Nick's friend still in bad shape Photo credit: hollyscoop.com

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A completely insane No Mercy PPV headlines this week's new 26,000-word Figure Four Weekly newsletter. We'll discuss the show in great depth, not only all the matches with star ratings, but also all the backstage machinations and such. What happened when Cena went down? What did WWE know when Vince McMahon appeared on ECW to talk No Mercy? When was the meeting to decide what to do? Why was the decision made to go with Randy Orton at the end? What were some of the arguments for what they ended up doing, and what were some of the alternatives that would have worked just as well, and perhaps better? Was there interest in the show? Was it a bad idea to hotshot the title and was this reminiscent, of, say, the ECW deal with Tommy Dreamer, Tazz and Mike Awesome? Did it hurt the belt? What other options were suggested, and what stars have been talked about in regards to moving from Smackdown to replace Cena? What are the chances of that happening? Why was CM Punk's match so short, and what was the story with Punk and Tony Atlas in ECW? A huge article looking at where WWE is today and where they're going in great detail. We've also got another cover story on the official death and final end of PRIDE, why it happened, who is to blame, and who should not be blamed. It's a sad story, but it's what has happened. We've got the latest in the Phil Astin case, what he's being accused of, what he's actually been charged with contrary to popular belief, latest on Congressional hearings, latest on superseding indictments, and another major TV outlet looking to do a major story on this. We'll talk about Raw's tanking ratings and what it means for the future, including how USA Network is reacting to it and steps they are taking. There is a battle of sorts going on here that could have major ramifications on the business. We have the latest on Cena's surgery and how long he'll be out, more notes on the Condemned, changes in developmental and wrestlers fired, update on Chris Jericho, the return of Tough Enough???, a storyline proposed by of all people Lilian Garcia, WWE Films news, what happened with Roddy Piper and why that Cyber Sunday deal fell through, Major Brothers have heat, Rock's movie notes, tons of notes on both the two-hour debut of Impact and the Kurt Angle DUI arrest, including what he was doing at the time, why cops went to his house, what he was doing when they talked to him, why he was taken to the hospital, why his license has been suspended, what his lawyer is saying publicly, TNA's reaction, and much more. We have two-hour debut ratings, funny notes from a Pacman interview, amazing notes from a Dixie Carter interview, notes on TNA in high-def, a big match signed for UFC in Newark, why this fight was signed and not another one, the rest of the card, update on Tito Ortiz, drug test failure in UFC and his penalty, Shogun undergoes surgery, Unleashed and TUF ratings, Serra talks Joe Scarola, update on Silva, changes in sports betting with UFC on the rise, the doom of UFC on HBO, what happened and what both sides are saying about it, a big UFC show in the Northwest that fell through, Nate Quarry talks back surgery, Strikeforce payouts and some weirdness about them, Tank Abbott vs. Kimbo Slice, why it fell through and whether it'll eventually take place, indy wrestler passes away, former New Japan champion attempts suicide, how he's doing at press time, new IWGP Champion, TNA to the Tokyo Dome?, tons of notes on Jonny Fairplay vs. Danny Bonaduce, lawsuits and such threatened, what the DA said about the case, tons of notes from a convention that went horribly awry, who was going to kill the promoter, notes on the San Francisco Cow Palace show, former OVW star on national TV, RVD talks health care and more, tons of notes from Mexico and ROH including notes on a new ROH Champion and results of both major shows this weekend (including the fourth PPV taping), Vince reviews some Mid-Atlantic from 1978 as well as Derby City Wrestling, which also sometimes appears to have been booked in 1978, and I have full reviews of every major TV show including Raw, Smackdown, TNA, Derby City Wrestling, Ultimate Fighter, Human Weapon 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 (320-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!

On the subject of newsletters, I'm pleased to announce that we're adding a new one to this website. Karl Stern, formerly of Dragon King Wrestling, will now be writing a semi-regular Retro Wrestling Newsletter for subscribers. If you love pre-1989 wrestling basically dating all the way back to the 1880s, you will love both Karl's newsletters and radio shows. His recent radio shows, looking at various territories including the AWA and World Class, have gotten rave reviews. You can read his first Retro newsletter FREE by clicking here. According to Karl, most issues will be much bigger than this one.

After going back and forth all night about what to do, in the end Blue Demon Jr. kept his mask, beating Espectro Jr. in the main event of Tuesday night's show in Tijuana. We'll have the full story on the whole deal in next week's newsletter. Espectro's real name is Jose Elias Pinceno, 54.

Also, since everyone was asking last week, the answer to the Dr. Wagner Jr. question is not that he's going to AAA, but that's he's going independent a la Perro Aguayo Jr. and still wants to work TV.

Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida is official as the main event of the December 8th UFC Fight Night show from the Palms in Las Vegas. That's a big test for both guys, particularly Huerta, since there have been accusations that he's been protected.

Two matches official for Cyber Sunday so far:

WWE Cyber Sunday - Sunday October 28, 2007 - Verizon Center, Washington D.C.
1. WWE Championship Match: Randy Orton vs. fans choice of Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy, or Shawn Michaels
2. ECW Championship Match: CM Punk vs. fans choice of Big Daddy V, The Miz, or John Morrison

So it looks like Shawn will be rushed back into action probably a month earlier than is best for him given his injury status.

In addition to appearing on Wrestling Observer Live on the 21st, we're pleased to announce that Chris Jericho will be appearing on this coming Wednesday's members-only Figure Four Daily. If you have questions for him, please post them in his thread on the Radio Show section of the BOARD~! Dave Meltzer will be the co-host on that edition of WOL.

On that subject, there is a chance due to Dave's schedule that tonight's Figure Four Daily will be postponed until later this weekend.

IFL cut both Frank Shamrock and his Razorclaws this week. More teams and coaches will likely be axed in the next few weeks.

Jessica Hatch, who did tons of media promoting herself in the Diva Search, was axed Monday night. She's still doing media, saying she won't quit until she's a diva. Well, a number of girls on WWE right now, including Maria, were Diva Search competitors who got axed.

Although the Los Angeles DA opted not to press charges against Danny Bonaduce for the Jonny Fairplay incident last week, Fairplay has filed a lawsuit seeking damages to cover medical expenses, emotional distress and lost earnings.

So far, everyone at the Playboy Mansion Strikeforce show, including Daniel Puder, has come back drug-free.

Speaking of drugs, Kazuhiro Nakamura has asked the CSAC to (these are exact words) "cancel" his suspension. Therefore, they're going to have an appeal hearing on Halloween.

As noted in this week's newsletter, Nick Dinsmore, aka Eugene, is the new head trainer of the OVW developmental group (Derby City), replacing Joey Matthews.

Impact on Saturday did an 0.5.

Our latest FREE radio show, the October 9 Bryan & Vinny Show, can be downloaded here.

My newest Fight Network column is here with a look at ONE HUNDRED PERCENT MORE TNA~! 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.

Chikara: family-friendly wrestling minus steroids

Mainstream Raw review

American bravado will clash with Mexican macho

Bisping's big break

Royce Gracie training with the cops

Todd Martin with lessons to be learned from UFC's rematch history

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