DAILY UPDATE
Latest News:
UFC 240 live results: Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar
PWG Sixteen results: Incredible six-man tag match
Two matches confirmed for Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown
Jake Crist wins Impact X-Division title from Rich Swann
King’s Court with Trish Stratus set for WWE SmackDown
NJPW G1 Climax 29 night nine results: Okada vs. KENTA
Impact Wrestling results: Cage vs. Elgin street fight
Latest Audio:
WOL: Smackville, G1, UFC 240, ROH & Portland Wrestling 7/27
F4D: Lance Storm on Nitro, RAW, AEW, Impact, tons more! 7/26
F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Smackville, EVOLVE & the WWE Network
Joseph Currier looks at two Network specials and what they could mean for the future of the service.
EVOLVE’s 10th Anniversary Celebration streamed on the Network opposite AEW Fight for the Fallen on July 13. Another in-ring special has also been added to the Network schedule for this month, with “Smackville” set to air this Saturday (July 27).
Smackville is similar to past specials like The Shield’s Final Chapter and WWE Starrcade. The WWE Network broadcast of Smackville will be an hour long. Kofi Kingston will defend the WWE Championship against Samoa Joe and Dolph Ziggler in a triple threat match, Finn Balor will face Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a rematch from Extreme Rules, and there will be a musical performance segment with Elias.
The Smackville name is playing off the show taking place in Nashville, Tennessee and the city’s Bridgestone Arena, which is the home of the Nashville Predators. The event was just a house show prior to the special being announced, and it will still feature some untelevised matches.
Televised house shows have been something WWE has surveyed subscribers about for a long time. Smackville feels very much like a by-the-numbers house show card. After already having defeated them in his most recent pay-per-view title defenses, Kingston is facing Joe and Ziggler again. Balor has already moved on to a storyline with Bray Wyatt and is set to take some time off from WWE after SummerSlam, so it seems unlikely that he’ll be regaining the Intercontinental title. The Smackville theme should play into the Elias segment, but it’s unlikely that it will have much meaning to the larger audience.
WON NEWSLETTER: July 29, 2019 Observer Newsletter: AEW announces TV details, more
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has details on the first episode of AEW on TNT, the possible name of the show, why the host city was chosen, and potential TV competition in the first few weeks of airing.
We detail the latest G1 Climax 29 shows, and how it compares to last year’s tournament.
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We have coverage of Jon Jones and his latest potential legal trouble.
We cover Summerslam, how the card is shaping up, and the possible return of a WWE Hall of Famer on the show.
We look back at Saturday’s UFC show, and the business notes on the show.
We have details on Dragon Gate’s biggest show of the year, and have business notes on that as well.
We also have coverage of a wrestling star being part of Hollywood box office history.
There’s also a run down the ratings of all the major TV shows, along with detailed demo info for the WWE shows and results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Today is Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s 50th birthday. Stephanie McMahon tweeted to him: “Happy 50th birthday to the man of my dreams! I LOVE YOU PAUL!!!! @TripleH”
Vince McMahon’s Twitter account also sent out a birthday message: “Happy birthday to my son-in-law @TripleH, a Cerebral Assassin in any arena.”
Triple H vs. legends is the theme of the latest episode of WWE Playlist.
Dolph Ziggler also turns 39 years old today, while AEW’s Hangman Page turns 28.
John Pollock reported that one person in WWE told Post Wrestling that Daniel Bryan wasn’t on this week’s SmackDown because he had vacation time. Pollock wrote that there’s a program scheduled for Bryan, but he was never set to be on TV this week.
Ronda Rousey spoke to Paige for a “GOAT Walk” episode on her YouTube channel.
Uproxx has an interview with Mandy Rose.
The WWE Performance Center’s YouTube account uploaded a behind-the-scenes video from Apollo Crews’ appearance in NXT against Kushida.
Gavin Bridge wrote a follow-up column for Variety after Thursday’s WWE earnings call.
Pro Wrestling
Cody Rhodes responded to a question on Twitter about if he was going to ask CM Punk to sign a contract in person after Punk said texting offers isn’t a good way to do business: “I think he was misquoted. I know 1 of us had met with him in person, and yes I texted him plenty when we couldn’t connect on the actual phone, but not a contracted offer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went back to wwe. Regardless, great wrestler & guy. Door is open if he wants it.” Marc Raimondi, who interviewed Punk for ESPN, then replied to Cody: “I promise you he was not misquoted.”
Game Changer Wrestling announced that they’ll say “goodbye (for now)” to Joey Janela with a show called Curtain Call in Asbury Park, New Jersey on September 30. That’s in advance of AEW TV starting on October 2.
Pro Wrestling: EVE has agreed to a code of conduct with trade union Equity UK.
UFC/MMA
The UFC uploaded the final episode of Embedded for tonight’s PPV.
Ahead of challenging for Max Holloway’s featherweight title tonight, Frankie Edgar spoke to MMA Fighting about his longevity: “I’m just a motherf*cker still. That’s the truth. I am still as competitive as I’ve ever been. I’m still in the gym doing grappling rounds and people tell me ‘what is this the f*cking world championship’s on the line?’ Every f*cking day the world championship is on the line for me.”
Alexander Volkanovski thinks he’ll be an “absolute nightmare” for Holloway if Holloway struggles with Edgar.
Corey Anderson appeared at an autograph signing Jon Jones was at and exchanged words with Jones.
A Welsh man using Cody Garbrandt’s photo catfished women and scammed them out of more than $20,000.
Daily Pro Wrestling History: Kurt Angle wins WWE title at Vengeance 2003
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