Category: Industry News

Ronda Rousey Draws Big Numbers 

 Ronda Rousey’s last title defense against Bethe Corriea in Rio De Jenero at the beginning of this month lasted a grand total of 34secs

The match up was highly anticipated not only because Rousey would be defending the belt for the 6th time but the opponents also shared some bad blood. Corriea had two wins over Rousey’s closest friends Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler. Corriea also did her fair share of hyping the fight with her tasteless trash taking. Fans knew this bout would be interesting but the questioned remained, how would the numbers do???

Current estimates have the show doing a little more than 900,000 buys on pay-per-view, the largest number for a UFC show since UFC 168, on Dec. 28, 2013, the show headlined by the second Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva fight and the second Rousey vs. Miesha Tate fight.

It would give the company three shows so far this year that have topped 800,000 buys. The Dec. 12 show, with two title matches, Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor for the featherweight title, and Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold for the middleweight title, barring a key injury, would figure to top that number as well

But the Rousey fight’s success at that level was hardly expected. While Correia did her part to hype the fight, and there were a number of storylines in place, UFC 190 had little in the way of what would be considered strong undercard support. The show was also held in Rio de Janeiro, and in the past, shows outside North America have not done big numbers on pay-per-view. When Anderson Silva was considered UFC’s top fighter, he twice headlined shows from Rio de Janeiro, and both did less than 350,000 buys.

Another key to  the company’s biggest modern pay-per-view draws is bringing in a unique fan base. Lesnar brought in the pro wrestling audience. St-Pierre was a mainstream Canadian sports superstar. Liddell was the company’s superstar fighter when it first appeared on national television. With Rousey, she brings in a female fan base as well as a casual fan audience that doesn’t even follow the sport on a regular basis.
There you have it folks not only is Rousey the most dominate female athletes but she puts asses in seats and brings in the money. Are you surprised?

One would have to wonder with Rousey and Holm not having the grudge factor will the UFC 195 card do as good as the UFC190 Card?? Only time will tell.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

source MMA fighting.com

Tough Enough finale  Results 

  After a month long competition the two winners of this seasons Tough Enough were crowned tonight. Their reward? A half a million dollar WWE contract. One man and woman would be chosen. 

The final four Amanda Saccomanno, Zamariah “ZZ” Loupe, Sarah Lee, and Joshua Bredl all had their first televised match up live and center stage in front of a live crowd at the preformance center in Orlando Florida.

It was also reviled that the final four would be not only having a match but also revealing their Personas AND cutting a promo. To no surprise Joshs’ alter ego was the yeti, Amanda’s was Mandy Rose, ZZs’ was King of the bayou and Sara Lee was Hope.



So who would the finalist be facing in their first match? They thought it would be each other but that wasn’t the case. Cesaro and Alicia Fox were brought in to face the young prospects. All four matches were decent for newbies despite the fact that all four finalist lost their matches. The general consences between the judges was that Josh put on a better match than ZZ and as far as the women’s match both of them got mixed reviews.

In the end the WWE universe decided to reward Josh and Sara with the contracts. There you have it folks, Josh Bredl & Sara Lee are the newest members of the WWE roster.

  
What do you guys think of the results? Is it what you guys wanted? Let us know in the comments. Until then here’s wishing the best of luck to both Josh and Sara in their respective WWE careers. Hop along for their journey by following them on Twitter @ToughJoshua & @ToughSara

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91) 


UFC fighter announces pregnancy 

 Number 3 ranked bantamweight fighter and MMA veteran Alexis Ally-Gator Davis has been waiting to get back into the cage but now the wait will have to be a little longer that’s because this morning via instagram the fighter announced she is with child saying: “Big news to announce today a slight delay in my return to the octagon! I planned on spending as much time back home as possible to help with my niece anyways. But we are over joyed by this news and should be expecting our new arrival early 2016!! And planned to back in the Octagon by the end of the year!”

You can read her official post here https://instagram.com/p/6z7HT6Bf2_/

Her husband who also acts as her trainer is Flávio Meier, he’s an accomplished BJJ black belt with multiple world titles. As far as the mother to be (17-6) had her last fight in April where she knocked off another veteran in Sara Kaufman by finishing her in the 2nd round via submission

It looks like fans of Davis will have to wait to see their favorite Canadian smashing faces again but until then a huge congrats is in order for the family.

Here’s to a smooth pregnancy and many blessings.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

Women’s wrestling is Back 

  Tonight was one of those nights where I’m proud to call myself a wrestling fan. It was one of those nights that assured me “this is why I can’t walk away from wrestling”.

