Daily Update: Raw, Sexy Star, Mayweather vs. McGregor
THE ROUND-UP
The Latest from the F4W Staff
NEWS
WWE Raw live results: Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss
Cena/Reigns announced for No Mercy; additional Raw notes for tonight
WWE Mae Young Classic episode one results: The tournament begins
Rosemary releases statement on in-ring incident with Sexy Star
AUDIO: Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Extra segment on Live Audio Wrestling
WWE Tupelo, MS, live results: Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
AUDIO
WOL: Sexy Star, Dr. Lucha, Razerhawk on Chikara, tons more! 8/28
JNPO Classic: A tale of two UFC interviews 8/28
B&V: NWA World Championship Wrestling from 1987, Conor vs. Floyd and more! 8/27
WOL: McGregor vs. Mayweather, Sexy Star, TripleMania, tons more! 8/27
Raw is tonight in Memphis. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are scheduled for the show along with John Cena (who is now on the Raw brand). Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss for the women’s title is on the show. There is also a SmackDown brand house show in Texarkana, AR.
SmackDown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday night in Little Rock. Brian Kendrick vs. Jack Gallagher no DQ has been announced.
We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows:
*WWE Friday night in Carbondale, IL
*NEW Friday night in Pittsfield, MA
*The What Culture semifinals and finals on Saturday
FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: Figure Four Weekly 8/21/2017: A weekend in Brooklyn for SummerSlam
As WWE’s four-day stretch in Brooklyn began to wrap up, my biggest takeaway from my time in New York City was just how special live wrestling can be. Being at an event in-person can make a great show like NXT TakeOver seem even better, a marathon like SummerSlam feel less tiresome, and the Raw crowd amusing itself with the wave and playing with beach balls somehow a bit less annoying.
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WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: August 28, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Jon Jones fails drug test, Mayweather vs. McGregor, more
With SummerSlam, the Jon Jones drug test failure, McGregor-Mayweather and a major story on Daniel Bryan, it’s one of the biggest issues of the year, a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter out to members right now.
Our lead story looks at the Jon Jones situation from all angles, looking at the drug he is alleged to have failed the test for and its usage, the time line, last year’s failure, the potential penalties, the ramifications for Daniel Cormier and the value of the light heavyweight title, responses from several people involved, what is likely to happen with the title, what UFC was planning for Jones, UFC’s promotion of Jones, as well as how this affects Brock Lesnar, which is huge, and Lesnar’s leverage and negotiations for a new WWE contract.
Have an in-depth look at the history of boxer vs. wrestler and other types of mixed matches when analyzing Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather. Find out what this means financially and otherwise to UFC, why nothing of the sort has ever happened previously, and why it probably will happen more going forward. Examine just how much revenue this fight is looking at generating. Look at how buys are tending, predictions on buys, and how a success will change combat sports forever and especially the UFC if it was knockout power champions.
Look at the issues of sanctioning, the smaller gloves, and lots of different mixed matches going through time including stories related to Frank Gotch, Jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, Gene LeBell, the Ali vs. Inoki match, and even Wilt Chamberlain when it comes to unique matches talked about in the past.
Full coverage of SummerSlam, including stories behind what happened in different matches, the business for the weekend, a look at the next two WWE PPV shows, the situation with title changes, Baron Corbin, Rusev as well as match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results on the show.
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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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WON BACK ISSUE: August 7, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Gordon Solie passes away, Owen Hart lawsuit developments, more
Gordon Solie, an icon figure of this industry who announced more pro wrestling matches on television than any man who ever lived, passed away from brain cancer officially on 7/28 at the age of 71. Solie was found that morning by his family, and it is being listed as the date of his death. It is believed his death may have taken place as early as late Wednesday night, as nobody heard from him on Thursday, and the house was exactly the same on Friday morning as it was on Wednesday night, when his daughter was over for dinner.
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Once again, want to send our best wishes to everyone in Texas who is feeling the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Hopefully everything will get back to normal for you as quickly as possible. Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw, the Mayweather-McGregor fallout, and taking your e-mail questions to [email protected].
