Roman Reigns returned to action
Roman Reigns returned Friday night at a house show in Newark, DE. Here is a full report from the show. WWE posted a video on their website, YouTube and other outlets showing his return where Roman confronts both Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT Chicago is headlined by Holly Holm returning to action against Valentina Shevchenko. Holm is coming off of a submission loss to Meisha Tate while Shevchenko is coming off a decision loss to current champ Amanda Nunes. Also, on the card is Gilbert Milendez returning against Edson Barbosa. Opening the main card on FOX Felice Herrig takes on Kailin Curran. Follow along live: UFC on FOX Chicago live results: Holly Holm vs. Valentina Shevchenko
THE ROUND-UP
UFC On FOX 20 DFS Playbook: value picks, who to avoid
UFC on FOX Chicago live results: Holly Holm vs. Valentina Shevchenko
ROH TV results: An ode to Roderick Strong and the ballad of Jay White
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Figure Four Weekly
READ IT HERE: Figure Four Weekly 7/18/2016: Does WWE policy apply to Brock Lesnar? – The latest big pro wrestling/mixed martial arts hybrid story involving Brock Lesnar saw him flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Association (USADA) for a potential anti-doping violation in an out of competition test collected on June 28. The results came in on the evening of July 14th and the UFC was notified the following day.
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Wrestling Observer Newsletter
READ IT HERE: July 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Results of the WWE draft, Brock Lesnar fails USADA drug tests, – The WWE draft ended up just as planned from the start, with the same dynamics of Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins as the top Raw program and John Cena vs. A.J. Styles as the top Smackdown program.
With one of the biggest news weeks of the year, it’s a double issue of the Observer this week, covering the draft, the Jon Jones & Brock Lesnar drug test failures and drugs failed for, the Roman Reigns drug test failure, a major WWE star who is no longer under contract, lots more on the UFC sale, details on the latest concussion lawsuit against WWE, as well as coverage of the beginning of the G-1 tournament and the beginning of the Super J Cup.
The lead story covers the draft. We look at what, when the draft idea started, were the planned main events for SummerSlam. We look at what did and didn’t change about the draft and why. We look at what failed about the draft. We look at what changed in the final week before the draft. We look at why certain people were called up from NXT and some interesting decisions made. We look at the situation with he cruiserweight, the announcing team changes, and what’s new with Brock Lesnar.
We’ve got a complete rundown of not only who is on what brand but slotting and what the slotting shows, as well as the Cesaro interview.
We also go through the Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar drug test failures. We talk about the drugs, what their medical usage would be for, Jones past test results and Twitter responses. We also look at what Lesnar tested for, Mark Hunt’s reaction, what punishment Lesnar is facing, and how this pertains to pro wrestling. We also look at what John Cena said about the test failure.
We’ve got more on the UFC sale including several other companies that had interest in buying UFC and why each one ended up dropping out as the bidding reached high points. We look at what different stations had wanted to do with UFC, and why a media company would have made sense as a buyer. We look at what revenue stream and logic was used to generate the $4 billion sale figure, as well as notes on Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta after the sale.
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Wrestling Observer Newsletter BACK ISSUE
READ IT HERE: June 14, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Sable sues WWF for $140M, Martha Hart upset with WWE – Pro wrestling’s latest spill into the national headlines came with Rena Mero’s $140 million lawsuit filed on 6/3 against Titan Sports and her subsequent quitting of the company.
SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE/Pro Wrestling
The Usos vs. Breezango has been added to the Battleground pre-show.
Sasha Banks has found a partner for her tag match against Charlotte & Dana Brooke at Battleground, and tweeted that not even our own Dave Meltzer could guess who it is.
Stephanie McMahon did a question and answer session on Facebook Live.
Kevin Owens was the guest on the latest Superstar Ink with Corey Graves.
AJ Styles and Becky Lynch were interviewed by IGN at San Diego Comic-Con.
The G1 returns tomorrow with another show from Korakuen Hall at 5:30 a.m. EST. The card is:
Michael Elgin vs. Tetsuya Naito
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
Toru Yano vs. Kenny Omega
Yuji Nagata vs. EVIL
Tomoaki Honma vs. YOSHI-HASHI
Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Naomichi Marufuji, Gedo, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, & Kazuchika Okada
Captain New Japan, KUSHIDA, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga, & Bad Luck Fale
Ryusuke Taguchi & Togi Makabe vs. BUSHI & SANADA
Juice Robinson vs. David Finlay
This is awesome. Wrestler Tyler Curd Uses John Cena’s ‘Attitude Adjustment’ in Nationals Match. Yah, it’s exactly that.
