
| Fit vs. Flair, weekend plans, UFC, Bret, more |
|
|
|
![]() Fit Finlay. Photo credit: slam.canoe.ca By This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Smackdown is tonight with MVP vs. Matt Hardy in a non-title match and Ric Flair vs. Fit Finlay. Believe it or not, this is the first ever singles match between the latter two. True story. Years ago when Finlay first came to WCW, everyone was terrified of him because they'd heard of his reputation as a tough guy, and that he worked really stiff. Shortly after he arrived, he was booked in a match with Flair. Flair showed up, saw the match on the board, and erased it.Radio show update and previews. We're hoping to do the Dave Meltzer show this afternoon, but it may end up changing to later this weekend. We'll get it done one way or another. Today's scheduled guest is Zach Arnold, who will be talking the death of Benoit and the media's handling of it, his column for CBS Sportsline, UFC and PRIDE, Japan, and whatever else comes up. Members should post questions in the radio show section of the board ASAP because we're taping soon. Tonight we'll have a Bryan & Vinny Show running down TNA, ECW, Smackdown, and, oh yes, DERBY CITY WRESTLING~!, the developmental group for WWE's developmental group Ohio Valley Wrestling. Tomorrow Vinny and I will be back discussing the UFC PPV and the ROH PPV which debuted this past Sunday night. Admin Tony will also be joining us tonight for a UFC preview and tomorrow for the post-show recap. We'll have a line-up for UFC 73 in tomorrow's news update. For now, Mike Coughlin has a preview column up here, and his UFC 73 preview show is up here. Todd Martin's SI.com preview of UFC 73 is here. People are still reporting that they're finding Chris Benoit toys at larger retailers around America, including Target. It also appears some markets are editing out Benoit segments on WWE 24/7, while others are not. And I don't expect it to be up for long, but if you click here, WWE Shop is selling a plaque from WrestleMania XXIII that is autographed by all the winners on the show. Benoit's name is not listed, but he did win his match over MVP. ECW did a 1.51 Tuesday night. IFL Battleground on Monday night did an 0.4 rating. To access our first ten days of coverage of the Benoit tragedy, which includes links to dozens and dozens of articles, radio and TV links, and more, please click here. My Super Sweet 16: The Movie debuts Sunday at noon on MTV. Roddy Piper has a role in the film. Bret Hart will also be on Larry King Live Monday. Because MMA has gotten so hot, Oregon has renamed the Oregon State Boxing & Wrestling Commission. It will now be called the Oregon State Athletic Commission. The History Channel has a series called HUMAN WEAPON that debuts Friday, July 20 at 10pm ET/PT. The hosts travel around the world to examine different forms of unarmed combat. First show focused on Muay Thai. This week's new 25,000-word Figure Four Weekly newsletter is packed with pro-wrestling and MMA news and analysis from around the world! Our cover story looks at the aftermath and fallout of the Chris Benoit double murder/suicide. We'll discuss a number of different topics in great detail, including the arrest of his doctor and what it means, WWE's public and private reaction to the story, thoughts on Vince McMahon's appearance on the Today Show, a complete and detailed look at the WWE drug policy, the loopholes in the policy not reported before, how wrestlers can easily get prescriptions for steroids from doctors, what the policy does and does not allow, more harrowing details about how Benoit killed his wife, son and himself, the story behind the crippler crossface, my thoughts on the media coverage of the story, what was good and what was bad, things I learned first-hand doing 100 or so interviews, the most embarrassing stories of the week, the truth about "roid rage", the full story behind the mysterious Wikipedia entry that got way too many headlines during the week, the three things WWE feared, and the two of them that have come to pass, the status of Benoit's brain, more on the claim that Daniel had Fragile X, who WWE is trying to shift the heat to, comments from Benoit's dad, a ban placed on WWE stars, the truth behind the GHB claims, what the future might hold, whether the business will change, what changes need to be made to the drug policy, and tons more. This article alone is nearly 8,000 words long. We've also got a full review of the Shamrock vs. Baroni Strikeforce show, plus stories on the new direction of Raw, problems with developmental, a new group within OVW, the doom of Santino and why it happened, a TV network that has already pulled WWE programming, ratings notes, wrestler fired, Florida Championship Wrestling notes, OVW notes, addressing rumors that Vince McMahon will be stepping down, a blow-up Benoit had backstage at TV, TUF finale numbers, Rashad's precise prediction for Tito, another blow-up between Tito and Dana, why Dana thinks he's an idiot, line-up for Saturday's PPV and