Two years ago before the Divas Revalution was a thing and before Bayley was the mega star of NXT she is today but rather still climbing that mountian I was there because in truth I’ve always been a hugger.

In the spring of 2013 my best friend Aranya sent me a video. That video was a match of Davina Rose (Bayley) vs Amber O’Niel for a wrestling promotion called BTW. Now I want to make this clear by this time I was already a Bayley fan but my best friend simply wanted me to know the history. This match won me over even more and cemented the fact that I was a Bayley fan. 
You can view that match here http://youtu.be/AuxzkI4D-QM

I’m not sure if it was the fact that Bayley came out to a song by my favorite band Paramore, or if it was her look, or her wrestling style. In fact it was probably a combination of all 3 but watching that video I felt myself becoming a Bayley mark and till this day I carry that title with pride 

Since that day I’ve seen Bayley’s fan base grow and it has been an absolute pleasure to watch. I’ve seen her loose, I’ve seen her win. I’ve seen her cry and I’ve seen her jump up for joy! I’ve seen her come back from injury and I’ve seen her inspire countless people.
Bayley is a true underdog! Someone who has had passion for this business ever since she was 11 years old. Tonight on NXT TAKEOVER BROOKLYN the hugger from San Jose California had her crowning moment as she defeated Sasha Banks to become the NXT women’s champion.

The match itself was in my opinion  match of the night. Both Sasha and Bayley tore the house down. Putting their bodies on the line for the sake of our entertainment. It seems with every takeover special the women step up their game. Proving that the can shine in a male dominated business.

Stephanie McMahon said it before the match. Triple H says to these women “not only CAN they be the main event, they ARE the main event. Tonight Bayley and Sasha proved that women’s wrestling matters 

After the match was over Bayley was joined in celebration by Charlotte and Becky Lynch. The 3 of them embraced in a hug, even Sasha Banks got in on the love fest. The truth is that those 4 women are at the forefront of the divas Revalution. THEY are the game changers.

  This moment right here had me in tears because it showed that no matter where you come from in life, no matter how many times you are knocked down, YOU CAN RISE ABOVE.

Some people may say “but it’s just wrestling” but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Wrestling inspires. It changes lives, it’s a movement in itself. I know this to be true because that is exactly what Bayley has done for me.

In conclusion a huge congrats to Bayley is in order and let’s not forget Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, thank you for making people believe Women wrestling is back!

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91

Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Claudia Gadelha targeted for UFC195

  Is it possible that UFC195 could be the first UFC event in history to have 3 women fights on a PPV card? It sure does look that way. Yesterday the huge announcement was made that Ronda Rousey will be defending her title for the 7th time against decelerated Holly Holm.

Dana White had an interview with New York Times and he said that he’s aiming to have Miesha Tate vs Amanda Nunes on that same card. It doesn’t stop there though because White also said he looks to have Joanna Jedrzejczyk defend her straweight title against challenger Claudia Gadelha in the co main event. However this all depends if Gadelha’s injuries are healed by January.

Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha have met once before, during  last December in what many believe was a razor thin split decision victory for Jedrzejczyk. The rematch between the two has been inevitable for quite sometime. 

The champ has a professional MMA record of (10-0) she is coming off a 3rd round TKO victory that she earned in June against top contender Jessica Penne. The challenger has a record of (13-1). She is coming off a UD win against Jessica Aguliar that she earned at UFC190 from this month. The one blemish in Gadelha’s record was of course delivered at the hands of Jedrzejczyk so you can bet she’ll be looking for some redemption.

It seems like we are now living in a day and age where women are dominating in sports, we have serina Williams in tennis, Hope solo in soccer, we have the divas revaluation in the WWE making waves in professional wrestling, and now we have both Ronda Rousey and Joanna Jedrzejczyk representing the UFC/ MMA world in thier respective divisions.

Everything is up in the air as it pertains to Jedrzejczyk vs Gadelha, but if this fight happens along with the possible Tate vs Nunes and the already set Rousey vs Holm UFC195 should be named ladies night.

How do you guys feel about a possible women’s dominated card? I for have faith that these 6 ladies have what it takes to put on a stellar show and bring the house down.

We here at WNB will be sure to keep all of you updated on the happenings of UFC195 as they continue to surface. UFC195 Is set to take place at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas and will be live on PPV on January 2nd 2016

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

Dana White explains why he chose Holm over Tate for Rousey’s next opponent 

 Earlier this morning we covered a story that Rousey’s next opponent will be the (9-0) Holy Holm instead of Miesha Tate (17-5). Tate is on a 4 fight winning streak and after her UD win against Jessica Eye last month. It was assumed by Tate and fight fans alike that she would be the next contender for Ronda Rousey. I mean Dana white said it so himself in the UFC190 post fight press conference.

