Daily Update: Ali vs. Inoki, G-1, Elgin, CIA, Shimmer results
July 19, 2020 | News | No Comments
Depending on how you look at it, either today or yesterday was the 40th anniversary of Ali vs. Inoki. The show took place on June 25 in the U.S., but it was June 26 in Japan where the match took place live due to the time difference. In something amazing, nobody has heard this until this past weekend, but this is Bill Apter with Bruno Sammartino from the dugout of Shea Stadium watching the Ali vs. Inoki match together and their comments. Josh Gross has a piece in Newsweek on that match as well.
We’re doing one poll this weekend for tonight’s ROH show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave@WrestlingObserver.com.
We’re looking for reports on WWE’s house show on Saturday night in Boston (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Rusev, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Alberto Del Rio, Usos, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson) and Saturday’s ROH TV tapings in Concord, NC (Kyle O’Reilly challenges for the ROH title, Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser challenge for the tag titles, Briscoes vs. Young Bucks in a battle of the IWGP tag team champions vs. IWGP jr. tag team champions, Jay White vs. Kamaitachi and Roderick Strong vs. Dalton Castle) to NewsTips@WrestlingObserver.com.
Sunday has two WWE shows, with one crew in Orlando (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Usos, Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Austin Aries) and the other in Jacksonville (Big Show, Kane, Rusev, Charlotte, Natalya, Enzo, Cass, Kalisto, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, New Day). Ultima Lucha 3 is a being taped in Los Angeles on Sunday with Johnny Mundo vs. Prince Puma title vs. career as the main event, Fenix vs. Marty the Moth mask vs. hair and a ladder match for the Gift of the Gods title with Son of Havoc vs. Pentagon Jr.
NEW JAPAN FROM KORAKUEN HALL LIVE ON NEW JAPAN WORLD AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN TIME MONDAY MORNING
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. David Finlay
Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Kazushi Sakuraba & Rocky Romero & Baretta
Satoshi Kojima & Matt Sydal & Yoshitatsu vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page & Chase Owens
Katsuyori Shibata & Yuji Nagata & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Juice Robinson
Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Seiya Sanada & Evil
Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & Bushi
This is a big show because the G-1 Climax members and main event matches will be announced during intermission.
Raw is Monday night in Tampa and is the only show of the week with John Cena scheduled.
Smackdown will be taped on Tuesday night in Tampa, with a skeleton crew because a number of wrestlers are laving after Raw for Honolulu.
There will be a tour of Japan and Hawaii that starts Wednesday night in Honolulu (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Usos, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka, A.J. Styles, Chris Jericho).
THE ROUNDUP
Daily Pro Wrestling History (06/25): Rock pins Vince McMahon to win WWE title
NXT TV tapings spoilers: Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura; AA vs. Revival 2/3 falls
ROH Best In The World live results: Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe; Addiction vs. MCMG
Bellator Dynamite 2 live results: Rampage Jackson vs. Satoshi Ishii; Michael Chandler vs. Patricky Pitbull
The Week In British Wrestling: After beating a Hero, Marty Scurll tries to avoid the End
The 10th annual Wrestling Observer/F4W convention in Las Vegas takes place during UFC’s International Fight Week from July 7 – 11. Ed in San Antonio has information on Facebook, or you can email him at F4Wfan@hotmail.com. It’s always a fun time, so hurry up and make your plans to join Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, Vinny, Granny, Ed, Peach, Dez, Dr. Lucha, Rodney, Sr. Jaialai, “Filthy” Tom, and the rest of the group in beautiful Las Vegas this July. Plus… some extra secret surprises.
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Figure Four Weekly
READ IT HERE: Figure Four Weekly 6/20/2016: Never trust Nigerian investors – Growing up as a way-too-hardcore-for-my-age wrestling fan, I looked forward to watching whatever flavor of wrestling from the Dallas Sportatorium was on ESPN and in syndication at the time. The ESPN show was perfect for kids who loved pro wrestling: It aired at 4 p.m. eastern time, so it was perfect for after-school viewing… Subscribers click here to continue reading.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
READ IT HERE: June 27, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Roman Reigns suspended, Money in the Bank review, more – Details on the suspension of Roman Reigns after a wellness policy violation, Money in the Bank reviewed, more…
A look at the prospective UFC sale is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The issue looks at the main bidders, what kind of money is being bid, how much the Fertittas have made from the endeavor, the situation with Dana White, what is and isn’t expected to change, why the sale is coming now and who exactly owns what percentage of the company, plus a look at just how deep the UFC 200 show is.
Pluse there is a major story on the gamble of Brock Lesnar in UFC 200, the most in-depth look at the Ariel Helwani situation that you’ll find anywhere, full coverage of NXT Takeover, UFC 199, WWE Money in the Bank, and the details of TNA’s struggle to stay alive, its PPV and its future. There is also a breakdown on the WWE cruiserweight classic, and monthly WWE and TNA business figures.
