Daily Update: TNA Slammiversary in Orlando, Adam Cole, and Trump
Just want to express my sadness and sympathy for the horrible tragedy in Orlando. That goes ahead and beyond any other news.
If you are in Orlando, the Red Cross is asking for blood donations, especially O negative, O positive and AB. From what I understand, the lines of people volunteering to give blood were long all over the city.
By coincidence, TNA is running in Orlando tonight with its Slammiversary show and it must be tough to do so under the circumstances. The show is the biggest show TNA has done in a long time, built up for several weeks. We’ll be doing live coverage on the site starting at 8 p.m.
For those in France, TNA will air live on SFR Sports 2 tonight at 2 a.m. local time. SFR Sports is the new name of MCS, which has aired TNA programming for the past six years. It will be replayed on 6/19 at 8:40 p.m.
TNA usually announces the newest member of its Hall of Fame at the Slammiversary show, but there is talk the announcement will be delayed until Tuesday night’s Impact and teased tonight.
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s TNA Slammiversary show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match [email protected].
We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE shows in Baton Rouge (Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Rusev, Enzo, Cass, Kane, Big Show, Braun Strowman, Erick Rowan, Sami Zayn, Dudleys, Lane, Sasha Banks), Lake Charles, LA (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, A.J. Styles, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Charlotte, Alberto Del Rio,Natalya, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Usos, New Day), Progress in London, NXT in Derby, UK, at the Download Festival, Lucha Underground in Los Angeles and ROH in Milwaukee at the Turner Hall Ballroom (Finals of tag wars with Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Beer City Bruiser & Silas Young vs. All Night Express, Christopher Daniels vs. Kamaitachi plus the finals of Tag Wars) to [email protected].
TNA SLAMMIVERSARY PPV FROM UNIVERSAL IN ORLANDO AT 8 P.M.
Bobby Lashley vs. Drew Galloway for the TNA title – match can only be won via knockout or submission
Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy full metal mayhem
Jade vs. Sienna for Knockouts title
Abyss & Crazzy Steve vs. Jessie Godderz & Robbie E for tag titles
Trevor Lee vs. Eddie Edwards vs. DJ Zema Ion vs. Andre Everett for X title
Eli Drake vs. Bram for King of the Mountain title
Ethan Carter III vs. Mike Bennett
Grado & Mahabali Shera vs. The Tribunal
Raw will be Monday in New Orleans including the return of Shane McMahon. It’ll be the go-home show for Money in the Bank. NXT also runs in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There are also TNA tapings in Orlando.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped Tuesday in Biloxi, MS and NXT runs in Dublin, Ireland. There is also an almost live Impact in Orlando as well as the taping for the following week’s show.
TNA tapings will continue on Wednesday in Orlando. NXT will be in Liverpool, England
THE ROUND-UP
ROH Hopkins, MN, live results: Adam Cole hospitalized with pneumonia; Young Bucks return
NXT Download Festival results: Bobby Roode makes in-ring debut; surprise return
Evolve 62 results & video highlights: Hero vs. Thatcher III; Tony Nese gets WWE tourney opp
F4W / Wrestling Observer annual VEGAS convention information (updated)
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Figure Four Weekly 6/9/2016: Will Christopher Nowinski testify in WWE concussion lawsuit? – The latest battleground in the WWE concussion litigation is whether or not Christopher Nowinski can be compelled to testify. Issues cited in a WWE opposition to the plaintiffs’ effort are included in the lawsuit.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
READ IT HERE: June 13, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Deaths of Muhammad Ali and Kimbo Slice, Brock Lesnar returning to UFC, more
A look at the lives and careers of Muhammad Ali and Kimbo Slice, the return of Brock Lesnar to UFC and the story behind it and coverage of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament are the lead stories in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Our Ali story talks about the changes in public opinion on him going through the years, his place in culture, the Ali-Frazier fight, the Ali-Liston fights, his being banned from boxing, the creation of different world titles, the Ali-Foreman fight, the Thrilla in Manila, the inspiration of the movie Rocky, what Ali took from pro wrestling, Gorgeous George and Fred Blassie, and what he gave back to pro wrestling, the Ali vs. Inoki story, Ali’s appearances in relation to pro wrestling, Ali’s pro wrestling matches that are often forgotten, Ali working the first WrestleMania and the Superdome in New Orleans for Bill Watts, the sad ending of his career and the fraud on the public that was the Larry Holmes fight.
