Daily Update: Kings of Wrestling reunion, Fight Club: PRO, UFC
THE ROUND-UP
THE LATEST NEWS
WWE Network notes: Super Show-Down, Table for Three with 3MB
Two-out-of-three falls stipulation set for Cody vs. Nick Aldis rematch
NXT Orlando live results: Ohno celebrates anniversary, Cesaro appears
Impact Wrestling viewership down slightly this week
ROH Death Before Dishonor live results: Jay Lethal vs. Will Ospreay
THE LATEST AUDIO
JNPO: We gotta talk about Conor, part 1 9/29
WOR: Changing TV landscape, Jon Jones, Bellator, ROH PPV, more! 9/29
F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: A look at the connection between Evolution and Crown Jewel
When WWE returns to Saudi Arabia on November 2, they’ll be doing so just five days after their Evolution pay-per-view. People are always going to link WWE’s 10-year deal with Saudi Arabia with how it contradicts the company’s “women’s evolution” messaging, but Evolution and Crown Jewel taking place on the same week makes them feel even more connected.
WON NEWSLETTER: October 1, 2018 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: NJPW Destruction in Kobe, tons of news
The names on the 2018 Hall of Fame ballot and thoughts on who are favorite, who may get eliminated after this year, newcomers to the ballot and more is one of the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Look at the New Japan Long Beach show, as well as early thoughts on King of Pro Wrestling and Wrestle Kingdom and the Tanahashi vs. Okada match, the Gedo turn on Okada and post-show angle with full coverage of Destruction in Kobe.
Read about the Liv Morgan injury, what went wrong to lead to the injury and what went wrong after the injury.
Also look at the WWE stock and if it’s ventured past logical boundaries, WWE profits so far this year and comparing to other entertainment companies, more on the lawsuit against WWE, Shawn Michaels wrestling again, Sasha Banks update, next MSG show, and a Big Show update.
There are also notes on the NXT tapings as well as from all the WWE & NXT arena events from the past week with results, business notes and other reactions.
Look at UFC fighter Abdul Razak Alhassan, who is being charged with two counts of sexual assault and the details behind the charges.
Read full coverage of UFC’s show this past weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil, business notes, retirements and a major record set.
This issue has coverage of one of Dragon Gate’s biggest shows of the year and the changes in the company.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected].
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SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Kassius Ohno and Cesaro, who teamed together as the Kings of Wrestling before their time in WWE, had a one-night reunion at last night’s NXT house show in Orlando, Florida. Ohno recently reached his 20th year in professional wrestling and was celebrating that milestone at last night’s show. Adam Cole interrupted a promo from Ohno, which set up a match between the two in the main event. Ohno won by disqualification, then Cesaro saved him from the Undisputed Era and they cleared the ring after the match. Ohno gave a speech where he said that, since he’s only been in the business for 20 years, he can’t say this is the best wrestling has ever been — but it’s the best he’s seen it. Cesaro said that “Chris is awesome,” and Ohno called Cesaro the best wrestler in the world.
Ohno tweeted after the show: “Last night was special. It was about as perfect of a night that you could dream up. To those who were a part of it all last night, and to anyone who has had even the most fleeting involvement throughout my last 20 years, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU~! Here’s to 20 more.”
WWE stock closed the week at $96.73 per share yesterday, giving the company a $7.54 billion market capitalization.
WWE is teasing Carmella & R-Truth vs. Zelina Vega & Andrade “Cien” Almas for SmackDown. Shelton Benjamin also sent out a tweet that looks to be setting up him wrestling on the show: “I Am a warrior I am a competitor & I am DAMN GOOD! Yet I have not had a match on #SmackDownLIVE in months. I’m here to compete I thrive on competition @RealPaigeWWE Its time you Got me off the bench & LET ME FIGHT!”
Braun Strowman is makes a brief appearance in the trailer for Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s movie “Holmes & Watson.”
In an interview with The Sun, Lita said she found out she’d be facing Mickie James at Evolution at the same time as everyone else did: “We were told a while ago that there was going to be an all-women pay-per-view and they were still getting it together, but they asked if I’d be interested in being a part of it in some capacity — and I told them to count me in. That’s pretty much all the conversation was. I didn’t know if I’d be doing commentary or even just being invited to attend to support the women. And then I found out when you all did that Mickie James would be my opponent and I would not just be a part of Evolution but I’d actually be in the ring. That’s when you just hold your breath and go with it. I didn’t speak with Mickie instantly. The next day after the announcement I was like ‘is that real?’ I had to let it sink in and process it. And the next morning I was like ‘I’ve got this, this is going to be rad’. That’s when I was on the phone to Mickie.”
Rob Conway did an interview with WWE about his stint as a guest coach at the Performance Center. Conway said Randy Orton helped get him the opportunity after Orton asked him about the involvement he’d like to have in wrestling after his in-ring career comes to an end. Conway mentioned that he helped Orton during the beginning of Orton’s career.
ESPN.com ran a story on Kofi Kingston breaking the record for most cumulative days as a WWE Tag Team Champion.
Pro Wrestling
At their Project Mayhem 7 night two show today, the United Kingdom-based Fight Club: PRO announced that they’ll be holding a show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan on January 7, 2019.
Hangman Page spoke to CBS Local Sports about the pact that some of the Bullet Club members have made to stay together: “I think, as a group, we are really on to something, and I think we wanna continue this. It would be a real disservice to everyone who has supported us and got us to this point if we were to abandon what we’ve built. It certainly doesn’t mean it can’t evolve and change, and it should, and it will. But I feel like we have too much of a good thing going to try to abandon it. And we all know that collectively we have more leverage than we ever had. More than anyone else has had in a very long time.” Page also noted that it isn’t a “blood pact”: “I couldn’t tell you when this was, but it was in a TGI Fridays. I know that much. And it’s not like we made a blood pact. We didn’t cut our hands and shake hands on anything. I think this is just something we’ve talked about as friends and something that maybe we wanna do.”
Joe Koff did an interview Paste about ROH and NJPW’s G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden.
Low Ki vs. Fenix for the MLW World Championship and Jason Cade vs. Myron Reed are featured on this week’s MLW Fusion episode.
Mike Mooneyham wrote a piece on Peter Kaasa and Kaasa’s life since retiring from pro wrestling.
UFC/MMA
The UFC made a change to its anti-doping policy in July and will no longer announce violations until after they’ve been resolved. Fighters still won’t be allowed to compete until their case is resolved, but the company will no longer be announcing the violation until fighters have “an opportunity to adjudicate their issue without the public rushing to judgment.”
Dana White called Nate Diaz’s tweets about his fight against Dustin Poirier being for the title of a newly-created 165-pound division “nutty as hell.” White said they’ve never discussed it with Diaz and it’s never been an option.
Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov will attend a fight-week press conference at the Park Theater in Las Vegas at 3 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday (October 4).
Daily Professional Wrestling History: Anderson & Blanchard win NWA Tag Team titles
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