Daily Update: WWE SummerSlam, Lesnar vs. Orton, Samoa Joe & Nikki Bella updates

SUMMER SLAM ON SUNDAY STARTING AT 5 P.M. EASTERN ON WWE NETWORK/PPV

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton – This is scheduled for last.  Much of the talk around the match is if they will punish Lesnar by having him lose here, and will there be an appearance of Bill Goldberg and/or Bray Wyatt in the presentation. For what it’s worth and smart money seems to have come in, Lesnar is a 23-to-1 favorite

Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler for WWE World title – Can Ziggler, put in the biggest match he’s had for several years, get best match on a loaded show. Ambrose is a 12-to-1 favorite to win.

Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for WWE Universal title. Balor is a 15-to-1 favorite to became the first champion. By all rights these two should have a fantastic match.  I don’t really say any way they won’t, plus the crowd is likely to be hot for both of them.

John Cena vs. A.J. Styles – Probably a pro-Styles crowd in New York. Cena has other commitments and got a pin over Styles on the last PPV, so Styles is a 15-to-1 favorite here. Their first match was excellent. 

Rusev vs. Roman Reigns for U.S. title – Rusev is a 15-to-1 favorite. I could see a DQ finish here, given you’ll get pins up and down the show and whatever finish they do here should lead to a return.

Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for women’s title – Charlotte is a 10 1/2-to-1 favorite to win. After the Bayley vs. Asuka match last night, I expect these two to pull out all the stops here.

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for tag titles.  Anderson & Gallows are 17-to-1 favorites tonight.  At the house shows, the finishes have been Big E shows up to distract Gallows & Anderson.  It fells like it’s time for Big E to return, although they may hold that off for a rematch on Raw.

The Miz vs. Apollo Crews for IC title – Miz is at -750 (7 1/2 to one favorite) to retain the title.

Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens – Jericho & Owens are 15-to-1 favorites to win. If they do, I figure it’s 99 percent that Enzo is the one that loses the fall. It is notable since they’re in New York if they’d go that way.

Carmella & Becky Lynch & Naomi vs. Natalya & Alexa Bliss & ? – The heel team are 15-to-1 favorites here.  

Sheamus vs Cesaro in match one of best of sever series (preshow match) – This has been moved from the main card to the preshow, which may be just as well as they’ll probably get more time. Sheamus is the 12-to-1 favorite, and given Cesaro won the last two, and that the heel should go up first in best-of-seven, it does make sense. If you want to argue Cesaro should be above this level, well, I’d agree on that.

Neville & Sami Zayn vs. Dudleys (preshow match) – Zayn & Neville are 20-to-1 favorites here. Even thought the Dudleys are home town, they’ve already been downgraded so much and perhaps they’ll continue the tease of a split here.

Jason Jordan & Chad Gable & Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley & Usos vs. Tyler Breeze & Fandango & The Ascension & Vaudevillains (preshow match) – The face team are 20-to-1 favorites here. By all rights the match should showcase Jordan & Gable who have the strong up side. 

Mojo Rawley & Usos vs. Tyler Breeze & Fandango & The Ascension & Vaudevillains (preshow match)

Raw will be live from the Barclays Center on Monday night.

Smackdown will be Tuesday night from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT.  

We’re doing five polls starting tonight, with thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

ROH Death Before Dishonor tonight
UFC 202 tomorrow
NXT Takeover tomorrow
Super J Cup late Saturday/early Sunday
WWE SummerSlam Sunday

The Round-Up

UFC 202 Las Vegas live results: Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor 2 
NXT TakeOver Brooklyn II live results: Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 
EVOLVE 67 results: Cody Rhodes vs. Chris Hero 
ROH Death Before Dishonor XIV live results: Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole
EVOLVE 66 results: Cody Rhodes makes his return to professional wrestling

Figure Four Weekly: August 17, 2016; Buff Bagwell sues WWE for unpaid Network royalties – When Rene Dupree’s lawsuit against WWE over WWE Network royalties was quickly dropped a few months ago, the question coming out of it was not if there would be another such lawsuit, but when and with whom as the next plaintiff would be. The answers? August 9th and Marcus “Buff” Bagwell… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!  

Wrestling Observer Newsletter: August 22, 2016; WWE Summerslam/UFC 202/NXT Takeover previews, G1 Climax review, tons more – The biggest weekend of the summer, featuring one of UFC’s biggest fights in history, WWE’s third biggest show of the year, what theoretically is NXT’s biggest show of the year (although in reality it is its second biggest), as well as the sixth Super J Cup in history, runs from 8/19 to 8/21.

