THE ROUND-UP
The Latest from the F4W Staff
THE 2016 F4W X-MAS SHOW~! 12/24
NEWS
Cain Velasquez out of UFC 207 fight against Fabricio Werdum
NXT’s Osaka & Melbourne shows making their way to the WWE Network
Who could be NXT in 2017?
Two more title matches set for the final SmackDown of 2016
The Week In British Wrestling: IPW:UK films a SuperShow for FloSlam
Year In Review: JJ’s top Florida NXT house show matches
AUDIO
Josh Nason’s Punch-Out: MMA Year In Review Q1 12/24
DR. KEITH PRESENTS: The Joe Gagne Christmas Draft!!! 12/24
WOL: Dr. Lucha, tons of questions, calls and more Christmas cheer! 12/23
UFC ON FOX CHRISTMAS EVE SPECIAL (taped 12/10) at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time
Lando Vannata vs. John Makdessi
Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi
Matt Brown vs. Donald Cerrone
Anthony Pettis vs. Max Holloway for interim welterweight title
If you didn’t see the PPV, this will be the most entertaining two hours of MMA all year. Two knockout of the year candidates and one of the best fights in UFC history all on the same show. For those on the West Coast, it will air from 8-10 p.m., not 5-7 p.m. like most FOX specials.
CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO ON CHRISTMAS DAY AT 6 P.M. EASTERN TIME (on the CMLL YouTube channel live)
Astral & Shockercito vs. Pequeno Olimpico & Pierrothito
Drone & Johnny Idol & Star Jr. vs. Bobby Z & Vangellys & Virus
Stuka Jr. & Titan & Valiente vs. Gran Guerrero & Rey Bucanero & El Terrible
Atlantis & Marco Corleone & Volador Jr. vs.. Barbaro Cavernario & Felino & Negro Casas
Cage match, last person in the cage loses mask or hair: Jarochita, Sanely, Vaquerita, Princesa Sugei, Marcela, Estrellita, Zeuxis, Dallys, Amapola and Metalica
Raw will be live on Monday from Chicago while Smackdown will be in Madison Square Garden headlined by A.J. Styles vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose in a three-way for the title.
Smackdown will be Tuesday in Chicago with three title matches announced, Styles vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin for the WWE title, Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch for the women’s title and a four-way tag title match with The Wyatt Family vs. Usos vs Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. American Alpha, plus the television return of Cena. There will also be a Raw house show on Tuesday night in St. Louis.
FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 12/12/2016 The Paige/Alberto Del Rio relationship isn’t funny anymore
International Wrestling Revolution Group, or IWRG, has been one of Mexico’s top independent promotions for over two decades. Yet aside from the period where it was the Mexican home of Ultimo Dragon’s students when Toryumon was getting off the ground, the promotion rarely got much international attention… Subscribers click here to continue.
WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: December 26, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE announces UK tournament, Urijah Faber retires, more
A look at WWE and New Japan gearing up for a changing pro wrestling landscape in 2017 with new moves and ideas planned by each side is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The story notes the WWE new moves in the U.K., the U.K. scene, the top talent there, notes on who WWE signed and why they didn’t sign the biggest names, long-term WWE plans for the market, HHH talks about WWE producing so much content and thoughts on how this changes the mentality of a lot of wrestlers in the U.K.
New Japan is making moves to expand internationally and its owner, Takaaki Kidani, talks about what he feels are the weakness of the WWE business model and why he thinks they will be running into trouble in just a few years.
This issue examines Urijah Faber’s career and the rise of lighter weight fighters, the success of Paige VanZant as a drawing card and what that means going forward, as well as future thoughts on Michelle Waterson, Mickey Gall and the others from Saturdays’ UFC show.
WWE’s final PPV show of 2016, Roadblock End of the Line is covered. Also, there’s talk about public interest, business notes on the show, what happened in the key bouts, the booking and why things happened the way they did, along with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Finally, there is an update on Mick Foley, what the original plans were for him and why they changed, and why he’ll soon be taking time off. Also, an update on Zack Ryder, a new WWE signee, a successful WWE franchise, advertised main events for this week’s television, WWE star competes in major fitness contest soon, as well as the most watched shows on the WWE Network, inside this issue.
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].
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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: November 29, 1999 Steve Austin’s career in doubt, WCW Mayhem review, more – Steve Austin gets bad news from doctors regarding his neck, a full review of WCW Mayhem, plus tons of news. As mentioned last week, the future of Steve Austin as an in-ring performer is in serious doubt after getting results of tests on his neck, originally injured in the August 3, 1997 Meadowlands match against Owen Hart… Subscribers click here to continue.
SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
To promote ESPN’s upcoming 30 for 30 documentary on the XFL, a pop-up XFL Hall of Fame featuring memorabilia and other items from the failed football league’s brief run will be open to the public on January 14th at the Helen Mills Event Space and Theater in New York City.
Some WWE superstars answer the question of what they want for Christmas this year.
WWE wrestlers recite The Night Before Christmas.
The Miz appeared on the first episode of “Chin Locked” with James Ellsworth.
WWE.com looks at the top 10 new entrance themes of 2016.
Pro Wrestling
ITV released a promo video for their upcoming World of Sport special that will air on New Year’s Eve. Dave Mastiff, Viper, and Danny Hope appeared on ITV’s This Morning to promote the special.
This week’s best of 2016 recap edition of TNA Impact was watched by 209k viewers, which was down from the 329k who watched last week’s new episode.
Juice Robinson was interviewed about his upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 11 match with Cody Rhodes.
MMA
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Ronda Rousey won’t be participating in any UFC 207 fight week media events. As a result, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes will also not be at the UFC Ultimate Media Day on December 28th. No pre-fight press conferences are scheduled for next Friday’s pay-per-view.
Amanda Nunes said that the UFC is coddling Ronda Rousey ahead of their fight.
After facing Urijah Faber in Faber’s final fight before retirement, Brad Pickett said that he wants to retire in his hometown at UFC Fight Night London on March 18th.
Dana White was interviewed by Fox 5 in New York.
Today in Professional Wrestling History (12/24): Christmas Eve wrestling
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