DAILY UPDATE
Latest News:
AEW Dynamite viewership up for Thursday episode, 18-49 rating down
Matches set for NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Darren Young to debut
AEW sets Saturday onsale date for Wednesday’s Dynamite, All Out
Rey & Dominik Mysterio to team up at WWE Payback
Miz TV with Big E announced for WWE SmackDown
AEW Dynamite video highlights: Hangman Page out of The Elite
Latest Audio:
Big Audio Nightmare: Joshi Assemble news, NJPW Jingu Stadium preview, more 8/28
WOL: AEW TV, NXT ratings, Smackdown, Payback, more! 8/28
DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show special: Rest in peace Bob Armstrong 8/28
Wrestling Weekly: Memories of and a tribute to Bob Armstrong 8/28
B&V: Bryan and Vinny review AEW and NXT head-to-head! 8/27
WON NEWSLETTER: August 31, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Death of Bob Armstrong, WWE ThunderDome debut
A look at the life and wrestling career of Bob Armstrong is the lead in this week’s double issue of the Observer. We go through what made him a star, his appeal in the Southeast, his role in the famed Atlanta promotion war, what his booking by Bill Watts in Florida inspired more than a decade later, the Roddy Piper feud, the numbers Georgia wrestling did on cable, his success in different territories and his authority roles later in his career.
Also in this issue:
Thunderdome, what hit, what missed, what audience came back for it, what has been learned so far, the sweetheart business deal, the Payback card and booking, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Television situation changing for Bellator and what that means, including the unique nature of their ownership that explains why it was purchased in the first place.
Karrion Kross injury and Tuesday’s NXT show to fill the title vacancy.
A look back at the first NXT Takeover and at the 30th show, with match-by-match coverage, star ratings and poll results.
New Japan’s first major outdoor stadium show in 21 years, the last non-Tokyo Dome stadium show before this, what Jingu Stadium is most known for historically, an show preview and a look at this past week’s Korakuen Hall show.
The economics of WWE, the Sonya Deville court hearing, return to action of the U.K. crew and plans, Renee Young talks her time in WWE, Big E/Miz talk, WWE new hires, Orton and Flair talk their angle, how wrestling did compared to other sports this past week, Canadian & U.K. ratings, rewriting of Raw this past week, most watched shows on WWE network this past week and company current market value.
Saturday’s UFC show with business notes and match-by-match coverage.
Return of CMLL, its plans for this year’s anniversary show and how the voting for specific matches is doing.
Television viewers per home for the biggest sports events of the past week and how wrestling fits in.
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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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
I will be doing a show tonight with Garrett Gonzalez and Andreas Hale talking current events and pro wrestling. Bryan and I will have shows Saturday talking UFC and NJPW’s shows that day and Sunday talking WWE Payback. We will have weekend polls, thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match on the New Japan Jingu Stadium show and the WWE Payback show.
AEW tickets for shows this coming Wednesday and All Out on 9/5 go on sale at 10 a.m. tomorrow. There will be only 500 tickets put on sale for each show.
Tonight’s Smackdown features the contract signing with The Fiend vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman on Sunday. The rating is interesting. It should rise with Reigns being back, unless last week’s number was more Thunderdome curiosity than anything else, then it could drop a little. But it should be well above what the show had been doing.
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The famed Roddy Piper/Bob Armstrong angle in Georgia in 1982. More Piper and Armstrong stuff here.
UFC tomorrow is an all ESPN+ show starting at 6 p.m. Eastern
Sean Brady (170.5) vs. Christian Aguilera (170)
Emily Whitmire (115.5) vs Polyana Viana (116)
Alex Caceres (145) vs. Austin Springer (151)
Zak Cummings (185) vs. Alessio Di Chirico (184)
Mallory Martin (115.5) vs. Hannah Cifers (117)
Maki Pitolo (184.5) vs. Impa Kasanganay (185.5)
Magomed Ankalaev (205) vs. Ion Cutelaba (205.5)
Ricardo Lamas (145) vs. Bill Algeo (146)
Alexa Grasso (126) vs. Ji Yeon Kim (126)
Neil Magny (171) vs. Robbie Lawler (171)
Anthony Smith(205) vs. Alexander Rakic (205.5)
Springer, who was a late add just yesterday, missed weight by five pounds and was fined 30 percent of his purse. Cifers missed weight by 1 pound and she will forfeit 20 percent of her purse. Gika Chikadze, who was to face Caceres, tested positive for COVID-19 and was removed from the show.