The big event is UFC 202 on 8/20 at the T Mobile Arena, featuring a rematch of the biggest money fight in company history–Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz. Their first fight, held on 3/5 in Las Vegas, did 1.6 million buys on PPV, the largest non-boxing PPV event in history. With Diaz winning, the feeling is a rematch would only be bigger. But for a number of reasons, there didn’t appear to be the excitement level expected… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

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Wrestling Observer Newsletter BACK ISSUE: July 12, 1999; Chris Jericho signs with WWF, ECW to air on TNN, tons more – Details on Chris Jericho signing with WWF, ECW programming to air on TNN, plus tons more… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

We have a ton of audio up this weekend, with a Friday night show covering the ROH PPV, last night’s show on UFC and NXT and we’ll have a show tonight covering both SummerSlam and the Super J Cup. I apologize on the Super J Cup coverage but we did a show last night and the only way to do it was during the show, and with the Kyle Snyder match and a lot of other news, there’s been little time for me to watch. But I did see the Young Bucks ring entrance. You can send questions for tonight and tomorrow night’s show to [email protected].

The impression we have is that Samoa Joe was not injured last night and it was just storyline.

Nikki Bella is in town, although that wouldn’t be a surprise either way. But she is slated for the Smackdown brand and has been cleared and there is an open spot with Eva Marie suspended. Bayley could also easily debut in that spot and it would garner a tremendous reaction. The problem is that it’s a heel side so it makes no sense for Bayley and Nikki is likely to get a face reaction for her comeback.

Frank Molinaro lost in the bronze medal match at 143 pounds today in a very tight match. He was going for a takedown and just about had it while down 4-3. Time ran out and he protested, and the protest was overruled, so he lost a point and fell 5-3. The Olympic wrestling is now over with Kyle Snyder and Nancy Maroulis with golds and J’Den Cox with a bronze medal.    

As far as weekend trends go, here were the numbers as of press time:

UFC 202 (5 million searches) – Even with the Olympics, nothing else this weekend has topped 1 million, Frank Ocean, Angelina Jolie and NASCAR were at 500,000
C.M. Punk (50,000 searches) – He was heavily promoted last night on the PPV which did huge numbers most likely.
SummerSlam (50,000 searches) – Brock Lesnar the most searched name on the show.
World Wrestling Enertainment
The new wrestler Sanity in NXT is believed to be Crazy Mary Dobson.
Stephanie McMahon’s new autobiography that comes out next month will be called “unREAL!”
Since they are taping the Cruiserweight tournament later this week, most of the competitors are in the U.S. and many were brought to TakeOver last night. Many were shown on camera and others were backstage.
Daniel Bryan on Conor McGregor: “I can’t imagine caring about what Conor McGregor says about anything. It’s the same guy who said he retired on Twitter just to get a rise out of people. There’s a lot of awesome stuff going on like the Olympics and he’s out there trying to promote a fight. So I get it, but it doesn’t affect me one way or another. There’s been better people than him insulting wrestlers for years.”
They taped two matches before the Takeover show started last night, with Tye Dillinger over Beautiful Blond Blake. Dillinger was really over as you’d expect. The Authors of Pain destroyed TM 61. Paul Ellering was with the AOP. (thanks to Pat Laprade)
Topps announced new WWE Topps Now cards. This joins them doing cards for major league baseball, UFC and Major League soccer. They will put out cards after major events, like they do with UFC. 
A story on Big Cass is here.
An interview with Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson is here.
UFC / MMA

Cody Garbrandt talks his backstage encounter before last night’s show with Dominick Cruz.
Scott Coker talks a potential MMA fighters union.
Both Donald Cerrone and Lorenz Larkin’s contracts with UFC expired after last night’s show. So both are free agents.   
MISCELLANEOUS