So why the sudden change? Well White sat down with The times and explained his reasoning. He said that they (Feritta, Silva, Shelby and himself) sat down and thought about it and they came to the conclusion that “we’ve all seen Rousey vs Tate already.” He went on to say that “Rousey has defeated Tate twice in the same dominating fashion and he believes more of the same would happen again” He even said that “an eventual lost to Rousey wouldn’t be good for Tate at least not right now.”
You can read whites full statement here http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/8/21/9189029/dana-white-holly-holm-tabbed-because-everyones-already-seen-ronda

Here’s my issue with this bogus reasoning. Yes we’ve seen Rousey vs Tate twice. Once in 2012 in Strikeforce and then again at UFC170 in December of 2013. The problem is though that many casual fans didn’t even see their first encounter. Not to mention their first fight ended in the first round while their second ended in the beginning of the 3rd!
Clearly Tate has evolved in her fight game. The same can be said for the champion. Both Rousey and Tate are COMPLETLY different fighters since their meeting in 2013 so it would’ve been interesting to see what a trilogy fight would’ve brought to the  Table.
Another problem this fight poses in my opinion is the UFC rankings. Tate is #3 as where Holm is #9. What’s the point of rankings if you’re not even going to put the top against the top??? Further more as noted earlier Holm has yet to defeat anyone in the top 10. If white and company didn’t want a Tate vs Rousey 3 they should’ve pinned Rousey up against anyone else in the top 5 (even though most would’ve still be rematches)
Tate was obviously very upset about the situation saying “I’m very disappointed in the events that have unfolded this morning. I was already training for Rousey. Not only am I disappointed for myself but also my fans who thought my next fight would be for the title”


You can read Tate’s official statement here https://Instagram.com/p/6qJG1DCkmA/


So what’s next for Tate? According to Dana he hopes to have her face Amanda Nunes (who is coming off a first round submission victory against veteran Sara McMann) on the same card as Rousey vs Holm at UFC195


Only time will tell. What are your thoughts on all of this? Let us know in the comments
-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

Rousey vs Holm set for UFC195???? (Vanessa’s thoughts)

This morning UFC Batemweight women’s champion Ronda Rousey made an appearance on Good morning America where she announced the next time she will step into the cage will be for the UFC’s New Years card as she takes on the Undefeated Preachers Daughter Holly Holm.

Living on the west coast and having a bad sleeping schedule I just now learned about the announcement myself thanks to the post fellow contributor John Bass posted this morning along with the official announcement on the UFC’s Facebook post.

This announcement came as a surprise to me and I’m a bit confused and I’m sure so are a lot of other fight fans. Miesha Tate Ronda’s greatest rivalry and in my honest opinion toughest opponent was originally slated to take on the champ for a 3rd time. I mean she’s racked up a winning streak in the UFC let alone Dana White said so himself  during the UFC190 post fight press conference that Tate would be next in line after coming off a victory against Jessica Eye.

The question now is what happened to Miesha. I mean to my knowledge she isn’t inured. (There’s been no announcement) and I have absolutely nothing against Holm but this match up makes absolutely NO SENCE to me. Sure Holm is an accomplished boxing champion and has a 9-0 MMA record but the girl has only fought TWICE in the UFC and none of her opponents have been in the top 10. She won her UFC debut back in February against Raquel Penninton via unanimous decision and her second win was against Marion Reneau also a UD win just last month.

In my opinion Holm is no where near ready to face someone of Rousey’s caliber so I’m scratching my head as to why this match up was made. I mean it’s not like Holm talked her way into a title shot the way Correia recently did.

Don’t get me wrong I love anytime Rousey has a fight. She’s exciting to watch and is one of my all time favorite MMA fighters but I REALLY can’t wrap my head around this fight and it isn’t helping all the naysayers that say “Rousey only fights cans” (I disagree with that statement let’s make that clear) but again why Holm??? I just don’t get it.

Another question that this poses is what’s next for Tate? The only possible reasoning I can come up with as to why she’s not Rousey’s next challenger is that she will be the 1st opponent for a newly 135lb Cris Cyborg (this is pure speculation) but it would make sence. Tate has said she wouldn’t mind fighting Cyborg and Dana has went on record saying Cyborg will fight Rousey if she can make weight and prove she can fight at 135.

