UFC 207: Rousey’s Return
Fight Pass at 7:30 p.m.
Alex Oliveira (170.5) vs. Tim Means (170)
FS1 at 8 p.m.
Brandon Thatch (170) vs. Niko Price (170)
Antonio Carlos Jr. (186) vs. Marvin Vettori (186)
Mike Pyle (170) vs. Alex Garcia (170.5)
Johny Hendricks (173.5) vs. Neil Magny (171)
PPV at 10 p.m.
Louis Smolka (125.5) vs. Ray Borg (129.5)
Dong Hyun Kim (171) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (171)
T.J. Dillashaw (136) vs. John Lineker (135.25)
Dominick Cruz (135) vs,. Cody Garbrandt (135) for welterweight title
Amanda Nunes (135) vs. Ronda Rousey (135) for women’s welterweight title
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s UFC 207, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst fight to [email protected].
We’re also looking for reports on tonight’s WWE shows in Los Angeles (Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens for U.S. title) and Miami (A.J. Styles vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose for WWE title), last night’s shows in Boston and Atlanta and Wednesday night’s show in Nashville to [email protected]. With the holiday weekend, everyone has Saturday and Sunday off, and WWE resumes touring on Monday night with Raw in Tampa.
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING FROM 8-11 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON AXS TV
This is three hours from the January 4, 2016 Tokyo Dome show
Kenny Omega vs. Kushida for IWGP jr. title
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. A.J. Styles for IC title
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma for IWGP tag titles
Mark & Jay Briscoe & Toru Yano vs. Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi for trios titles
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata for Never Open weight title
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Young Bucks vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta for IWGP jr. tag titles
CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO LIVE TONIGHT AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN TIME
Flyer & Robin vs. Metalico & El Hijo del Signo
Pegasso & Star Jr. & Triton vs. Nitro & Sangre Azteca & Virus
Rey Cometa vs. Sagrado
Blue Panther Jr. & The Panther & Drone vs. Kraneo & Olimpico & Ripper
Marco Corleone & Angel de Oro & Stuka Jr. vs. Shocker & El Terrible & Rey Bucanero
Caristico & Volador Jr. & Valiente vs. Negro Casas & Felino & Cavernario
RIZIN tonight at 1 a.m. EST
Valentin Moldavsky vs. Amir Aliakbari in tournament semifinals
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Baruto Kaido in tournament semifinals
Hayato Sakurai vs. Wataru Sakata
Gabi Garcia vs. Yumiko Hotta
Kizaemon Saiga vs. Dillin West
Andy Nguyen vs. Miyu Yamamoto
Reina vs. Hanna Tyson
Hideo Tokoro vs. Erson Yamamoto
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kron Gracie
Tournament finals
WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING TOMORROW FROM THE THEATER IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
NBC Sports Network at 3 p.m. Eastern
David Branch (19-3) vs. Louis Taylor (13-3) for the middleweight title
Caio Alencar (10-1) vs. Jared Rosholt (14-3)
Live on NBC at 4 p.m. Eastern
Marlon Moraes (17-4-1) vs. Josenaldo Silva (25-4) for bantamweight title
Jon Fitch (28-7-1) vs. Jake Shields (31-8-1) for welterweight title
Paul Bradley (23-6) vs. Yushin Okami (32-10)
Justin Gaethje (16-0) vs. Luiz Firmino (19-7) for lightweight title
Raw will be Monday night in Tampa with Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn in a last man standing match announced plus the return of Bill Goldberg. There is no Smackdown house show on Monday night so it actually would make sense for Smackdown talent to be on the show teasing the Rumble match. It also would have made a good night for the Slammys since most Mondays you can’t have the Smackdown talent at the show.
Smackdown and 205 Live are Tuesday night from Jacksonville. The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose for the IC title is on Tuesday.
NEW JAPAN WRESTLE KINGDOM 11 FROM THE TOKYO DOME ON NEW JAPAN WORLD IN ENGLISH AND JAPANESE STARTING AT 2:30 A.M. LATE TUESDAY NIGHT EASTERN TIME
New Japan 20 man Royal Rumble rules match
Tiger Mask W (Kota Ibushi) vs. Tiger the Dark (ACH)
Young Bucks vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta for IWGP jr. tag titles
Gauntlet series for trios titles with Satoshi Kojima & Ricochet & David Finlay (champions), Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi, Yoshi-Hashi & Will Ospreay & Jado and Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
Cody the American Nightmare vs. Juice Robinson
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole for ROH title
Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma for IWGP tag team titles
Kushida vs. Hiromu Takahashi for IWGP jr. tag title
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto for Never Open weight title
Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for IC title
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega for IWGP title
FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: Figure Four Weekly 12/26/2016: Is WWE violent enough?