This issue looks at Michael Bisping’s unlikely title win, all the ramifications of the Lesnar deal, what it shows about WWE, a look back at the last time WWE risked one of their stars against an outsider without scripting, how Ariel Helwani got to be a star reporter and how that played into what happened last week, and what aspects of the story that are really more important that haven’t been covered or have been overlooked.
Inside this week, there is also a look at the death of a key WWE musician, more on what Ali learned from pro wrestling, Bryan Danielson attends WWE event, Bobby Roode’s debut, notes on SummerSlam, new WWE executive hire, new WWE announcer, WWE looking for new members of creative, who is expected to return shortly, another animated WWE movie, update on Paul Heyman plus a full rundown on all the WWE & NXT live events this past week and business notes on the shows.
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Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: May 10, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Fans celebrate life of Giant Baba at Tokyo Dome, PRIDE 5 recap, more. The final chapter in the career and life of Shohei Baba took place on the biggest show he ever main evented and the biggest show he ever promoted–some three months after his death.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight with our weekend Wrestling Observer radio show. Without a major show to cover today, we’ll have more time for questions so you can send them to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com. We’ll also be talking the Sandra Toffoloni interview on Talk is Jericho and any questions on that subject will get priority.
The complete G-1 Climax tournament roster, blocks and main matches will be announced early tomorrow morning during intermission at the Korakuen Hall show. Regarding some names people may speculate on, Kyle O”Reilly, Roderick Strong and Adam Cole are all booked at the 7/29 PWG show which tells you they will not be in G-1. I believe Cole will debut during this tour on the Sumo Hall shows at the end but not be in the tournament.
As noted all weekend, Shinsuke Nakamura & Finn Balor face Austin Aries & Samoa Joe at today’s WWE house show in Orlando. Nakamura and Asuka will then be brought to TV this week, although my guess is if either appears it would be in a dark match, and after Raw will be going to Honolulu and then to Japan. Today would be Nakamura and Aries’ first WWE appearance. Balor has done shows already, as has Joe, with Joe having the match with Tyson Kidd which led to Kidd’s near fatal broken neck a year ago.
The Johnny Mundo vs. Prince Puma title vs. career match is being taped this afternoon in Los Angeles as the main event of Ultima Lucha 3. Other matches taped today are Pentagon Dark vs. Son of Havoc in a ladder match for the vacant Gift of the Gods title, Drago & Steve Pain & Luchasaurus defend the trios titles, Mantanza Cueto vs. Dragon Azteca Jr. in a cage match, Sexy Star vs. Taya last woman standing, and a three-way with Mil Muertes vs. Cage vs. Jeremiah Gray (Sami Callihan).
Michael Elgin won the Elite tournament beating Volador Jr. in the finals last night at Arena Mexico. This is not the CMLL Grand Prix, which is an iPPV taking place this coming Friday that Elgin is also in. Elgin last night beat Lio Rush, Bram and then Volador Jr. to win.
WWE
Central Intelligence with Dwayne Johnson was No. 3 at the box office this weekend, estimated to do $18.4 million, behind Finding Dory and Independence Day: Resurgence.
So the Elite vs. New Day feud actually started this past weekend in Orlando as Xavier Woods, the WWE’s video game superstar faced Kenny Omega, the video game superstar of New Japan at the Wyndham Orlando Resort. They battled in the Street Fighter V game and Omega won a game that was streamed live on the Capcom Fight’s Twist channel. Both The New Day and Elite have tried to do a viral build for a match that in theory would be politically impossible, as well as make remarks on both New Japan shows and WWE shows that manage to slip through the cracks.
WWE signed another female interviewer, Carly Arnolt, who comes from Fox59 in Indianapolis where she was a sports reporter.
The reason Zumbi wasn’t in the WWE cruiserweight tournament and instead did the Elite tournament is that WWE didn’t get his visa issues done in time. Paul Levesque talked that they would like to give him another shot, and also talked of the cruiserweight classic as being an idea they can repeat.
WWE is banning bags from this point forward at NXT tapings at Full Sail University.
An article on Dwayne Johnson’s movie career is here.
Former WWE television announce Bill Cardille, 87, out of Pittsburgh, is now battling cancer.
UFC
Mark Hunt on Inside MMA talking his fight with Brock Lesnar is here.
MISCELLANEOUS
Vader vs. Will Ospreay was announced yesterday for an 8/12 show in York Hall in London. That stems from a unique angle, where Vader kept knocking the Ricochet vs. Ospreay match. Ospreay then did the Vader reverse splash in almost all his matches and say it was “Vader time.” Vader got a series of dates in the U.K. out of it.
Jim Ross is involved in promoting an OklaMania show on 7/17 in Oklahoma City at the Cox Convention Center. Among those appearing and doing autographs will be Sting, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Jerry Lawler, Jim Duggan and Jim Cornette.
