Bryan Alvarez:
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Dave Meltzer:
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We're looking for reports on all the weekend Raw brand house shows, Friday night in Amarillo, Saturday night in Lubbock and yesterday in Wichita Falls, TX.
Smackdown and NXT are taped tonight in Wichita.
We update the road to WrestleMania, as well as look at the Elimination Chamber PPV, what happened this past week with Undertaker and Ric Flair, a previous incident somewhat similar to what happened with Undertaker that never got any publicity as among the lead stories in this coming Monday's issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The issue also includes a complete rundown of UFC's debut in Australia, more on WWE's change in PPV philosophy, as well as an interesting list regarding the men who have wrestled the most matches in modern WWE history. the men who wrestled the most matches in mode.
The issue is available right now to web site subscribers. For those interested in getting the Observer mailed to your home, ordering details follow.
We look at the booking leading to WrestleMania, the matches that have been announced, the matches that are being built that haven't been announced, as well as more on where the former ECW wrestlers are going and thoughts on the debut of NXT.
We have a complete rundown of what happened to Undertaker, as well as what was going on backstage when it all happened.
We've got our usual coverage of both the Elimination Chamber and UFC 110, with business notes on both shows and match-by-match rundowns as well as poll results for each show.
We look at the Australian crowd, how the show did on television in Australia and the market, problems with running in what would probably be UFC's strongest city in that country, how things differed from debuts in other markets, as well as where Cain Velasquez fits in, and clarifications of what happened with the fighters who pulled out at hte last minute and the Stephan Bonnar-Krzysztof Soszynski fight.
We update the WWE change in PPV philosophy, with a look at the shows that have been dropped, the shows that have been added, and how things may be changing again from here.
We also have a bizarre story about a wrestler who was arrested this past week on a murder charge.
We have notes on what happened with Ric Flair on Sunday night, ramifications, and more of what is going on with his life.
We've got a listing of the 15 men who look to have wrestled the most matches in the modern history of WWE. We look at who is No. 1, how long his record appears safe for, and notes on the active wrestlers on the list.
We have two months worth of business charts for both WWE & TNA, looking at house shows, ratings and PPV numbers and comparisons of this time last year with this year to see what is up and what is down.
We also have notes on a WWE star hosting an awards show, update on guest host plans, update on the Hall of Fame, more on The Miz-Daniel Bryan angle, updates on several WWE movies, Steve Austin talks about a major angle that he did that was a mistake and have a profile of Wendi Richter, including her famous match, and the strange way her tenure with the company ended and what she did after wrestling.
We've also got an update on Jim Ross, including some interesting comments he made, one of which goes completely against the WWE corporate doctrine.
We also have the comments in context made by Frank Mir regarding Brock Lesnar, as well as the UFC reaction, and why the comments, while never smart, were really ill-timed at this point in history
We've got more on the Washington Post story on Linda McMahon, including what is hopefully a misquote or is something that sounds really silly to say regarding steroid use in sports.
We have notes on a new member of the WWE creative team, the Michael Cole "heel turn," several new wrestles signed and their backgrounds including the return of a former tag team champion, a unique idea for a show, an idea for fall house shows, as well as business notes and highlights from the weekend WWE house shows.
We also have our usual weekly features such as the results of the biggest matches of the week and rundown of the major television shows.
The Wrestling Observer ranges from 25,000 to 40,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA all over the world.
Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sites and has the most complete look at the business as a whole anywhere.
The Observer is now in its 28th year of being the leading insider pro wrestling publication in the world. The biggest and most influential names in the pro wrestling industry as well as the MMA industry, from bookers, to promoters to Hall of Fame wrestlers and fighters to the biggest current names, both on camera, and behind the scenes, along with thousands of readers in all 50 states and 30 countries subscribe. Many have subscribed as long as 20 years or more straight. They get the most detailed and inside coverage of what is going on all over the world and an accuracy from having the most inside sources that can't be found on the web. Everyone from Wall Street to the major offices to the TV networks in U.S. and Japan turn to the Observer for what is going on in the business. 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. Just send your Visa or Master Card order with your name, address, phone number, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or you can order by faxing that information to 408-244-3402. You can also subscribe via paypal at www.paypal.com and using the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it address or subscribe via check, cash or money order, as well as credit card, by mail, by sending to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228.