As noted earlier today, Booker T will be off Raw due to being unable to travel from Houston, although he has posted that he’s doing fine, and Jerry Lawler will be in his spot. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns is now official for No Mercy on 9/24. An updated Raw lineup is in the schedule section of this report. Aside from Booker T, among people living in Houston include Bruce Prichard, Brooke Adams, MVP and Shelton Benjamin and hopefully they are all doing well. No word on whether Benjamin will be able to make it to Smackdown tomorrow. He was debuting tomorrow and not on the road with the crew before the hurricane hit.
There continues to be a ton of social media furor from within the profession regarding Sexy Star cranking on the armbar and injuring Rosemary at TripleMania on Saturday night. Sexy Star hasn’t said anything publicly but her sister claimed she was attacked first. Any excuses don’t hold water since Rosemary did not do anything unprofessional in the match, and Rosemary gave her the arm for the finish. Cody Rhodes wrote that Sexy Star would not be welcome in any locker room he is in. Lots of GFW talent was furious, but Lucha Underground talent was as well. Rosemary called Sexy Star’s excuses lies and that her excuses were bullsh*t. At this point AAA has not said anything publicly nor is there any word of Sexy Star being punished for her actions.
The WrestleCade promotion, that Sexy Star was scheduled for this weekend, sent out a message saying that there is no place for this in pro wrestling and that Sexy Star will not be brought in this weekend and apologized to fans who were looking forward to meeting her but hope they agree with the company’s decision. Everyone who ordered meet and greet tickets for her in advance will be refunded.
A class-action lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Zack Bartel and the law firm Geragos & Geragos for Oregon consumers who purchased the Mayweather-McGregor show on Showtime streaming PPV and weren’t able to see the show. The complaint is asking for $200 in damages for every plaintiff that comes forward. Pay Per View Live Events said they received a large number of complaints from people who ordered the show through the UFC and told them to contact the service provider they offered the event from for refunds.
WWE
WWE announced today the signing of Kacy Catanzaro, who was from the American Ninja Warrior TV show, the first woman to quality for the ANW course and complete it. Also announced as signed is Shadia Bseiso, a TV personality from Dubai with a Jiu Jitsu background, who is from Lebanon. She took part in the recent Dubai tryout. Both were announced during the Mae Young Classic shows that were released today.
Dwayne Johnson’s “Baywatch” movie will be released on DVD and Blu Ray tomorrow.
Sami Zayn has launched a “Sami for Syria” campaign trying to raise money for aid to victims of the crisis in Syria and partnering with the Syrian American Medical Society to put a mobile clinic on the ground to bring health care to people who would otherwise have no access to it. His goal was to raise $48,000 through a campaign he started in July, but the number is now close to $70,000.
“Just Seen it’ the movie review site that used to have a national PBS show, gave bad reviews to “Birth of a Dragon,” saying to skip it. They said it has a muddled plot, a senseless sub-plot and a truly awful ending and that it doesn’t do a legend like Bruce Lee any justice. (thanks to Jake Koch)
UFC
An article by Kevin Iole quoted Wayne Lonstein, the CEO of VFT Solutions as saying there were up to 100 million viewers of pirated streams for Mayweather-McGregor. This was expected to be the most pirated show in history. Irdeto, another security company, was able to show 2.93 million people who were watching on various Facebook, YouTube, Periscope and Twitch channels. They were able to find 42 different ads for pirated sites.
The gambling site Bovada.lv said that Mayweather-McGregor was the biggest event in the history of the company. The amount of money and number of bets well surpassed any Super Bowl. With Mayweather’s win, the company made its most money for any event in history. The story of the fight was if McGregor won, it would be the biggest sports losses ever, particularly if he won via knockout. If Mayweather won, it was the biggest win. Some new bets coming out of this:
Will there be a rematch
Yes +700
No -1200
Will they fight an MMA fight
No -3300
Will McGregor face Nate Diaz before June 30, 2018
Yes +100
No -140
Will McGregor box Paulie Malignaggi before the end of 2018
Yes +300
No -400
Will Conor McGregor fight in UFC by 12/31
Yes +160
No -200
MISCELLANEOUS
The finals of the What Culture World Cup with Kushida vs. Will Ospreay.