The death of Kimbo Slice is also covered. Read about the circumstances leading to the death, how he became famous, his real background, what he did between football and MMA, the Sean Gannon fight, Elite XC, his television ratings records, the crazy night that was supposed to be the Ken Shamrock fight, the death of Elite XC and how media a misunderstanding ended the promotion, Kimbo’s days in UFC, the highest rated season of Ultimate Fighter, and sustaining the drawing power. Plus, a look at Kimbo Slice and pro wrestling and why it was about to happen, and how it fell apart, is covered. There’s also look at Slice in boxing, and the Dada 5000 fight.
Finally, read about the Brock Lesnar to UFC deal, what Lesnar said about why he’s coming back should it be believed, the choice of Mark Hunt as the opponent, why the deal took so long to be announced, how this affects pro wrestling, Lesnar’s regrets about re-signing with WWE but why you can question that, the drug testing issue and the Ariel Helwani issue that reporting the story first turned into.
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Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: May 3, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Rick Rude, WWF Backlash review, more. A look at the life and career of Rick Rude, a review of WWF Backlash, plus tons more.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
For those of you who are hockey fans, or aren’t I want to mention the passing of Gordie Howe, Mr. Hockey. He was one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, and the biggest star of the long era between Rocket Richard and Bobby Orr.
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering the news from the weekend including TNA, WWE plus taking e-mail questions you can send to [email protected].
Adam Cole will be off tonight’s ROH show in Milwaukee as he was last night’s show in Hopkins, MN, due to being hospitalized with pneumonia.
A story I did on Marc Ratner, who was elected to the boxing Hall of Fame today. A few pro wrestling tidbits in it including some back story on Vince McMahon’s going to Ratner for credibility to do a legit show featuring some big names in 2003.
Donald Trump at a rally in Richmond, VA on Friday talked about having sports celebrities speak at the Republic convention instead of politicians like usual. Trump talked about getting great sports people who like him a lot, mentioning Bob Knight, the former Indiana basketball coach, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Brian France and Dana White. Interesting is he didn’t mention Vince McMahon. He specifically asked the crowd if they knew who Dana White was, and then said all of those guys were winners and champions. Trump made a jab at Chris Christie, who spoke at length at the 2012 convention saying how he spent more time promoting himself than the nominee. Trump said that our country needs to see winners, and that we don’t see winners anymore. He said we have clowns running our country and people who don’t know what they’re doing.
We’ve got Revolution Pro results and hopefully a report up later on the big show in London at York Hall: Marty Scurll b Noam Dar, Pete Dunne b Martin Stone to keep the cruiserweight title, Big Damo b Big Daddy Walter, Will Ospreay b Mike Bailey, Josh Bodom b Chris Hero, Charlie Garrett & Joel Redman wont he British tag titles from Sha Samuels & James Castle, Kurt Angle b Zack Sabre Jr. Angle vs. Sabre was about 9:00. Ospreay vs. Bailey evidently tore the house down. Announcements were made for upcoming matches with Bodom vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Sabre vs. Katsuyori Shibata.
WWE
Dwayne Johnson will be appearing Thursday night on the Tonight show with Jimmy Fallon to promote the movie “Central Intelligence” which debuts this coming weekend. He’ll also be on the Graham Norton show on Thursday night at 11:30 p.m. on BBC America.
Tomorrow’s go-home Raw show is going to have a tough time as there is no return of John Cena to counteract what could be the deciding game of the NBA Championship series with the Warriors up 3-1 over the Cavs.
Paul Levesque left the NXT tour after yesterday’s shows to head to China for WWE business. Levesque was honored yesterday at the Download Festival with the Golden Gods Spirit of Lemmy Award. Levesque and Lemmy were friends and Lemmy performed his entrance music, including on some WrestleManias.
Levesque will be interviewed by bodybuilder and trainer Dave Palumbo on the RX Muscle web site live tomorrow at Noon Eastern time. Palumbo is the nutrition guy for Levesque, Stephanie McMahon and has also worked with Linda McMahon in the past. He’s very well informed on the subject. (thanks to Jim Kerr)
From the Evolve stuff over the weekend it’s confirmed that Tony Nese has been added to the cruiserweight classic tournament.
A very controversial interview from Rene Dupree and also quotes from the former Rodney Mack regarding Chris Nowinski and his business relationship with WWE which Nowinski has said has no foundation here.
Darren Young of WWE is participating in today’s Gay Pride parade in Los Angeles. This takes on more meaning after the news of earlier today.
Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and ROH’s Taeler Hendrix will be signing autographs at the Houston Comicpalooza on 6/18 and 6/19.
LeBron James was wearing an Undertaker shirt shooting around today on the NBA network
UFC
Brock Lesnar not only will be wearing a Reebok uniform when he fights Mark Hunt, but his nationality listed on his uniform will be Canadian with a Canadian flag. Lesnar now lives on a farm in Saskatchewan. I wonder if he can now be the next Gene Kiniski as a pro wrestler called Canada’s Greatest Athlete. Mike Sharpe doesn’t count because he was a spoof and when Kiniski got the name the reporter who gave it to him was serious.