A couple years ago, I was working on an article for Fighting Spirit Magazine about how lopsided WWE was in terms of having too many babyfaces and not enough heels, as well as the company’s heel/face divide in general. One of the people I interviewed for the article was Kevin Sullivan, who spoke at length about how he felt that WWE heels were inherently limited because they couldn’t “commit a violent act” due to WWE’s “PG” content restrictions… Subscribers click here to continue.
WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: January 2, 2017 UFC 207 preview, Wrestlemania’s rumored matches, more
A look at Ronda Rousey going into what will be the fight that determines a lot of her legacy is the lead story of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Find out why this fight will be looked back on as a key to her career, why it could be her last fight, and the psychological issues going into this fight. There is also a look at other aspects of the show including Cain Velasquez not fighting, and the last show for two of the longest-tenured UFC employees, booker Joe Silva and announcer Mike Goldberg. Plus, look at the ramifications of the show.
This issue also has an update on WrestleMania 33, with the three matches confirmed for the show and several others likely, plus the latest on the Undertaker situation and the different ideas Vince McMahon has been talking about, and also look at where other top stars are fitting in.
Preview the Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada match and the Tokyo Dome build, and find out what to look for from a business standpoint as well as a history standpoint. Also, have a look at the rest of the show and what to expect and a look back at some history of January 4th at the Tokyo Dome.
Mick Foley’s hip surgery situation and why he’s not having it just yet, notes on the 2017 Money in the Bank show, a look at the past 11 years with what WWE stars headlined most often and what WWE matches drew the best with a lot of surprises, inside this issue. Also, look at exactly who owns WWE right now. Find out what WrestleMania main event poll that was taken down, and also look at the situation in the U.K. Examine the NXT TV specials, Hulk Hogan, a college class on a former WWE champion, WWE and Matt Riddle, how a WWE Network special was edited, as well as stock notes, and the most watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network… Subscribers click here to continue.
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].
Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue, or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.
WON BACK ISSUE: December 5, 1999 WWF losing advertisers, Steve Austin gets good news regarding neck, more – If you’re looking for this week’s top story to be simplified into good vs. evil, you’re looking in the wrong place. After two years of the WWF’s new direction turning it into prime advertising for companies aiming products at in particular, teenage and young adult males, suddenly, this week advertisers were dropping like flies… Subscribers click here to continue.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will have a show tonight covering tonight’s UFC show as well as the latest pro wrestling news. If you’ve got questions for the show you can send them to [email protected].
Ronda Rousey was the second most searched term in the U.S. yesterday with 500,000 searches. That is very unusual for a UFC fighter the day before, but not for Rousey. Personal searches for Rousey are always high and don’t necessarily indicate a gigantic buy rate, but it would be a good sign. A big issue is that so many people think the show is tomorrow night.
Live tickets are just about sold out. That would be ahead of the other shows at the T Mobile Arena, but the gate will be much lower since they were charging significantly less than the other shows at the arena. Rousey was cheered louder than anyone at the weigh-ins and Amanda Nunes was booed more than anyone else. Dominick Cruz was also booed pretty heavily but he’s pretty much playing arrogant heel to precision.
A major story involving the New York area is that Charter Communications (Spectrum Cable) and NBC Universal are in a dispute. As of right now, if a new deal isn’t reached by midnight tomorrow, when the contract expires, then 16 million homes around the country, including much of New York, will be without not only NBC but MSNBC, Bravo, E!, USA and Syfy. I’ve seen some stuff to rally people against the cable company and in pushing shows people won’t be able to see, they have mentioned Raw, Smackdown ad Total Divas. Usually these things get worked out because the contract would expire before Sunday Night Football which is a huge show.
There is a weird story as a Go Fund Me was set up for John Yurnet, who wrestled on Tuesday night’s 205 Live show against Mustafa Ali and apparently blew his knee out. He’s trying to raise $10,000 in medical expenses for an MRI and surgery. As of this morning they had raised $1,995. It’s weird because WWE usually covers injuries to talent, but Yurnet is not under a WWE contract, although he wrestled in a WWE ring. There is also a lot of talk that Yurnet was injured before the match and not on the first spot of the match as was first said.
World Series of Fighting has the biggest show in its history tomorrow with the main card on NBC in the afternoon. WFAN in New York, the biggest sports radio station in the country, will also be covering the event.
WWE
There was a brief injury scare with Bo Dallas last night in Boston. The report was that they stopped his match early and the ref gave an “X” sign, but he seemed okay after because his gimmick all week is that after losing in a multiple person match, he then challenges anyone from the back to come out and refuses to leave the ring. Big Show then knocks him out. And after the match was stopped, he did recover and issued the challenge spot.
