DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Eleven matches announced for AEW Dark   
Cameron Grimes confirmed for WWE NXT gauntlet eliminator match   
Styles vs. Zayn, Moment of Bliss segment set for WWE SmackDown   
WWE reveals first name for NXT gauntlet eliminator match   
Heritage Cup draw, WALTER vs. Huxley set for next week’s NXT UK  
NXT UK results: The relaunch begins   
AEW & WWE NXT ratings: Dynamite wins return to Wednesday war   
‘Samoan street fight’ announced for WWE SmackDown   
Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler signs with UFC  

Latest Audio:

WOL: Jay Lethal interview, plus AEW and NXT, Smackdown, more! 9/18
Wrestling Weekly: Ric Flair’s first NWA title win & his Mid-Atlantic run 9/18
B&V: Bryan and Vinny review AEW and NXT head-to-head! 9/17

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WON NEWSLETTER: September 21, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Stacked NJPW G-1, more

With a huge feature on the crazy story of the original Hollywood Blonds tag team with the death of Jerry Brown, we’ve got a double issue this week of the Observer up on the site right now. 

Our lead story looks at this year’s G-1 tournament looking at every card, the stories going into the card, the restrictions, the odds, and the new Will Ospreay, start time for every show, complete lineups, comments by Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley regarding this year’s new format. 

Also in this issue:

Update on WWE Clash of Champions, with the matches announced, updates on titles not yet announced with matches and keys to the show.

The situation with Matt Riddle and Samantha Tavel.

Click Here: Rugby league Jerseys

Daniel Cormier getting COVID and a new UFC product being pushed.

Changes at the USA Network, Sasha Banks with a major acting gig, Update on Jeff Hardy, details behind the Paul Heyman/Roman Reigns pairing, new contracts signed in WWE, wrestler teases gimmick change, Mandy Rose angle, law being talked about reglated to the Sonya Deville incident, Retribution update, this coming week’s WWE television, Randy Orton new business, Ivar injury update, Ronda Rousey update, Next NXT Takeover, weird TV moment, Sports & International ratings, Jimmy Jacobs talks WWE protocol and Vince McMahon, injury update, movie with WWE performers, market value of WWE and the most-watched shows on WWE Network.

This past week’s UFC show with the stories behind the show and match-by-match coverage.

New Japan’s last show this past week before G-1, held at Korakuen Hall, with the matches and angles and what is being pushed.

Our huge feature covers the life and career of Jerry Brown, who teamed with Buddy Roberts to form the Hollywood Blonds, one of the greatest heel tag team acts of all-time. This major feature looks at their beginnings, their heyday in Quebec and Florida, places they went, who they faced, as well as the other territories they went, championships they held, the second version of the Hollywood Blonds people don’t remember, the mentality of the act and some crazy Jerry Brown stories, with lots of comments from Bill Watts, who put the team together.

Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

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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 [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

Garrett Gonzalez and I will have a show up tonight and Bryan and I will have a show late Saturday night covering G-1 and UFC.

For those interested in history, there is a huge piece in the new issue on the original Hollywood Blonds with a lot of stuff on both the heydays of Quebec and Florida wrestling since the Blonds were a key part of both eras. Greg Oliver has a story on Jerry Brown. (thanks to James Ward) There is not a ton of prime Hollywood Blonds stuff out there but this was a North American tag team title match against Antonio Inoki & Seiji Sakaguchi.

G-1 starts at 4 a.m. Eastern Saturday morning with the A block, where every night could be a show of the year. The B block show is at 1 a.m. late Saturday night Eastern,which means a totally manageable 10 p.m. start on the West Coast. Plus there’s a big UFC show tomorrow afternoon/evening so tomorrow will be a huge day. Among the first two night matches are Tomohiro Ishii vs. Minoru Suzuki, Shingo Takagi vs. Jay White, Kota Ibushi vs. Kazuchika Okada (rematch of arguably the best match so far this year), Hirooki Goto vs KENTA and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito. The UFC show is loaded as well. We’ll be doing polls on both G-1 show in Osaka as well as the Wednesday and Thursday shows in Sapporo.