Josh Barnett talks his new movie “Never Back Down” at the G-1 Climax tournament.
MISCELLANEOUS
Kazuchika Okada was backstage yesterday at the Lucha Underground tapings. He did a photo posing with Rey Mysterio Jr. He was in California on a vacation between dates as New Japan is off until Sunday’s Dominion show.
The incredible A.J. Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi match from last year’s G-1 Climax tournament is being advertised on AXS for thiscoming Friday night.
Mike Mooneyham talks Dan Miller.
Combat Zone Wrestling had its 15th annual Tournament of Death yesterday in Townsend, DE at Markland’s Little Acres: Rickey Shane Page beat Tim Donst in a fans bring the weapons match, Conor Claxton beat Masada in a madness match, Alex Colon beat Danny Havoc in a light tube bundles match, Matt Tremont beat Jeff Cannonball in a Home Run Derby match, Aaron Williams beat Ron Mathis, Rickey Shane Page beat Conor Claxton in a barefoot rites of passage match, Matt Tremont beat Alex Colon in a Sharp Shit death match, Lucky 13 & Devon Moore beat Dale Patricks & G-Raver, Josh Crane beat DJ Hyde in a panes of glass match with help from Zandig and BLK OUT, Rickey Shane Page beat Matt Tremont to win the tournament
I want to again list a Go Fund Me for Shadow Jackson, a Georgia independent wrestler who suffered a massive heart attack last week.
Bellator announced new Fights for the 6/24 Dynamite show in St. Louis, with a women’s 125 pound kickboxing match with Denise Kielholtz (44-2) vs. Gloria Piertore (10-1-1) and a featherweight fight with Kevin Ross (31-9) vs. Justin Houghton (7-2).
Freelance Wrestling from Friday night in Chicago before 300 fans. It was noted the atmosphere for this promotion is tremendous: Prince Mustafa Ali won six-way scramble match for title shot over Alex Ohlson, GAP, Craig Mitchell, Suge D, and Brubaker, Matt Knicks b Chris Castro, Robert Ego Anthony over Jeff Cobb, Mr. 450 Hammet and Kobe Durst, Space Monkey & Rey Furia b Brothers of Funstruction, Sally Stitches (Heidi Lovelace) won over Masked Character and JJ Garrett, Beauty & The Beat b The N Words, Prince Mustafa Ali b Isaias Velasquez to win the Freelance title. I was told it was a great show with a really spectacular main event. (thanks to Lance LeVine)
Mid Missouri Wrestling Alliance from Saturday night in St. Louis: Brandon Aarons b Tyler Copeland, Brandon Espinosa b Danny Adams, J-Mal Swagg & Damion Cortess b Ace Hawkins & Barackus, Moondog Rover b Matt Kenway, Brian James b Big Jim Hoffarth, Shaft b Jimmy D, Da’Marius Jones and A.J. Williams co-win a three-way over Gary Jackson and the title was held up. (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Cody Rhodes and Jushin Liger are scheduled to appear for Northeast Wrestling on 8/28 in Bethany, CT.
Cody Rhodes vs. Tommaso Ciampa is scheduled for 9/18 for XWA in Providence, RI at the John Hope Center.
Revolution Pro Wrestling on 7/9 in Petaluma, CA at 7 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building.
Insane Championship Wrestling on 7/29 in Manchester, UK at the O2 Ritz, 7/30 in Birmingham, UK at the O2 Institute and 7/31 in Glasgow, Scotland at the O2 ABC.
The Globe tabloid has a brief story on the Jimmy Snuka case (thanks to Paul Kacprzak)
Lucha Xtreme TV from last night in Fresno: Dark Usag b Eli Everly, Big Dogg b Cresenzo, Homicide b Danny Suarez (thanks to Jon Southerland)
WrestleMerica from last night in Barnesville,GA before 250 fans: Merica Strong b Scotty Beach in an intergender match, David Tita b Johnny Nixx, Iceberg b Scotty Bullwinkle in a first blood match, Tyler Dean b Zane Stevens-DQ, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa b Corey Hollis & Johnny Skyler. Next show is 7/9 with Gangrel. (thanks to Kris Zellner)
Jeff Cobb vs. JR Kratos and Timothy Thatcher vs. Rocky Romero headlined for Fighting Spirit Pro on 7/19 in Atwater, CA. Atwater is between Turlock and Merced, about two hours from San Jose and 2 1/2 hours from San Francisco.
TODAY in professional Wrestling History: Bockwinkel and Stevens win AWA Tag TeamTitles in a steel cage
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