If you haven’t seen the footage of Shane McMahon’s elbow drop off the top of the Hell in a Cell cage, here is the video.
Tony Ferguson is out of his UFC main event fight on the FOX show on April 16th against Khabib Nurmagomedov due to blood/fluid on his lung. Several fighters, including Donald Cerrone and lightweight Champion Rafael Dos Anjos have volunteered to step in but UFC hasn’t decided whether to go with a replacement for Khabib or just scrap the fight entirely. The new main event will be Rashad Evans vs. Glover Teixeira, which will now be five rounds. Teixeira replaced Shogun Rua several weeks ago due to an injury.
Smackdown spoilers can be read here.
Raw ratings for the biggest Raw of the year were slightly disappointing.
The winner of the Demetrius Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo match will be taking on the winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 24.
We’re looking for your thoughts on both WrestleMania & NXT Takeover so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
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Smackdown will be taped tomorrow in Houston.
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Figure Four Weekly 3/21/2016: Hulk Hogan awarded $115 million (sort of) by jury
Hulk Hogan is awarded $115 million by jury over the Gawker sex tape lawsuit. Will he collect?
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
READ IT HERE: April 4, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Wrestlemania 32 preview, Jon Jones arrested
WrestleMania 32, the Daniel Bryan story updated, the entire weekend and history of St. Louis wrestling are all part of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WrestleMania 32: The matches, schedule, what hasn’t been promoted, ticket sales, gate numbers, ticket sales and secondary market prices for all the sold out events over the weekend.
Aftermath of the Hulk Hogan/Gawker trial, what is next, Nick Denton’s attempt to explain their decision, and more.
Jon Jones arrest, the key points and what he’s facing. Lots more on Daniel Bryan, the retirement of Brie Bella, the WWE special on Daniel Bryan, and a lot more details of his issues and a time line of thing. Friday night’s Madison Square Garden event.
A major feature on St. Louis wrestling and Joe Garagiola, the first host of Wrestling at the Chase. How powerful the show was in its heyday, when Vince McMahon promoted Wrestling at the Chase and why one of the most noteworthy moments in modern pro wrestling took place at the show. The beginnings of the show and the role Garagiola played in it. Before Sam Muchnick and Lou Thesz, the arrival of Muchnick, the heyday of Bill Longson, the Muchnick vs. Thesz feud and reconciliation, the boom and bust of pro wrestling in the 50s. Why Garagiola left the show and his last show. The colorful life of Garagiola.
SummerSlam tickets, a crazy Hulk Hogan story from years back, John Cena update, more on ESPN’s coverage of WWE, WWE wrestler whose push is being rethought, Roman Reigns talks being booed, Newcomers to WWE, and more people getting looks. Global cruiserweight tournament that WWE is putting together. We also have an update on the WWE Hall of Fame.
Hodge trophy and more on the NCAA tournament in Madison Square Garden.
PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW
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Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
If you wanted to know just how big Giant Baba was to people who grew up in the 60s and 70s, the latest back issue will explain.
Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: February 15, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Reaction to the death of Giant Baba, 2 wrestlers have heart scares, plus tons more A look at the surprising public reaction to the death of Giant Baba, 2 wrestlers have heart attack scares, plus tons of news and notes.
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE
Rampage Jackson’s return fight in Bellator has been booked for for Dynamite II on Friday, June 24th, in St. Louis, MO. He’ll face Satoshi Ishii in the night’s main event at a catchweight of 215 pounds. Like the first time, this Dynamite show will be a combo MMA/kickboxing affair on Spike TV.
WWE stock continued its slide today, down about 34 cents on a day where the market did really well. That’s a bad sign. It seems like a lot of investors have lost faith based on the new network number. The NASDAQ was up about 60 points and the S&P 500 was up about 17 points.
Forbes has a column hoping for Roman Reigns vs. John Cena at SummerSlam.
Here’s a look at the promotional and merchandising part of WrestleMania.
Seth Rollins is going to be in a movie with Wesley Snipes and Anne Heche, co-produced by WWE and Gene Simmons of Kiss’ production company.
WWE & PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING
Presale tickets are on sale for WWE Money in the Bank in Las Vegas by using the code ‘wwefan’. Public on-sale starts on Friday at 10 AM local time.
Presale tickets for RAW in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on 8/22 — aka SummerSlam week — are available by using BKRAW. Public on-sale starts this Saturday.
TakePart.com has a piece about gender equality and the WWE women’s division here.
WWE is heading back to Hawaii for the first time in 7 years.
A story about Sheamus and Liverpool FCs Martin Skrtel made the Express in the UK today.
ROH did two sneak peeks for this week’s TV show: DAlton Castle vs. Silas Young in a Fight Without Honor & ACH vs Kenny Omega.
ROH runs on Saturday, 4/23 in San Antonio, TX, at the Shrine Auditorium.Tickets are on sale now.
“The Masked Man” David Shoemaker announced he is bringing his podcast to Bill Simmons’ The Ringer.
Len Denton talked about his past, his book, and more on this podcast.
Rocky Romero released a record album you can get for $6. More here from Uproxx. Here is the link directly to his site to buy the album.
UFC & MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Here is a sit down interview with Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman.
Bellator announced Douglas Lima vs. Chidi Njokuani as the co-main event at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, CA, on 6/17. Bantamweight champion Marcos Galvao vs. Eduardo Dantas is the main event.
Combate Americas has a press conference on Thursday at 3 PM EST to release details on its new weekly MMA fight series on NBC Universo. The weekly series will be televised by NBC Universo, beginning on Monday, April 18, 2016 at 12:00 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT, live from Los Angeles, California.
Invicta FC announced a second title show for their May 7th show in Costa Mesa. Livia Souza will defend her strawweight title against former UFC fighter Angela Hill, who has knocked out each of her first two Invicta opponents. Souza is 9-0 and is coming off a first round KO of DeAnna Bennett in her first title defence in January. Tickets on Sale now at CageTix.com.
WSOF 30 on Saturday did 158,000 viewers on NBC Sports Network. The show started very late, 11:30 pm eastern, so the number isn’t quite as bad as it sounds. It’s down about 20% from the 2015 average.
MISCELLANEOUS / EVENTS
Pro Wrestling RETURNS to Santa Cruz on Saturday April 9th 2016 at The VFW Post 7263 on 7th Ave in Santa Cruz CA. THIS IS A TV TAPING for Roku, Santa Cruz public access, and regional airing. **JUST ADDED** Chris Jericho’s Favorite Wrestler, from Ring of Honor and NJPW, it’s CHEESEBURGER!!!! – Presented by ComedySuplex.com.
AIW runs in Cleveland, OH, this Friday with Alex Shelley vs. Johnny Gargano, Booker T, Grado, Candice LeRae and more.
Capital City Championship Combat on 4/15 at the Vanier Columbus Club in Ottawa, Canada, featuring “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Ethan Page, Joey Ryan, and 2 Cold Scorpio.
The United Wrestling Coalition returns in less than a week to Kelly’s Bar/Banquet Hall in Wrightstown, New Jersey on Saturday night, April 9, 2016. Doors open at 6:30, and bell time is 7:00 p.m. Admission is $10. For more information, call 609-792-9328 or like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UWCFanCave
Legacy Fighting Championship returns to Center Stage in Atlanta THIS Friday, April 8 for its 53rd fight night and televised LIVE on AXS TV! Purchase your tickets on Ticketmaster by clicking HERE!
MCW debuts in Galena MD with former WWE Superstar X-Pac in action. Purchase tickets here.
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Check out all of our WrestleMania 32 weekend coverage.