MISCELLANEOUS
New Japan announced that Masahiro Chono would be doing Japanese commentary for Wrestle Kingdom 11.
Kurt Angle will wrestle on 3/3 for Northeast Wrestling in Waterbury, CT.
There will be a lot of New Japan World live events this week. There will be three matches from Differ Ariake on Tuesday (late Monday U.S. time) as well as New Year’s Dash, which often has some of the best angles because it’s setting up the new year, which will be at 4:30 a.m. early Thursday morning Eastern time.
Beyond Wrestling Party Animals show last night in Providence, RI before a sellout crowd even with WWE in Boston head-to-head: Rex Lawless b Maxwell Jacob Feinstein, Warbeard Hanson b Scotty Slade, VSK & Dorian Graves won four-way over Anthony Green & Big Daddy Beluga, Davey Cash & Kris Pyro and Ace Romero & Xavier Bell, Brian Milonas b Travis Flip Gordon, Chris Hero b Keith Lee (said to be ****+ and best thing on the show), Matt Riddle & Chuck O’Neill (another former UFC fighter) b Bill Carr & Dan Barry (Barry walked out on Carr after the match), Pinkie Sanchez b Tracy Williams (bad match), Dan Maff & Monsta Mack b Chris Dickinson & Jaka, Kimber Lee b Donovan Dijak (Kimber Lee’s farewell to Beyond as she’s going to WWE). After the match, Lee gave a farewell speech and Hero came out. JT Dunn then hit an elbow from behind to her and Hero laid her out with a piledriver. Veda Scott & Sonya Strong b Jordynne Grace & Karen Q. There was a problem here as Karen pinned Scott and the ref counted three and the bell rang. Everyone looked confused and they all continued the match like it never happened. John Silver b Joey Janela in a very good match. David Starr b Jonathan Gresham to keep the wXw (German promotion) Shotgun title. Donovan Dijak & Mikey Webb won four-way over Hero & Dunn. This match went 30 minutes and started at almost midnight. The crowd was tired. Kimber Lee interfered to help Dijak & Webb win. Kimber Lee then did her farewell speech. She never mentioned WWE by name. But she hoped the crowd would follow her on her new journey on a new stage. The promoter gave her a framed photo of herself with the Beyond logo (thanks to Patrick Tobin).
Alberto El Patron and brother Guillermo as El Hijo de Dos Caras arrived Wednesday in Austria for a show today in Leoben. They held a press conference yesterday at the Schwarzenegger Museum in Graz (where Schwarzenegger is from). Alberto then attended the local hockey team’s game and had a seminar yesterday. Paige was not on this trip even though he did say on Instagram a few days earlier she was coming. Chris Raaber, the promoter, faces Joe Doering, coming back from brain cancer, in the main event for their title. More than 600 tickets were sold in advance which is a great number for a small Austrian promotion. (thanks to Markus Gronemann)
Pro Wrestling 2.0 from last night in Orlando: Chasyn Rance & Kaci Lennox b Chico Adams & Mila Naniki, Brandi Lauren b Trish Adora, Kahagas b Aaron Epic, Lacey Lane b Jon Cruz, Seth Petruzelli b Josh Hess & Wolfe Taylor, Shane Strickland (Killshot) d Martin Stone. (thanks to Al Haft)
I Believe in Wrestling on 1/13 in Orlando at the Team Vision Dojo with Seth Petruzelli.
CMLL from Tuesday night in Guadalajara: Star Black & Vaquero Jr. b Carlo Roggi & Linterna, Cancerbero & Joker & Raziel b Magnum & Marvel & Star Jr., Cuatrero & Forastero & Sanson b Blue Panther Jr. & Esfinge & Pegasso, Kraneo & Polvora & Ripper b Drone & Stuka Jr. & Triton, Caristico & Marco Corleone & Volador Jr. b La Mascara & Shocker & El Terrible.
Only one day remains in the annual Whale Scout fundraising drive. Whale Scout is a certified Washington State 501(c)3 non-profit run by Bryan’s wife Whitney, so Bryan has thrown in a bunch of wrestling-related perks including signed copies of the original 2005 edition of Death of WCW. All donations are tax-deductible for the year 2016. There are also a lot of great and unique whale-related perks left if you or someone in your life loves whales. Whitney has a video up, a look at all the perks and more on the Indiegogo page here, or you can check out more information at www.whalescout.org. Of course, you can donate without grabbing a perk if you are so inclined. She also has a regular podcast available on iTunes searching Whale Scout Podcast, the latest of which features an interview with Mark Leiren-Young, who wrote the new book “The Killer Whale Who Changed The World.” Thanks from Whitney and Bryan!
Today in Professional Wrestling History (12/30): Big Van Vader defeats Ron Simmons for WCW World Title
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