The most viewed match of the tournament with 225,000 views with Ospreay vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
One of the biggest indie shows of the year took place last night in Wappingers Falls, NY, Northeast Wrestling’s Wrestling Under the Stars show: Battle Brothers won three-way over Amazing Graysons and Adrenaline Rush in 4:55, Brandi Rhodes b Karen Q in 8:12, Brian Anthony b Brad Hollister in 7:36, Hanson b Caleb Konley in 10:50, Wrecking Bell Legursky b Jake Manning in 4:35, Flip Gordon won three-way over Laredo Kid and Garza Jr. under Lucha Libre rules in 9:43, Jerry Lawler b Robbie E in 17:15, The NOW DCOR Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan, Cody Rhodes b Rey Mysterio Jr. to retain the NEW title with Ricky Steamboat as referee in 10:37. Rhodes used a low blow when the ref was down and crossroads for the pin. Mysterio hit the 619 after the match and cut a promo to end the show. Mick Foley put the mandible claw on manager Jared Silberkleit after the Leegusky vs. Manning match. Bob Orton Jr was there doing a promo. Chris Jericho was advertised as well but the report we got didn’t mention any specific involvement. (thanks to Jarett Diaz).
In what may unearth a lot of heretofore unknown history, Irv Muchnick is releasing some of the letters from the files of his uncle, Sam Muchnick, who ran the NWA and was the most powerful person in the U.S. wrestling business from the 50s through about 1975.
There will be a panel talk show promoted by Smash Wrestling in Toronto on 9/17 at the Rivoli. Jackie Redmond will host two panel discussions, one with Tyson Dux, Braxton Sutter, Kevin Bennett, Big Tank and Jimmy Korderas. The other will be Sebastian Dastranj, Alan Taylor and James Kee, the management team of Smash Wrestling. Tickets are $15 and you also get $5 off for tickets to the Smash Wrestling show that night and can be purchased here.
ROH received coverage on Fox 5 in Atlanta for vising the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Egleston Children’s Hospital.
An Evolve documentary on the departure of Timothy Thatcher and the arrival of a new contender.
ESW from Saturday night in North Tonawanda, NY: Sebastian Suave b Anthony Gaines, Coconut Jones b Gregory Iron, Braxton Sutter b JT Dunn, Vince Valor b Daniel Garcia, RJ City b Colin Delaney, Tarik b Cheech, Oliver Street Express b Alex Daniels & Kevin Blackwood, Frankie Feathers b Ethan Page, Brandon Thurston b Bill Collier, Kevin Bennett won three-way over AR Fox and Super Crazy. (thanks to Todd Brantley)
NWL on 9/2 in Kansas City is headlined by Dak Draper vs Blaine Meeks in a no DQ match for the KC championship.
CZW and WSU on 9/9 in Voorhees, NJ at Flyers Skate Zone. There will be a Queen and King tournament at 4 p.m. with Isla Dawn & Dave Crist, Leva Bates & Greg Excellent, Kiera Hogan & Brandon Watts, Ray Lyn & Tim Donst, Willow & Anthony Bennett, Su Yung & Blackwater, Veda Scott & Jason Cade and Rick Cataldo & MJF. Mercedes Martinez vs. Jordynne Gracde will be the main event for the WSU title. The 8 P.M. CZW show will have the Chris Cash Memorial ladder match plus Danny Havoc vs. Alex Colon and Sami Callihan vs. Jimmy Lloyd.
Goldberg, Christian and Rosemary will be appearing at Tribute to the Legends by MCW on 9/30 in Joppa, MD at the MCW Arena. Also appearing are The Steiners, Joey Matthews, Tony Atlas, Jillian Hall, Virgil, Francine, Brian Christopher, Madison Rayne, Gary Michael Cappetta, Robert Fuller and Bill Apter. The main event is Sean Studd vs. The Bruiser.
Legacy Wrestling on 9/16 in East Petersburg, PA with AR Fox and Hurricane Helms.
The Carnies & Mustache Mountain (Former WWE UK Champion Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) from New York’s Battle Club Pro Wrestling in Brooklyn, NY from Saturday.
Today in Professional Wrestling History: WWF SummerSlam 1989
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