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We're looking for reports on tonight's ROH house show in Collinsville, IL and tonight's TNA house show in La Crosse, WI.

Saturday's lineup includes WEC from San Antonio headlined by Cowboy Donald Cerrone vs. Ben Henderson, Raw in Terre Haute, Smackdown in Bristol, TN, ROH in Indianapolis and TNA in St. Cloud, MN.

Sunday has Raw in Toledo, Smackdown in Huntington, WV and TNA in Mankato, MN.

Monday is the live Raw from Indianapolis, a rare Monday night Smackdown house show in Pikeville, KY and Masahiro Chono has his 25th anniversary show at Tokyo Sumo Hall with Chono & Keiji Muto & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama & Manabu Nakanishi & Satoshi Kojima plus Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Shinjiro Otani (with Shinya Hashimoto's son in his corner) for the IWGP title.

Tuesday has Smackdown & ECW tapings in Lexington.

HDNet tonight has Inside MMA at 9 p.m. with Greg Jackson, Rashad Evans and Brett Rogers as guests. At 10 p.m. will be a replay of Tuesday's Dream show, which was a very entertaining show to watch.

Smackdown tonight has:
* Mysterio vs. Jericho
* Punk vs. Batista
* Michelle McCool vs. Eve
* Morrison vs. Ziggler for the IC Title
* Drew McIntyre & Kane vs. Matt Hardy & R-Truth

An examination of the WWE major programs, where they stand, and how they are handicapped by the current PPV theme situation, is the lead story in one of two issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter coming out this week.

A second issue lead story will be the history of the golden age of pro wrestling in Northern California. We used the Hall of Fame biography on Roy Shire, who promoted pro wrestling in Northern California from 1961-1981, as a theme to look back at one of the strongest territories during those years. This is one of the biggest historical pieces we've ever undertaken, as we look back at who Roy Shire was, who Ray Stevens was, Pat Patterson, Moondog Mayne, Pepper Gomez and so many others.

The first issue is available on the web site right now to premium members. The second issue, which will be a collectors item issue, will be on the web site tomorrow. Details are below on getting the issues themselves delivered via mail.

We look at the background of Punk vs. Undertaker, what happened, why it happened, and decisions that have been changed and where things go from here. We also look at the other main event programs in the company going forward.

The San Francisco feature looks at the heyday, the many ways the wrestling industry today has been impacted by Shire as a booker, the legend of Ray Stevens, the story behind the famous Cow Palace Battle Royals that led to the Royal Rumble, a look at the most famous shows Shire put on, his biggest feuds, and a rundown of 20 years of ups and downs.

We look at Roy Shire as a wrestler in the 50s, how he got started as a promoter, the heyday of National All-Star Wrestling, one of the highest rated wrestling television shows in the country, with lots of comments from people who were around from the start. We look at Roy Shire's first show ever at the Cow Palace, Shire's first big angle, his most remembered angles, the Stevens vs. Gomez feud, Shire's philosophy of what a wrestling match was, and the ironies of his run and how that relates to Vince McMahon, Verne Gagne, Bill Watts and others who came after him.

We look at Stevens vs. Sammartino, the Texas death matches, the atmosphere during the heyday of wrestling at the Cow Palace, the end of the Ray Stevens era, the Pat Patterson era, how television shaped the history of pro wrestling in this part of the country. We look at Shire burning out as a booker, the heyday of Moondog Mayne, Bob Roop, Kevin Sullivan and Buddy Rose, attempts to buy and steal the territory and what actually killed the territory.

We look at his decision to shut down, his final show, as well as the first pro wrestling personality to pose on a Playboy cover (and it was more than 30 years before Sable) as well as the alumnus of Roy Shire's wrestling who went on to become a major television star and had one of the most successful wall posters of anyone over a ten year period.

We look at Shire's philosophy of television, as well as the big name sports star he tried to lure into pro wrestling as well as his famous feud with a boxing Hall of Fame legend. We look at his problems getting along with people, some of the most controversial issues during his run, and so many of the obstacles he dealt with. We look at his attempts to kill pro wrestling after his run was over.

