By Dave Meltzer
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        WWE Main Event tonight on Ion:

*Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler

*Wade Barrett vs. Zack Ryder

 

        On Fuel tonight, The top 50 moments of UFC in 2012 replays from 7-8 p.m., followed by UFC 147 (Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva) at 8 p.m. and the 2012 Year in Review show at 11 p.m.   

 

        A quick note is that if everything goes as planned, the biggest issue of the year, the 2012 Awards issue, will be up on the site two weeks from today.  Anyone who subscribes today to either a print version of the Observer or the web site will get the issue as part of their subscription.  It's possible the issue will be in three weeks depending on the volume of news of the week, but given a Jan. 30 released issue would cover both Royal Rumble and UFC on FOX, having that be the awards issue is something that I'd like to avoid.  Balloting for the awards ends tomorrow night at midnight Pacific time.  The categories are covered in the Dec. 3 issue which is up in the Observer archives section.       

 

        We have a double issue of the Wrestling Observer this week, with part two of our business look back at 2012. 

 

        Our lead story looks at the road to WrestleMania, with coverage of Mania, the Royal Rumble, the direction things look to be going, the Dwayne Johnson schedule, lots of notes about the Rock-Punk confrontation and why it was booked the way it was.  We also look at the Alberto Del Rio world title win, the match with Big Show, and the reasons behind it.

 

        We also have complete coverage of what will almost surely be the biggest non-WWE pro wrestling event in the world of 2013, the annual Wrestle Kingdom show at the Tokyo Dome.  We look at New Japan Pro Wrestling today, the booking, why the turmoil took place behind the scenes the way it did, show business, New Japan plans for 2013, the next two New Japan PPV shows, TV numbers as well as match-by-match coverage with poll results and star ratings.

 

        We also have the 2012 chart with the wins and losses for every WWE performer over the course of the year.  We look at how many matches everyone of note worked during the year, who had the most matches, who won the most, who lost the most, the most frequent matchups, who headlined the most shows, as well as the winners and losers on the roster when it came to TV ratings.  We look at the most successful and least successful segments of the year.  We also look at WWE booking patterns.

 

        We also have a segment on the Iron men, the people who wrestled the most WWWF/WWF/WWE matches over the last 42 years, as well as the Iron men of the last 32 years.

 

        We've also got a feature on New Year's Eve in Japan, looking back at the original Inoki Bom Ba Ye show, the peak of New Year's Eve fighting, a look at the two competing major shows this year and the introduction to the business of Glory Sports, attempting to become the third big international player, along with the changes they've implemented and goals they're looking at.

 

        We also have more on the business of 2012.  We have our chart of WWE, Boxing and UFC on PPV and which companies had the most successful shows over the past five years. 

 

        We also look at the most popular personalities in boxing, wrestling and MMA for 2012, with a top 60 of the year in the U.S., along with rankings from the previous three years.  We look at the biggest new stars, who has fallen the most, and what promotions have gained or less traction in popularity over the past year.  We look at the people who hit the charts for the first time, as well as how the top stars differ worldwide and in Canada.

 

        We also have a feature on a variety of wrestling books that are out, or are coming out over the next few months.  We talk about the greatest babyfaces, the career of Bob Backlund, the most popular wrestler in history debate, Larry Matysik's top 50 wrestlers of all-time, the legacy of Lou Thesz, as well as a look at pro wrestling in Houston and the Paul Boesch era, the moves made in the 70s and 80s and what killed the local version of Houston Wrestling.  We also talk about the career of Jimmy Snuka, one of the biggest stars of the 80s all over the world.

 

        We also have a feature on The Amazing Zuma, and the night he and Argentina Rocca had one of the biggest pro wrestling matches ever held in Madison Square Garden.  We look back at his life, his big MSG run, and career after wrestling.

 

        We also have an update on the WWE Hall of Fame, the first Royal Rumble Fan Fest and group discussions, more on the Montreal screw job, major WWE marketing coup, more on WWE developmental, how the THQ bankruptcy affects WWE business and here things stand with it, notes on future Raw shows, update on Brock Lesnar, major WWE anniversary and the history of the originals of the WWE title, more independent stars getting tryouts, Ric Flair talks current product, and another WWE wrestler mad about a company graphic and why.

 

        We also have notes on all the weekend house shows and all the WWE business over the past week.

 

        The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
 
        The Observer is now in its 29th year of being the leading insider pro wrestling publication in the world.  The biggest and most influential names in the pro wrestling and MMA industry, from bookers to promoters to Hall of Fame wrestlers and fighters to the biggest names on camera and behind the scenes, along with thousands of readers in all 50 states and more than 30 countries subscribe.  Many have subscribed for 20 years or longer consecutively.  They get the most detailed and inside coverage of what is going on all over the world.  Everywhere from Wall Street to the major offices to television networks in the U.S. and Japan turn to the Observer for what is going on in the business.
 
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