UFC weigh-ins for tomorrow’s show on ESPN+ which starts at 5 p.m. Eastern

Tyson Nam (136) vs. Jerome Rivera (135)
Darrck Minner (146) vs. TJ Laramie (145)
Andre Ewell (134.5) vs. Irwin Rivera (135.5)
Randy Costa (135) vs. Journey Newson (135)
Jessica-Rose Clark (135) vs. Sarah Alpar (135.5)
Mayra Bueno-Silva (125.5) vs. Mara Romero Borella (125)
Mirsad Bektic (144.5) vs. Damon Jackson (145.5)
Jordan Espinosa (126) vs. David Dvorak (125.5)
Kevin Holland (185) vs. Darren Stewart (185.5)
Mackenzie Dern (115) vs. Randa Markos (115.5)
Johnny Walker (205.5) vs. Ryan Spann (205.5)
Khamzat Chimaev (185.5) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (186)
Donald Cerrone (170.5) vs. Niko Price (170.5)
Colby Covington (171) vs.;Tyron Woodley (171)

Tuesday’s UWN PPV show has

Thunder Rosa vs. Priscilla Kelly for the NWA women’s title
Eli Drake vs. Watts
Danny Limelight vs. Kevin Martenson
Friendship Farm vs Real Money Brothers

Not only does G-1 start tomorrow and the Champion Carnival is going on, but Pro Wrestling NOAH’s N-1 debuted today with Takashi Sugiura over Yoshiki Inamura, Kaito Kiyomiya going to a 30:00 draw with Masaaki Mochizuki, Go Shiozaki over Manabu Soya and Katsuhiko Nakajima over Kenou.  

Dwayne Johnson had to basically pull apart his own gate off the hinges because the power was out, and he couldn’t get out of the house and there was a crew waiting for him to work on the movie “Red Notice.”  Luckily, he can afford to get it fixed. 

WWE
WWE and DK Publishing have announced a new WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment.  The new book will cover 1,100 wrestlers in 400 pages and 250 updated profiles.
A story on Drew McIntyre (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
AEW
Chris Jericho filed a trademark for the term “Million Viewer Man” on 9/14 according to PWInsider. On Wednesday, the FTR vs. Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus match did one of the best opposed quarters of the year.  
MISCELLANEOUS
Kevin Eck’s weekly ROH news update.
Smackdown tonight on FOX has A.J. Styles vs. Sami Zayn, Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Sheamus & King Corbin in a Samoan street fight plus Bayley and Alexa Bliss doing interview segments.
The Los Angeles Times has a major story on Ultimo Guerrero, Olimpico and other wrestlers working on food truck businesses during the pandemic to make ends meet (thanks to Barry Werner)
There has been major drops in boxing TV ratings since the return from the pandemic.  Top Rank on ESPN was averaging 680,000 viewers pre-pandemic and 332,000 post.  PBC on FOX has dropped from 1.39 million to 887,000. 
Toa Henare’s wrestling school in Auckland, New Zealand has an open house on 9/19.
There will be a Bare Knuckle boxing show on the Bare Knuckle TV app on 9/26 from Tunica, MS headlined by Tee Cummins of Memphis vs. Brian Maxwell.
AIW on 10/9 in Indianapolis at the Marion County Fairgrounds with Matthew Justice vs. Joshua Bishop in a no rope barbed wire match for the Absolute title, and Mordecai vs. Danhausen.
Lariato Pro Wrestling on 9/28 in Jackson, GA at the Butts County Rec Department will be doing an Impact + taping with Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Heath, Brian Myers and Scott D’Amore as well as New Japan’s Rocky Romero.
Bellator has announced Melvin Manhoef, Oliver Enkamp and Terry Brazier to its 10/10 show in Paris.
There is a premiere of the movie “The Whittler” on 10/16 in Wise,VA which includes Al Snow. who is one of the leads, appearing.  The movie debuts on Amazon that day.
Jerry Lawler’s first NWA title shot of his career in 1974 against Jack Brisco from September 16, 1974, Memphis, Mid South Coliseum. Part one and part two. (thanks to Paul Sosnowski)

Daily Pro Wrestling History: WWE Night of Champions 2011

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