that good.
– Regarding the WrestleReunion note yesterday, and this has been changed in the update, it’s actually WrestlingReunion, not WrestleReunion.
– IPW runs “A New Age Of Punishment”, Saturday, March 6, 2010, The Fountain Square Salvation Army Corp, 1337 S Shelby St, Indianapolis, IN 46203
– CWE in Kenora, Ontario at The Golden Eagle Bingo Hall (End of Golf Course Road). Time: Doors open at 7:00pm, bell time 7:30pm. Tickets: Kids 14 and under $12 in advance ($15 at the door), Adults $15 in advance ($18 at the door). Tickets available at the Super 8 Motel (240 Lakeview Dr.). Billy Gunn vs. Gangrel headlines.
– DMW “Time Well Wasted” in Hamilton, Ontario, 16 Mckinstry St, 6PM March 13th
– CSE “Turbulence” March 6th, Rockland, Ontario, Knights of Columbus, 954 Giroux St.. Tickets for CSE Wrestling are now available. Front Row VIP: $20
– Iceman b Van Hawk, The Prophet & Sexxxy Eddy won a tag team gauntlet match, Steve Rush b Big Daddy V, Pierre-Carl Ouellet b Hernandez, Samoa Joe b Franky the Mobster, Sylvain Grenier b Darkko & Dru Onyx in a casket match. They also honored former NWA champion, Édouard Carpentier.
