THE ROUND-UP
The Latest from the F4W Staff
NEWS
NXT Largo, FL, live results: Kassius Ohno vs. Andrade Almas
Chris Hero makes his WWE in-ring return at tonight’s NXT house show
TNA One Night Only live results: Eddie Edwards vs. EC3; Hardys in action
CMLL Arena Mexico live results: Three Kings Day special
WWE reveals full list of UK tournament competitors
Roman Reigns to defend the US title in a handicap match on Raw
NJPW announces 2017 Fantastica Mania tour & lineup
AUDIO
Josh Nason’s Punch-Out: MMA Year In Review (April-June) 1/7
Wrestling Weekly: Okada vs. Omega, Styles & Cena, Jarrett returns 1/6
F4D: Magnum TA talks his life and career! 1/6
WOL: Chris Hero returns, Kenny Omega tweet, Dr. Lucha, tons more! 1/6
WWE Raw is in Montgomery, AL and SmackDown in Bossier City, LA, along with NXT in Ocala, FL.
STYLE BATTLE ON FLO SPORTS FROM YBOR CITY, FL ON SATURDAY NIGHT
This is an eight-man tournament promotion with first round matches of:
Darby Allin vs. Dave Crist
Dezmond Xavier vs. Sammy Guevara
Fred Yehi vs. Anthony Henry
AR Fox vs. Austin Theory
Sunday has WWE Raw in Mobile, AL and SmackDown in Lafayette, LA.
There is a big Raw episode Monday night in New Orleans with Roman Reigns vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens in a handicap match for the U.S. title, plus appearances by Shawn Michaels and Undertaker. SmackDown has a house show on Monday in Lake Charles, LA.
SmackDown and 205 Live on Tuesday are from Baton Rouge, LA. Matches on SmackDown will be John Cena vs. Baron Corbin, Jason Jordan & Chad Gable vs. The Wyatt Family for the tag team titles and Nikki Bella vs. Natalya.
FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: WWE’s transformative 2016
Though the malaise of three-hour Raws and seemingly constant content often made it difficult to appreciate in the moment, 2016 was a transformative year for WWE that featured high points in diverse in-ring action. Some of the same problems that have long existed still remain as we enter the New Year. Raws are, indeed, too long… Subscribers click here to continue.
WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: January 9, 2017 – Ronda Rousey loses potential final fight, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 review
Coverage of Wrestle Kingdom at the Tokyo Dome and the legacy of Ronda Rousey are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There are updates on the WWE WrestleMania situation, coverage of the Japanese New Year’s Eve Rizin show and its mix of fighting and pro wrestling theatrics.
The lead story talks about Amanda Nunes’ win over Rousey, the lack of promotion by Rousey, how the show did on PPV and television numbers, what happened in the fight, the coaching of Rousey, the Rousey fan base, Rousey in WWE, Rousey’s legacy in MMA, how the history of MMA could have changed greatly by different matchmaking, the myths of Rousey’s career and the reality, all the numbers, as well as the Cody Garbrandt title win over Dominick Cruz, plus match-by-match coverage, poll results and how much each fighter made on the show.
Inside, coverage of Wrestle Kingdom 11, when the main event airs on U.S. TV, Kenny Omega, the future big shows of the year, the business of the show, all the tile changes along with match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
Check out the plans for the 2018 WrestleMania and the big announcement coming, new inductee into WWE Hall of Fame, notes on WrestleMania activities, strange WWE injury story, notes on upcoming Raw episodes, some comedy regarding top WWE stars, WWE value, most watched shows on WWE Network, plus notes from all the holiday week house shows and business notes.
Finally, this issue contains full coverage of the Rizin weekend shows, as well as the business notes on the show and the different storylines, including who they are pushing as stars for the future as well as what they are looking at doing next.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
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 12, 1999: WWF slightly tones down product, Vince Russo on WOL, more – After a week of bad publicity which sent sponsors running and sent its stock plummeting, the kinder, gentler WWF came back with a toned down SmackDown and a slightly toned down, although you’d have to examine to closely to notice, Raw show… Subscribers click here to continue.
SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
With the United Kingdom Championship tournament taking place next weekend, WWE will be airing a preview show on the Network after Raw on Monday that showcases the competitors and focuses on how the tournament came together.
Nigel McGuinness participated in his first official WWE photo shoot ahead of the tournament.
WWE’s Michelle Wilson said that the WWE Network offering downloadable content and offline viewing is “definitely on the roadmap.”
PRO WRESTLING
TNA unveiled a new logo for Impact that incorporates Anthem’s logo into theirs after the company officially took over TNA recently.
The first episode of Impact since the Anthem era began was watched by 290k viewers on Pop TV on Thursday night. The show had aired best-of specials the past two weeks during the holiday season.
NJPW owner Takaaki Kidani explained why the company is running two G1 specials in California in July: “The reason why we decided to go to US is what WWE did to us one years ago. I’m really frustrated. That’s the reason.” Kidani is referring to WWE signing AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows after last year’s Tokyo Dome show.
AXS TV released a promo video for their NJPW episode airing on January 13th that will feature this year’s Tokyo Dome main event between Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega.
Gabi Castrovinci (formerly Raquel in TNA) tweeted that she’s no longer with the company.
Rey Mysterio will appear for What Culture Pro Wrestling in Newcastle on April 29th.
Vader tweeted about his first week of working on his health with DDP.
UFC / MMA
Mike Goldberg released a statement on his UFC departure and thanked everyone for the support they’ve shown.
Ariel Helwani tweeted that Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson and Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson II headlining UFC 209 is still the plan if the company can make the fights official.
When asked about sparring with Ronda Rousey before her UFC 207 fight, Raquel Pennington said that she signed a non-disclosure agreement after being asked to by Rousey.
Amanda Nunes spoke about potentially wanting to challenge for the women’s featherweight title.
Today in Professional Wrestling History (1/7): Triple H returns from injury at MSG
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