We also have full coverage of the two major shows of the week. We've got coverage of the WWE Hell in a Cell show, with poll results, business notes, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and more. We also have coverage of Dream 11, looking at the good, bad, ugly, with match-by-match coverage and more on the company's next show.

We also look at Kimbo Slice and UFC setting record ratings with the Ultimate Fighter reality show. We look at just how strong the show was with Males 18-34, the records set as well as other records which were not set. We look at the change in marketing of Slice, the fight itself, Roy Nelson talks about Kimbo and his future and lessons to learn regarding marketing of Slice.

We also have a look at the SummerSlam buys, how they compare with last year both worldwide and domestic, and the key lessons of this year's show now that the numbers are in.

We also have updates on Jeff Hardy and his court situation, Rock's appearance, Linda McMahon's campaign, Undertaker's future, Jim Ross' future and things to look for, as well as a former WWE star who canceled an interview saying he was negotiating to come back, injury updates, some new WWE doctrines, more on Matt Hardy, the WWE's best selling DVDs this year, as well as updates in other business categories.

We also have a look at a new WWE signing, who was top three in the world in another sport, what former WWE star actually set up a famous Hollywood marriage, as well as the origin of the name of the current WWE star.

We also have a look at the ratings for all the major pro wrestling and MMA shows on television over the past week.

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 27th 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 spam bots, 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 spam bots, 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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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.

-- As noted yesterday, Forrest Griffin is replacing Mark Coleman in the fight with Tito Ortiz on November 21st in Vegas, which is the undercard of the Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin fight. It's a much bigger match than the original and this show should break a million buys, or at least come the closest of anything else for the rest of the year.

-- Gegard Mousasi vs. Sokoudjou in a non-title match was submitted to the commission by Strikeforce for the CBS show in Chicago on 11/7.

-- The Pontiac Silverdome is up for auction, sadly not on eBay. It's expected to go for more than Ric Flair's NWA championship belt, but that's not guaranteed.

-- And if you've got a small budget, perhaps you can purchase the historic home of the early TNA shows.

-- All the fighters from UFC 103 tested clean for steroids and drugs of abuse (Franklin vs. Belfort show).

-- In the list of stupid names from a few weeks back, "WWE Elimination Chamber" won out and is the new official name for No Way Out.

-- Trent Acid, real name Mike Verdi, was arrested last weekend after being found with five Percocet tablets, which he said was for a bad wrist. He was released without having to post bail and has a court date scheduled for October 30th. He claims he has a prescription, so if he produces it he's off the hook.

-- Chuck Liddell will appear on a new episode of the Simpsons on Sunday, October 11th on Fox. Thanks to Shawn Garrett.

-- Edge and Trish were at the 18th Annual Bell Gala. He is obviously off the crutches. Thanks to Terri.

-- NOAH has it's first-ever Jr. Heavyweight singles tournament from October 15th through 31st with KENTA, Kotaro Suzuki, Ricky Marvin, Katsuhiko Nakajima and DELIRIOUS~! in Block A, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taiji Ishimori, Atsushi Aoki, Genba Hirayanagi and Jushin Liger in Block B.

-- Brett Rogers will be the guest on Inside MMA on HDNet tonight. They've also got an interview with Dana White.

-- In the entire two hours, Impact beat ECW by 2 minutes in total wrestling time. Global Impact 2, well, that's a different story.

-- Brian writes: Besides joining Dave Prazak for Ring of Honor on HDNet, Mike Hodgewood is also a commentator for NASCAR's Camping World East Series, which along with the Camping World West Series (both formerly known as Grand National) makes up the main developmental division for the cars (the Camping World Truck Series is much different). The races air on the Speed channel on Thursday afternoons.

-- Todd Grisham is getting married next weekend.

-- Jim Ross has a new blog here with thoughts on Steve Austin, Dr. Death and more.