Pro wrestler Davey Boy Smith Jr. won the NAGA super heavyweight tournament in the expert division over the weekend in Las Vegas. That’s submission grappling.
This was a great piece on Kyle Snyder that appeared in the Baltimore Sun before two days ago. Snyder won the gold in Rio in wrestling for the U.S.
Mike Mooneyham talks fan attacks.
It looks like Joey Styles will have a recurring role in Evolve. He may announce some matches and may also do in-ring stuff as an authority figure type. He was recruited by Drew Galloway to turn heel and turned it down.
It was 39 years ago today in Tampa where Dusty Rhodes won the NWA world title for the first time beating Harley Race in Tampa.
AAW from Friday night in Merrionnette Park, IL: Trevor Lee & Andrew Everett b Team Tremendous, Ricochet b Dezmont Xavier, Jessicka Havok & Dave Crist & Jake Crist b Heidi Lovelace & Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett, Chris Hero b Shigehiro Irie, Eddie Kingston & Homicide b Mason & Devin Cutter, Kimber Lee b Buck Nasty, Josh Alexander won four-way over Moose, Kongo Kong and Matt Cross to get into the Jimmy Lyman Memorial tournament, AR Fox b Jack Evans to keep the Heritage championship, John Morrison b Sami Callihan.  Was told the main event was a great match.  Next show is 9/1 in Berwyn, IL at the Eagles Club  with Pentagon Jr. vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the AAW title plus Tommy End, Drew Galloway, Zack Sabre Jr., Fenix, Cedric Alexander, Chris Hero, Sami Callihan, Michael Elgin, Silas Young and Colt Cabana.
CMLL from Tuesday night in Guadalajara: Johnny Dinamo & Magnum b Mr. Apolo & Diplomatico, Blue Panther Jr. & Esfinge & The Panther b Disturbio & Puma King & Tiger, Electrico b Mini Fantasy to retain the Mexican national lightweight title, Blue Panther & Dragon Lee & Valiente b Dragon Rojo Jr. & Niebla Roja & Polvora, Atlantis & Marco Corleone & Maximo Sexy b Kraneo & Mephisto & Rey Escorpion (thanks to Kris Zellner)
Conquer Pro Wrestling on Friday night in Winter Garden, FL: Raquel b Santana Garrett, Sean Swag won four-way over Monster, Leo Gold and Hero Byonico via DQ, Terrell & Terrence Dudley b Kodi & Kiko, Haitian Sensation b Chuckles, Short & Sweet CJ b Jason Static (thanks to Al Haft)
Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling from last night in East Carondelet, IL before a SRO crowd of 350: Bobby D b Jimmy D, Kari Brigante b Jay Howard, Dave Vaughn won three-way over Sean Vincent and Johnny Blade, Waco b Moondog Rover, Kahagus won three-way over Gary Jackson and Big Jim Hoffarth, Ken Kasa & Daniel Gunner b Chris Harges & Brandon Espinosa-DQ, Miss Monica b Paloma Starr, Ron Powers b Atilla Khan in a no DQ match. (thanks to Larry Matysik)
At the show last night they introduced, unbeknownst to him, a Larry Matysik action figure with a mic based on the 80s Larry Matysik of Wrestling at the Chase.
ECWA has a Fan Appreciation show on Thursday night in Woodbury Heights, NJ at the Community Center. Admission to the show is free.
Dynamo Pro Wrestling from last night in Wood River, IL: Matt Kenway b Ric Maverick, Snitch b C.J. Shine, Rocket Mapache b Orange Lazarus, Makaze b Ozzie Gallagher, Jo Webb d Brandon Espinosa, Shorty Biggs b Outtkast, Mike Outlaw b Jake Dirden. (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Brace MMA Grand Final will be 11/26 at the AIS Arena in Canberra, Australia. (thanks to James Stanios)
Great North Wrestling on 11/5 in Hawkesbury, ONT at the Robert Hartley Arena has Hannibal vs. Rick Steiner for the Canadian championship and Wes Brisco vs. Nathan Banner, plus the return of Sylvain Grenier & Rene Dupree as La Resistance.
A Jim Ross interview is here, talking SummerSlam, football, Mick Foley, psychology and more.
SUMMER EVENTS CALENDAR

It’s WWE SummerSlam Sunday, and the F4W Empire’s third biggest yearly event, Super China Buffet Day~! If you participated, tell us about it in the Empire Get-Together forum on The Board~! 
AUGUST
21 – Pure Wrestling Association: VIEX, Nanaimo, British Columbia
21 – NWX: Live Pro Wrestling at the CWF Wrestling School on 20 Hartzel Rd in St Catharines
21 – SMASH Wrestling: Super Showdown IV; Pickering, Ontario, Pickering Recreation Complex, 1867 Valley Farm Road, Pickering, Ontario L1V 3Y7. Tickets.
21 – Octagon & Tinieblas Jr. vs. Fuerza Guerrera & Pirata Morgan headlines in Houston at the Arena Theater.  
25 – Northeast Wrestling, “Rumble in Rockland”: Provident Bank Park (1 Provident Bank Park Drive) in Pomona, NY, 7:30 p.m. A meet and Greet autograph session with the stars at 4:30 p.m. First-time ever: Jushin “Thunder” Liger and Jeff Hardy team together. Plus, Ryback, Broken Matt Hardy, Michael Bennett, Mandy Leon, and more. Tickets.
26 – Northeast Wrestling, “Wrestling Under the Stars”: Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, MA Bell time is 7 p.m. Autograph session at 4 p.m. Plus, Cody Rhodes with Brandi Rhodes vs. Michael Bennett, Mick Foley, Jeff and Matt Hardy, Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Mandy Leon, and more. Tickets.
26 – We Watch Wrestling, LIVE podcast recording: The Wythe Hotel 80 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249. Tickets.
26 – All Star Wrestling; Cloverdale, BC at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds Alice McKay Building. Doors at 630pm, Cloverdale Fair Grounds. Alice McKay Building, 6050 A, 176 St. Surrey, British Columbia V3S 4E7
26 – Absolute Intense Wrestling; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 1355 W. 70th St. Cleveland, OH
26 – Conflict Wrestling, Black or White; 7 PM – 10 PM, Moose Lodge, 655 Wabanaki Dr, Kitchener, Ontario N2C 2G3. Tickets.
26 – Bellator 160; The Pond in Anaheim, live on Spike TV, Benson Henderson vs Patricio Pitbull Freire
27 – ROH: Field of Honor; Brooklyn, NY, MCU Park, ROH World Championship 4 Corner Survival: Jay Lethal (c) vs. Adam Cole vs. Tetsuya naito vs. Hiroshi. Tickets.
27 – Northeast Wrestling: FREE show on 8/27 at 11 a.m. at the New Windsor Community Day, Kristi Babcock Memorial Park (660 Mt. Airy Road, New Windsor, NY 12553).
27 – Northeast Wrestling “Wrestling Under the Stars 5″: Dutchess Stadium, Wappingers Falls, NY. Bell time is 7 p.m. with an autograph session at 4 p.m. Kurt Angle vs. Cody Rhodes and Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Jeff Hardy, Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Brooklyn Brawler. Tickets.
27 – Battlearts: Summer Heat; 4880 Tomken Road, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 1J8
27 – LuchaTO at the Benelife Wellness Centre, 68 Tycos Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M6B 1V9, with Lince Dorado and a grappling exhibition.
27 – UFC FIGHT NIGHT, Maia vs. Condit: Vancouver, BC.

