By Dave Meltzer
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        We're looking for your thoughts on UFC 157, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

        We're looking for reports from Dallas tonight where Raw is coming from.  The arena is legitimately sold out and has been for several days.  John Cena vs. C.M. Punk with the winner facing The Rock at WrestleMania is the main event.  Vince McMahon faces Paul Heyman in a fight.  Brock Lesnar returns and there are Undertaker sightings as well as rumors regarding HHH appearing this week or next as part of the Lesnar angle.  We're looking for dark matches and Superstars matches, plus anything else not evident from the live show.

 

        We're also looking for reports on these shows:

*WWE Raw from Saturday night in Istanbul, Turkey

*WWE Raw on Thursday and Friday in Doha, Qatar

*WWE Smackdown from Saturday night in Waco, TX

*TNA from Saturday night in Grand Rapids

 

        Smackdown and Main Event are taped on Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

 

        UFC tonight has Shogun Rua vs. Jon Jones at 7 p.m., last week's England show at 8 p.m.and UFC 146 at 11 p.m. 

 

         We've got a giant news week with the Observer with two regular issues and one back issue up on the site.  The back issue, which was up on the site Tuesday, covers the original Ultimate Ultimate tournament won by Dan Severn as well as the full story behind the end of women's wrestling in WWF in 1995, Madusa being fired and showing up on Nitro and throwing the WWF women's title belt in a garbage can on television.

 

        The two issues will be combined as a double issue for print subscribers and both are now up on the site.

               

        Our lead story updates the WWE situation leading into WrestleMania.  We look at the matches planned, the match in jeopardy, and what the status is for a number of wrestlers who have had matches talked about but those matches haven't even been teased yet on television.  We look at why there isn't any pressure on booking undercard matches, as well as talk about post-WrestleMania plans.

 

        We've got more on Undertaker, Ryback, Brock Lesnar and The Shield. 

 

        We've also got full coverage of the Elimination Chamber PPV, including business notes, match-by-match coverage, poll results and star ratings.

 

        We've also got the most detailed update on the status of wrestling going forward as an Olympic sport.  We've got more on the background of how wrestling being eliminated happened, the decision-making process, the appeal process,what legendary attempt to set an all-time Olympic record in the sport is being thwarted, as well as what the U.S. wrestling community knew.

 

        We also look at the history of sports voted out being brought back, why wrestling right now should not have been cut and why it does need to heed this warning and make necessary changes.  We look at the country very strongly pushing for wrestling to be brought back.  We look at why the future doesn't look bright even if wrestling is brought back.

 

        We look at the major and minor moves that the world wrestling community has taken in the past week, who got the blame, as well as thoughts from Kurt Angle, King Mo Lawal and Ben Askren regarding how the loss of the Olympics would have affected all of their lives and their career decisions.

 

        We also look at how this affects the entire infrastructure of the sport in the U.S. in ways most people haven't figured.

 

        We also have comments from Bill Watts, a former amateur wrestler who became a pro wrestling star and later a legendary promoter, and his thoughts on the subject.

 

        We've got a major feature on WrestleMania coming to the New Orleans Superdome.  We've got how it came about, as well as exclusive first news on what the planned main event is for WrestleMania 30.  We also look at the few WWE wrestlers who have worked the Superdome before, as well as The Rock talked about his only time in the building as an athlete, which was not as a pro wrestler.

 

        We also go back to the days when the Superdome was arguably the hottest big show setting in the U.S.  We have a history of pro wrestling at the Superdome starting in 1976 when Bill Watts and Leroy McGuirk took the gamble and what lineup they used to make the first show. 

 

        We have a history of pro wrestling in the building, including the all-time biggest shows, the biggest angles leading to the shows, and the greatest matches held in the building.  We look at the story of one of the greatest matches of its era that bombed at the gate.  We also look at the Nitro events at the Superdome and a rundown of the most successful shows.

 

        We've got a feature on Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche in leading to the most important woman's MMA fight in history.  We look at the unique dynamic of the fight, women's MMA on television, live ticket sales, previous women's fights on PPV, the UFC Prime Time shows building the fight, the reaction Rousey has received, background of Liz Carmouche and more.

 

        We have a feature on the Jack Swagger arrest and how it affects WrestleMania, as well as Dana White's new stance on TRT and some UFC statistics about big guys vs. small guys that will in some cases confirm what is the general feeling and in others show the exact opposite of what people think, as well as an investigation of terms like ring rust, UFC jitters and weight cutting issues.

 

        We also have notes on The Rock's schedule, what shows he is going to be appearing at and what shows he is going to be missing.  We also look at the scheduled over the next several weeks of Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar.  We've got a lot of news regarding how the WWE video game deal with Take 2 went down, and why it was so beneficial to THQ.  We look at who the big losers in the deal were.

 

        We also have more on Bruno Sammartino going into the Hall of Fame, who WWE wants to get to induct him, who Sammartino would pick and more.

 

        We also have notes on two other candidates for the Hall of Fame this year, and why both are unlikely to go  in the same year.  We also look at the Zeb Colter character, a WCW character that this may be similar to, R.J. Brewer talks about his gimmick being used, as well as a very interesting statistic regarding children watching WWE that is the exact opposite of what everyone thinks.

 

        We have a lot more on Tammy Sytch, as well as her apology to WWE, another WWE movie, El Generico in WWE, WWE going back to Japan, John Layfield talks the Public Enemy TV beating in the 90s, WWE injury updates, as well as new signings and people who have quietly left.

 

        We also have a rundown on UFC's weekend event on Fuel headlined by Renan Barao vs. Michael McDonald.  We look at the show, the ratings, what happened with the fighters with the best records and the strange judging in spots.

 

        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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