predictions, tons of UFC and Strikeforce payoff notes, what acquisition Dana thinks will be bigger than PRIDE, scoring wackiness, TNA has major TV meetings, record rating for Impact, two guys quit TNA, Scott Steiner injury update, Lex Luger and what he's doing these days, where he's living and how far he's fallen, Big Show wants to get into a new shoot vocation, Jerry Lawler charged with assault, what supposedly happened, Vince getting a major honor, Ken Shamrock's future, Frank Shamrock talks all of his injuries, dumbest fighter of the week, IFL news and notes, Gareb Shamus interview, Pro Elite notes from the latest public filing, how much they've made and how much they've lost since inception, tons of notes from Mexico, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar have a wrestling match that almost nobody heard about, notes from the ROH PPV debut, guys sign new ROH contracts, Vinny reviews a bunch of wacky stuff from Youtube, I review an old Hacksaw Jim Duggan Coliseum Video release, full reviews of every major TV show including Raw, Smackdown, and TNA, and TONS more! Of course, as a member you also get full access to ALL new and archived radio shows dating back to 2005, plus all the new and archived (280-plus issues) Figure Four Weekly newsletters dating back to 2001. To sign up, please click here, or PayPal users can use the Quick Buy link at the top of this page to be online within 60 seconds. Rates start at just $7.99 per month (27 cents a DAY), so it's a steal. Thanks for your support! Our latest FREE radio show, the July 3 Bryan & Vinny Show, can be downloaded here. My newest Fight Network column is here with a look at the supposed best match in the history of TNA Impact. If you like the columns, they're about 1/25th the length of each issue of Figure Four Weekly, and we've got 300 back issues archived from 2002-today, all available 24/7 with an online membership to this site. See below for more info and ordering details. Exploited Pro wrestlers deserve our sympathy, too Dwight Jaynes on the death of Chris Benoit The Anti-Fan: Sport is make believe; pain is real History channel working on new unarmed combat show Where are they now? with Trish Stratus Sex and violence. Ortiz and Jameson steal show at pre-fight news conference Wrestling championship ends in riot DMGI Announces Digital Distribution Deal with Wrestling Icon Hulk Hogan Bruno Sammartino, shirtless, talks the Benoit tragedy
Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news from this site or from our newsletters, please include a link to www.f4wonline.com as opposed to "From F4W", "From Figure Four Weekly" or derivatives. Thank you! For the most in-depth and detailed news and analysis on pro-wrestling and MMA, always turn to Figure Four Weekly Online! Become a member of F4Wonline.com and get the absolute latest insider news and commentary from WWE, TNA, UFC, PRIDE, CMLL, AAA, ROH, K-1, all the wrestling and MMA independents, Japan, and so much more, all for as little as $1.44 per week. Members get access to the COMPLETE radio show archives dating back to 2005 (Figure Four Daily, The Bryan & Vinny Show, Mike Coughlin's Five Star Radio, the Dr. Keith Lipinski Show, and The Adam & Mike Big Audio Nightmare), the Figure Four Weekly newsletter archive (260+ issues from the past five years), the entire Dragon King Wrestling History Archive, and complete access to every news article and column ever posted on the site. For your convenience, we offer secure online payments using your VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover card or PayPal account. Don't miss out on the fun, sign up now! Want full access within one minute? QUICK AND EASY $7.99 PAYPAL SIGN-UP!
|
Send us a news tip: newstips@wrestlingobserver.com
Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news from this site or from our newsletters, please include a link to www.wrestlingobserver.com
For the most in-depth and detailed news and analysis on pro-wrestling and MMA, always turn to Wrestlingobserver.com/Figure Four Weekly Online, the #1 website of its kind on the Internet. Members receive online access to both the Wrestling Observer and Figure Four Weekly newsletters and growing archives, Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer three times per week, the popular Bryan and Vinny Show twice per week, additional radio shows including Figure Four Daily with Alvarez, Mike Coughlin's Five Star Radio, the Dr. Keith Lipinski Show, The Adam and Mike Big Audio Nightmare, Tough Talk and the Karl Stern Wrestling History Show, the infamous BOARD, and more! Members also have full access to the thousands of hours of audio in our radio show archives which date back to 2005. For your convenience, we offer secure online payments using your VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover card or PayPal account. Don't miss out on the fun, sign up now! Don't miss out on the fun, sign up now!
Want full access? QUICK AND EASY $9.99 SIGNUP!
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|