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-- TMZ has the audio of the Ric Flair 911 call here. Flair's new wife's daughter was the one who made the call, and she said she thought they were both drunk and she thought her mother was punching her stepfather who was bleeding from the forehead, but it wasn't serious and she just wanted an officer there to quell the situation.
-- What a coincidence that this just happened to occur several hours before Raw with Cheech and Chong: Pot-laced treat passed around Pittsburg elementary school.
-- As noted last night, Gail Kim may have been hurt in that pillow fight disaster. I was stunned everyone wasn't hurt. Chavo also needed stitches after his match with Kofi Kingston.
-- Daniel Bryan on his Twitter said that his ribs were still hurting but he was hoping to have a match on NXT tonight. Jericho then tweeted back saying it had been a week and Daniel needed to quit whining.
-- The first episode of Wrestlelicious is on the front page right now. I haven't watched the entire show but I did watch the Wrestlelicious Rap at the start of the show. You owe it to yourself to watch this.
-- Jereme writes: After Floyd Mayweather, Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez was shown on 200 screens, Golden Boy Promotions is putting more boxing in movie theatres. Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Bernard Hopkins will be on between 150 and 200 screens. Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley will be on 400 screens. However, the important part of this is the PPV's are going to be advertised on thousands of movie screens as part of this deal. UFC, of course, just signed a deal to put their PPVs on 300 big screens nationwide starting with Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy on WrestleMania weekend.
-- Latest stupid comment from an MMA fighter, from Marcus Davis' Twitter: "I hope Hardy dies of aids"
-- Mick Foley, Colt Cabana and Bruce Prichard will be in Phoenix on March 27th for a Total Extreme Comedy appearance at the Gammage Auditorium on the campus of Arizona State University at 10 PM. That's interesting because TNA didn't want any of their wrestlers in Phoenix on Mania weekend for any reason.
-- Bill Simmons in an ESPN Q&A Friday regarding the Bret Hart storyline: I like it. I've been DVR-ing wrestling every week since the Bret Hart comeback and zooming through it. Did we make enough about the fact that The Miz is a legitimate WWE star now? I feel like this is an underrated story. He's the most successful MTV reality guy ever... of course, that's like calling someone "the most successful janitor ever" or something, but still.
-- Hogan will be on Imus in The Morning Thursday.
-- Kevin Iole has a story on TUF 11 cast member Court McGee here. It's an incredible story about trying to make a comeback from a massive drug addiction.
-- Dave has a look at the Strikeforce on CBS line-up here
-- Heath Slater here says he wants to be the next NXT superstar. It's good to have goals. He said Christian told him he did a good job last week, but also told him, and this is a shocker, to stop fucking around with his hair.
-- Article here about John Graziano's father Ed trying to kill himself with a seatbelt after being arrested for allegedly trying to hire a hitman to kill his wife. It also claims that he brought his mom with him when he met the guy who was supposedly going to kill his wife. And then one of the things he offered was a Westshore Pizza gift card. You can't make stuff like this up.
-- There is an interview with Brother D-Von here, talking the move to Monday nights, more.
-- Vince and Linda have bought a new $4 million penthouse in Stamford.
-- Austin Idol doing American Idol here
-- For lucha fans, Paul Fontaine writes: CMLL wrestling looks to have a regular timeslot on Fight Network in Canada, 7 PM eastern on Monday nights (with several replays) and it seems pretty current. The main event last night was a trios match with Mistico and Valador 2 on opposite teams. I’ve never seen Mexican wrestling but always read about it in the Observer so it was interesting, to say the least. Actually, the opening match was a woman’s title match and they said the champion had her belt for 21 months so you might know what that would put the timeline at. The commentators are English but of course they never mentioned a date or anything.
-- Ed and his pals talk the History of WWE here
-- From the promoter: Pro-Wrestling: EVE debuts on Saturday May 8 from the Delphi Club in Sudbury, Suffolk for two DVD recordings that will feature the finest female wrestlers in all of Europe such as “Coventry’s Loudest” Jetta, Mother & Daughter team of Saraya & Britani - The Knight Dynasty, Greece native "The Hardcore Daredevil" Blue Nikita, "Female Fight Machine" Jenny Sjödin from Sweden, German star “The Alpha Female” Kristin Gabert, Scotland’s Nikki Storm, 4'11" "Little" Erin Angel and many others! Doors open at 6.30pm with the first bell at 7pm.
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