An update on the painkillers scandal at the University of Minnesota’s wrestling team and J Robinson is here.
Jessie Godderz has been on CBS All Access of late along with Jeff Schroeder, another Big Brother competitor, analyzing the current season of the show.
Tyrus from TNA was on the Fox News Channel yesterday at 10 p.m. on The Greg Gutfeld show. (thanks to Jake Koch)
Glory announced a 7/22 show at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk.
For those who are history buffs, June 25 was the unofficial Texas death match day in Florida wrestling. Among the big ones were Steve Keirn & Bob Backlund vs. Bob Orton Jr. & Bob Orton Jr. (1976 Fort Lauderdale), Dusty Rhodes vs. Don Muraco (1980, Miami Beach), Sweet Brown Sugar (Skip Young) vs. The Assassin (1981, Melbourne). There were also eight world title matches in Florida on that date that we have records of, including Lou Thesz vs. Sammy Steamboat (1965, Miami Beach), Dory Funk Jr. vs. Ciclon Negro (1969 Miami Beach), Jack Brisco vs. Bob Roop (1975 Miami), Harley Race vs. Jack Brisco (1977 St. Petersburg), Harley Race vs. Jack Brisco (1979 West Palm Beach), Harley Race vs. Barry Windham (1983 Orlando), Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes (1984 West Palm Beach) and Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (1986 Miami Beach). (thanks to Barry Rose)
Great North Wrestling from last night in Pembroke, ONT before 300 fans: Hannibal b Maximus Testosterone (a strongest man in the world type guy), Nikolai Volkoff b Messiah, Bruiser b Freak Nelson & Madman Taylor, Jeremy Prophet b K-Nine, Lady Yasmine b Flow Riley, Soa Amine won handicap match. (thanks to Anthony Ambros)
Lucha Xtreme TV from last night in Fresno: El Spirito b Dark Usagi, Tommy Wilson b Chris Nar, Homicide b Anthony Idol (thanks to Jon Southerland)
Besides seeing Ali vs. Inoki 40 years ago yesterday, going back 42 years ago today, I was at the Miami Beach Convention Center for a sold out show headlined by Dusty Rhodes & Don Muraco beating Giant Baba & Pak Song in the main event. To protect Song, the top heel, and Baba, who wasn’t about to do the job, they had the Korean Assassin (another notable Japanese star, although pretending to be Korean, Shozo Kobayashi, run in and Dusty actually pinned him). Other matches were Bob Armstrong over Buddy Colt in a North American title match (Armstrong won quickly), Ron & Robert Fuller over Jerry Brisco & Bill Watts (Watts turned on Brisco), Bobby Duncum over Bob Roop, a babyface Kevin Sullivan & Tony Charles over the Hollywood Blonds (which was a great match), Korean Assassin over Tom Jones, and Pat Barrett drew The Samoan (Reno Tuufuli).
Rey Mysterio Jr. returns to the WWC in Puerto Rico on 7/16 in Bayamon in a three-way match with Carlito and a mystery third person for the Universal title.
Another find from the past, this was a 1972 episode of The Great American Dream television show, which predated Dusty Rhodes using that name. Roller Derby star Ann Calvello at 42 shows up at the 5:00 mark of the show
Shimmer results from matches taped yesterday in Berwyn, IL:
Volume 82
LuFisto b Vanessa Kraven
Shayna Baszler b Solo Darling
Viper b Heidi Lovelace
KC Spinelli & Xandra Bale b Crazy Mary Dobson & Samantha Heights
Shazza McKenzie b Evie
Nicole Matthews b Nixon Newell
Tessa Blanchard b Thunderkitty
Kellie Skater b Courtney Rush (Rosemary in TNA)
Nicole Savoy b Ryo Mizunami to retain the Heart of Shimmer title
Cherry Bomb (Allie in TNA) & Kimber Lee b Kay Lee ray & Mia Yim (Jade in TNA) to retain the Shimmer tag titles
Madison Eagles b Arisa Nakajima-DQ to retain the Shimmer title
Volume 83
Veda Scott b Crazy Mary Dobson
Heidi Lovelace b Taylor Made
Nicole Matthews b Shazza McKenzie
Jessicka Havok over Allysin Kay, Mia Yim and Yumi Ohka
Kay Lee Ray b Rhia O’Reilly
Tessa Blanchard b Evie
Nicole Savoy b Shayna Baszler to retain the Heart of Shimmer title
Cherry Bomb & Kimber Lee b K.C. Spinelli & Xandra Bale to retain the tag title
Kellie Skater b Ryo Mizunami
Madison Eagles b Viper to keep the summer title
They are taping two more DVDs today, including Eagles vs. Skater for the Shimmer title, Cherry Bomb & Kimber Lee vs. Evie & Heidi Lovelace vs. Kay Lee Ray & Mia Yim vs. Spinelli & Bale for the tag titles in an elimination match. (thanks to Martin Bentley)
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