Here is an interesting article on WWE’s Seth Rollins wrestling school he runs with longtime friend Nick Morrill. The school is called “Black and Brave” wrestling academy.
(A unique submission in a trios match from Friday night in Arena Mexico)
La Mascara won the Leyenda de Plata tournament when he defeated Negro Casas in the final on Friday night in Arena Mexico. The annual CMLL tournament honors the memory of El Santo. The cheap finish in the main event was anything but honorable with a low blow being used. Claro Sports has video of the finish and CMLL also posted some highlights on their official YouTube page. The semi-main trios match with Místico & Volador, Jr. & Valiente vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Euforia & Gran Guerrero arguably stole the show. A full report is here.
An article here draws a comparison with the recent viral sensation and bodybuilder, the Iranian Hulk, and wrestling legend the Iron Sheik.
In the where are they now department, Terri Runnels did an in-studio interview in Wilmington, NC promoting an indie show and meet-and-greet. She talks about meeting fans and briefly tells the story of how she broke into the business while working as a makeup artist. Goldust and Dusty Rhodes are very briefly mentioned as well.
Booker T goes to Norfolk.
This week’s Fire Pro Podcast, looking at the WWE Draft, can be found here.
MMA/UFC
Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com reported that neither Brock Lesnar or Jon Jones will be fined by the UFC in addition to whatever punishment they receive from the NSAC. Raimondi also confirmed that Lesnar’s suspension is for the estrogen blocker clomiphene, which was first reported by Lance Pugmire of the LA Times.
On a somewhat related note, Jon Jones’ brother Arthur was suspended for four games by the NFL after failing a test for performance-enhancing drugs.
Results from last night’s Legacy on AXS TV: Robert Drysdale (7-0) won the light heavyweight title in the main event with a 2nd round sub over Ryan Spann (9-3). In a fight that got a lot of buzz on Twitter, strawweight Mackenzie Dern, making her pro debut, scored a dominant decision win over Kenia Rosas. Many reporters scored it 30-24, although one judge gave all three rounds 10-9 scores.
Pancrase 279 runs on UFC Fight Pass at 2 AM eastern late Saturday/early Sunday. There are more familiar names to North American fans than usual on this show as former UFC fighters Rin Nakai, Jonathan Brookins and Yushin Okami all make their Pancrase debuts on the show. Former UFC and Pride legend Yuki Kondo also fights on the show
WSOF president Ray Sefo announced that lightweight champion Justin Gaethje will take on Ozzy Dugulubgov in a title fight on September 24th. The winner of that fight will then take on former UFC and Strikeforce vet Jason High, who recently bested Mike Ricci in a title eliminator bout. He also announced that the next WSOF card on the NBC main network will take place on New Year’s Eve. No location or fights have been announced as of yet.
The Summer Slam Events Calendar
TONIGHT – ECWA returns to Woodbury Heights, NJ; ECWA Champion Sean Carr vs. Greek God Papadon in the Main Event
TONIGHT – Live Pro Wrestling, Glengarry Sports Palace, 170 McDonald Blvd. Alexandria, Ontario
TONIGHT – UFC on FOX from Chicago – Holly Holm vs Valentina Shevchenko.
TONIGHT – Chikara Pro announced a doubleheader event at Toronto’s Franklin Horner Community Center.
TONIGHT – AAW in Merrionnette Park, IL, with Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon Jr., Zack Sabre Jr., Marty Scurll; Tommaso Ciampa; Fenix; Johnny Gargano, and plenty more. Here’s what you missed on their last show.
TONIGHT – Masters of Ring Entertainment in Wilmington, NC, as part of Pro Wrestling Fan Expo 3 will feature Jeff Jarrett vs. ECIII vs. James Storm, announced by Jarrett, at the Merritton Community Centre 7 Park Ave St. Catharines, ON
July 24 – WWE presents Battle Ground PPV at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. It will be the fourth event under the Battleground chronology, and the first event under the newly reinstated WWE brand extension.