-- The Chikara $1.99 5-match DVD promotion did very well last week and they've now opened up the offer to international customers. The cost is $4.99 shipped no matter where you live in the world. For more info you can go to the Chikara International Store.

-- The Fight Network is producing a special preview show for TNA’s ‘Bound for Glory’ show, which debuts on the network next Wednesday night at 8pm EST hosted by John Pollock and J.P Parsonage (a.k.a wrestler Johnny Devine). It will feature a breakdown of all the matches on the card plus an excellent feature on the link between professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.

-- The Ring Of Honor Wrestling Academy will be starting new classes during the week of October 26th, 2009 with head trainer Delirious (this is begging for vignettes on HDNet). The school is located at in Bristol, PA and the facility includes a full size ring, weight lifting equipment, a video library, and other resources. The course is 6 months and once you have graduated you are allowed and encouraged to come to training sessions at no extra charge. For more information e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

-- There is a video here of the TNA Knockouts doing a video shoot for Muscle and Fitness Magazine. Lauren is clearly scripted horribly on Impact because you watch this video and realize she brings so much more to the table than 90% of the girls in this business. I mean, she's Abyss' love interest who hasn't gotten a minute of TV time in weeks, and meanwhile Tiffany is running ECW.

-- Lance Storm has a Q&A up here. If you didn't hear yesterday's radio show roundtable with Dave, Lance and I about the problems in WWE developmental and the issues facing this business in the future, it's gotten rave reviews and you should check it out. If you sign up (only $9.99 a month), you not only get access to that show but over 2,000 other shows from the past four years, including hundreds of others with Dave (three shows per week), Lance (two shows a month) and I (daily shows).

-- What did you think of this week's Ultimate Fighter reality show?
Excellent 4.6%
Good 53.1%
Average 26.2%
Fair 6.9%
Poor 9.2%
33.0% of those responding didn't see the show

Do you think TNA should keep Booker T?
If he wants to stay, they should keep him because he's a star 9.2%
Even if he wants to stay, they should cut him because he wouldn't do the job for Matt Morgan 22.4%
Even if he wants to stay, they should cut him because he clearly doesn't take it seriously 60.3%
If he doesn't want to stay, they still should try and talk him into staying 8.1%

Who is the best of these pro wrestlers?
Ricky Steamboat 40.3%
The Rock 29.8%
Randy Savage 19.4%

Buddy Rogers 9.5%
Frank Sexton 1.0%

-- Alex Marvez has an interview with Jim Cornette up here talking TNA, ROH and more. He has a few great lines, including, "At TNA, I was basically tired of working for a big company and watch it get smaller. I wanted to go to a smaller company and help it get bigger."

-- Tulalip Championship Wrestling runs tomorrow night at the Pacific Rim ballroom in Marysville, WA. Bell time is 7 PM and admission is only $10. You can get more info at tulalipchampionshipwrestling.com. I'll be there along with a bunch of friends, so check it out!

-- Absolute Intense Wrestling has an all womens show this Saturday at McCarthy's Downtown in Cleveland, OH. 9:00 PM Belltime. Main event is Hailey Hatred vs. Sara Del Ray. Also appearing are Allison Wonderland, Jennifer Blake, Sammi Lane, Super Orpah, Jessica Havok, and many others.

-- GCW: New Skool presents BREAKING POINT '09 (until WWE hears about it) on Thursday, October 22, 2009, Oshawa, Ontario, Royal Canadian Legion Hall, 471 Simcoe St., South.

-- From EWF Wrestling: We were informed by Billy Gunn (Kip James) that he will no longer be able to make our Nov. 7th event due to his receiving an updated schedule putting him in Tupelo, MS. for a TNA house show. Though this is upsetting news for us we understand and Billy assures us that he will make his way to the EWF soon and apologizes for having to miss the event in Muncie, IN. EWF will still hold our event and "Road Dogg" Jesse James will still be in attendance and says he will be bringing along a new partner on Nov. 7th