28 – Northeast Wrestling “Thunder”: The NEW Arena (40 Peck Road) in Bethany, CT at 4 p.m. Cody Rhodes vs. Sami Callihan. Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Travis Gordon. War King Hanson vs. Kamaitachi. TK ‘O Ryan versus Brian Anthony. Northeast Wrestling Tag Team Champions The Battles versus So Over. DIJAK and more. Tickets.
28 – Steel City Pro Wrestling: End Game; 222 Queenston Rd, Hamilton, ON L8K 1G6, Canada
28 – Destiny wrestling: Summer Heat; Battlearts Wrestling Academy. Featuring MOOSE!
SEPTEMBER
1 – AAW; Berwyn Eagles Club, 6309 W 26th St Berwyn, IL, 7:30pm Bell Time
2 – MOONSHINE BRANDED WRESTLING: Italo-Canadian Hall, 1101 DiPietro Street, Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. Doors at 6:00pm bell time 7:00pm. Tickets.
3 – UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett; Hamburg, Germany

3 – UIPW: Los Angels at the Clela Arena at 826 Clela Ave. in East Los Angeles with Teddy Hart & Coa Azul vs. Psicosis & Mariachi Loco
3 – ACE Collision Course: Morgan Jr. Arena, Wallington, NJ, MAIN EVENT: ACE Heavyweight Championship: TJ Marconi (c) vs Archadia
3 – Hoosier Pro Wrestling in Columbus, IN at the 4-H Arena
6 – SMASH-WRESTLING, Oshawa Music Hall, 39 King St E, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 1B2. Tickets.
10 – CZW in Voorhees, NJ at Flyers Skate Zone with a doubleheader with a WSU Women’s show at 4 p.m. that day and the men’s show at 8 p.m.
10 – Pure Wrestling Association: COWEX – Duncan, British Columbia
10 – New England Fights 25: HEROES & VILLAINS; Lewiston, MA. Tickets.
10 – Barrie Wrestling: Back to School 3; 49 Ferris Lane, Barrie, Ontario, Canada
10 – UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem; Cleveland, Ohio

16 – ROH: Reloaded Tour; Pittsburgh, PA, Stage AE, 7:30 pm. Tickets.
16 – Pure Wrestling Association: Lake Cowichan, British Columbia
16 – Smash vs Progress: Uncensored; Oshawa Music Hall, Oshawa, Ontario. Must be 19+ to attend.
16 – Pure Wrestling Association: Private Event in Ontario
17 – ROH: Reloaded Tour; Lockport (Buffalo), NY, 7:00 pm. Tickets.
17 – NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium
17 – Pure Wrestling Association: Alpine Club, Kitchener, Ontario
17 – Pure Wrestling Association: Courtenay, British Columbia
17 – UFC Fight Night, Poirier vs. Johnson: Hidalgo, Texas, State Farm Arena

17 & 18 – SMASH VS PROGRESS: Smash Wrestling welcomes our friends from Progress Wrestling. Mark Haskins and Jack Gallagher (Cruiserweight Classic), Zack Sabre Jr. Mark Andrews and more will be part of the Progress Wrestling team in a Smash vs. Progress Canada vs. UK show in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Center.
18 – Pure Wrestling Association: Gold River, British Columbia
18 – Alpha-1 Wrestling presents #‎Matrats2

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