July 24 – Crossfire Wrestling – Merritton Community Centre, 7 Park Avenue St. Catharines ON, for our 5 year Anniversary show “BRING THE HEAT V”
July 24 – PWEclipse – Summer Surrender, Oshawa, Ontario
July 24 – Fenix vs. Pentagon Jr. headlines for Lucha Libre New York at Club LaBoom in Queens, NY
July 29, 30, 31 – ECCW returns to the Agrifair 2016 Abbortsford, BC with three shows per day. Friday and Saturday shows start at 12:00PM – 3:00PM – 8:00PM. Saturday July 30 will feature “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart. Sunday’s shows start at 11:00AM – 2PM and 5PM
July 30 – UFC 201 – LAWLER VS. WOODLEY from Atlanta, GA
July 30 – WSOF 32: Moraes vs. Hill 2 – Live on NBCSN from Everett, Washington. Also featuring Ben “Phoenix Jones” Fodor vs Caros Fodor in a brother vs brother fight
July 30 – Smash Wrestling – Oshawa Music Hall, 39 King St E, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 1B2
July 31 – BATTLEWAR 36; Les Foufounes Électriques, 87 Sainte-Catherine Street East, Montreal, QC
Aug 4-6 – !BANG! TV – Professional Wrestling Spectacular, 3 charity shows in 3 days. – More information.
Aug 5 – NEF Presents Dana White: Looking for a Fight. More info here.
Aug 6 – UFC FIGHT NIGHT – RODRIGUEZ VS CACERES, from Salt Lake City, UT
August 6 – Absolute Intense Wrestling Girls Night Out in Cleveland at Our Lady of Mt Carmel with Crazy Mary Dobson, Allysin “Sienna” Kay, Veda Scott, Shayna Baszler, Annie Social, Kelly Klein, Heidi Lovelace, Lufisto, Nicole Savoy and more.
Aug 12 – Live Professional Wrestling, downtown Toronto at the Tranzac! 292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON M5S 2M7, Canada – All proceeds go to the Autism Ontario group.
Aug 12 – BIG WEST WRESTLING presents BOWLING, BODYSLAMS & BBQ, Lake City Bowling & Billiards: Kelowna, BC
Aug 12 – Zack Sabre Jr. vs.. Jeff Cobb has been added to the Revolution Pro show in London at York Hall in Bethnal Green.
Aug 13 – World Women’s Wrestling’s 2016 IRON MAIDEN Championship at the Americal Civic Center in Wakefield, MA
Aug 13 – wXw NOW – The End (Tommy End’s final show in Germany, booked by The Sumerian Death Squad)
Aug 13 – NWA Mid South Wrestling in Dyresburg, TN at the Herb Welch Wrestle Plex headlined by Matt Riviera vs. Jeremy Moore.
Aug 19 – Superkick’d Pro Wrestling Rock Show – Blazed The Great Hall, 1087 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6J 1H3
Aug 19 – The Hardys, Drew Galloway, Ethan Carter III and Mickie James appear for House of Glory Wrestling in Jamaica, NY. That’s the Friday before SummerSlam.
Aug 20 – UFC 202 – DIAZ VS MCGREGOR 2, from Las Vegas, NV
Aug 21 – WWE Presents THE SummerSlam PPV event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. It will be the twenty-ninth event under the SummerSlam chronology and the second consecutive SummerSlam to be hosted in the Barclays Center.
Aug 21 – Chavo Guerrero Jr. will appear for Smash Wrestling on in Pickering, Ontario at Super Showdown lV.
Aug 21 – Octagon & Tinieblas Jr. vs. Fuerza Guerrera & Pirata Morgan headlines in Houston at the Arena Theater.
Aug 26 – Absolute Intense Wrestling – Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 1355 W. 70th St. Cleveland, OH
Aug 26 – CONFLICT Wrestling: “Black or White”
Aug 26 – Bellator 160 from the Pond in Anaheim and live on Spike TV. Benson Henderson vs Patricio Pitbull Freire
Aug 27 – UFC FIGHT NIGHT – MAIA VS. CONDIT from Vancouver, BC.
Aug 28 – Destiny wrestling proudly presents “SUMMER HEAT”.
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