New Japan at Jingu Stadium in Tokyo at 4 a.m. Eastern Saturday morning:
Master Wato vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Kazuchika Okada vs. Desperado vs. Sanada vs. Toru Yano for KOPW title
Shingo Takagi vs. Minoru Suzuki for Never title
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori for IWGP jr. title
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi for IWGP tag titles
Evil vs. Tetsuya Naito for IWGP & IC titles
New Japan Strong tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern On New Japan World:
Jordan Clearwater vs. Danny Limelight
TJP & ACH & Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors vs. Adrian Quest & Blake Christian & Barrett Brown & Misterioso
Chase Owens vs. PJ Black
WWE EVP of Global Talent Strategy Paul Levesque sold 52,807 shares of his WWE stock on Wednesday and Thursday for $2,410,160. He still has 81,325 shares worth about $3.66 million.
WWE
Payback odds from www.BetOnlin.ag:
Bray Wyatt -300 vs. Roman Reigns +150 vs. Braun Strowman +500
Keith Lee -120 vs. Randy Orton -120
Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax -140 vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks +100
Bobby Lashley -250 vs. Apollo Crews +170
Odds for the NXT title match on Tuesday
Finn Balor +140 vs. Tommaso Ciampa +160 vs. Adam Cole +250 vs. Johnny Gargano +350
UFC
Tom Breese vs. Roman Kopylov has been added to the 10/3 show.
AEW
I haven’t seen all the numbers at this writing but apparently the Jon Moxley/MJF segment and Young Bucks vs. Best Friends segments on last night’s shows did the best.
MISCELLANEOUS
David Arquette from the ROHStrong Podcast with Kevin Eck.
ROH News from the past week.
The Two Rows from Ringside podcast did an interview with Kamala last month and just released it
Lucha Va Voom will be doing a live streaming show on 9/3 from 7-8 p.m. Pacific time at EventBrite.com Taya Valkyrie and members of the Los Angeles Roller Girls will be appearing.
Cage Fury Fighting Championships has acquired the Memphis-based V-3 fights organization and will be running shows on 9/17 and 9/18 in Tunica, MS with C.M. Punk and John Morgan as announcers. The first night has Jared Scoggins (9-1) vs. Thomas Vazquez (9-4) in the main event. The second night main event has CFFC welterweight champion Jeremiah Wells (8-2-1) defending against Bobby Lee (11-4).
Bare Knuckle Boxing is running a show with tickets on sale on 9/11 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL. It will air on the Bare Knuckle TV App with Thiago Alves vs. Phil Baroni and Hector Lombard vs. Kendall Grove as the main events.
KSW runs tomorrow from Warsaw, Poland. Shail Musaev pulled out of the show due to injury so the new main event has lightweight champion Mateusz Gamrot (16-0, 155.0) defending against Marian Ziokowski (21-7-1, 154) plus boxing champion Izu Ugonoh (0-0, 232) vs. Quentin Domingos (5-1, 254).
Jimmy Smith will be hosting a show in Sirius XM called Unlocking the Cage with Jimmy Smith which debuts on Monday on Fight Nation.
AIW at Noon on 9/6 from Indianapolis will have an iPPV on FITE TV. Ethan Page vs. Tom Lawlor is on the show.
Giovanni “Romeo” Roselli, a former WWE wrestler who formed a tag team with Antonio Thomas, was named Best Male Presenter by SCW Mania for his work online as a personal trainer for his live streaming courses.
An interview with Shaul Guerrero.
Daily Pro Wrestling History: WWF SummerSlam 1989
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