So is this random Rousey VS Holm match up a sign that we could possibly be one step closer to seeing the biggest match up in WMMA history???? Is Rousey vs Cyborg on the horizon???

Who knows. The only thing we know is that Rousey will indeed defend her title for the 7th time against Holm at the MGM grand arena in Las Vegas on January 2nd to kick off the new year. I’m sure Rousey won’t disappoint.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

 

Conference Call With Triple H Regarding NXT 

It’s Thursday which means we are halfway through the week., and that means we are just THREE days away from NXT TAKEOVER IN BROOKLYN. What better way to get hyped for such an historic event then by listening to the conference call about that very event
http://wrestlingnews.co/audio-paul-triple-h-levesque-nxt-takeover-brooklyn-conference-call/

You can do so by clicking the link above. In this conference call HHH discussed numerous things. One of the things that stood out to me and even came as a surprise is that at first HHH was hesitant to hold the upcoming takeover event at the Barclays center. He was hesitant  because he knew the venue was bigger then any other venue NXT had ever  hosted however he decided to just roll with the punches and let things fall into place.

To his delight all 13,000 tickets sold without any problems. That’s right folks, the Barcly center will be jammed packed with 13,000 devoted members of the WWE universe this Saturday.

One of my favorite parts of the conference call was when he discussed the divas of NXT and the divas in general. He even got chocked up at one point saying he feels like a proud father to see how much the women of NXT have accomplished. He went on to say that yes him and Stephanie have given the women the opportunity but what they’ve done with it has been all them. He also says that he truly believes that one day we will see the women in the WWE main event a Wrestlemania. He said that every day he makes sure the girls are aware of that and continues to push them.

He also discussed the concern that has been brought up of “what happens when all the stars of NXT are called up to the main roster”? He is confident that when the time comes there will be no need to worry because he will continue to bring in talented men and women from all over the world, whether they’re from the indies or not. He says what he looks for is talent.

He also noted that this is indeed the largest card NXT has put on however the special will remain two hours. Not all matches will be shown this Saturday but will be shown in the upcoming week.

The full card can be seen here 

NXT Championship (Ladder Match)-Kevin Owens vs Finn Balor

NXT Tag Team Title Match-The Vaudevillians vs Blake and Murphy

NXT Women’s Title Match-Bayley vs Sasha Banks

-Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs Tyler Breeze

-Samoa Joe vs Baron Corbin

-Bull Dempsey vs Elias Samson

-Apollo Crews vs Tye Dillinger(Crews’ NXT Televised Debut)

-Eva Marie vs Carmella

-Enzo Amore, Big Cass & Hype Bros (Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley) vs Jason Jordan, Chad Gable, Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson

-Charlotte vs Becky Lynch vs Emma vs Dana Brooke

If you haven’t heard this conference call it’s definitely worth 35 mins of your time, aside from the points I mentioned above there are some other really awesome points brought up.

Be sure to tune into NXT TAKEOVER BROOKLYN LIVE AND EXCLUSIVELY ON THE WWE NETWORK this Saturday beginning at 5pmPT/8pmET

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

Ronda Rousey to star in own Biopic

This past Saturday at UFC190 Ronda Rousey successfully defended her Women’s Bantamweight title by disposing Bethe Correia via KO in a astounding 34 seconds.
The 12-0 athlete shows no signs of slowing down. She aims to defend her title for a 7th time against well known rival Miesha Tate in December and then go off to shoot Mile 22, a film Rousey will star in opposite Mark Walburg 

Now variety has an exclusive that Rousey’s memoir and New York Times best seller My fight your Fight has been picked up by Paramount Pictures to become a major motion picture as Ronda Rousey playing herself. It’s not often someone plays themselves on a film but as we all know by now Rousey loves to break down barriers.

The film has no release date but director Mark Bomback is on board to adapt the book into a movie while Mary Parent will serve as producer.

Parent had this to say about the opportunity of making a best seller into a blockbuster

“It’s a real honor to be a part of bringing Ronda’s incredible story to the big screen,”

You can read the full story on this major announcement here http://variety.com/2015/film/news/ronda-rousey-biopic-autobiography-my-fight-your-fight-1201553460/

Who’s excited for this film!? I know I am.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

Elijah is Tough Enough

There is a lot to be said about the global phenomenon that is WWE. Some people think it’s the greatest thing to happen since slice bread while others in the IWC always have something bad to say about the flagship wrestling promotion.
One of the things that you can not deny about WWE is that they love to give back. It’s well known that the WWE superstars and divas alike are some of the most requested and highest wish granters for The Make a wish Foundation.

Let’s not forget their constant community service and there Be a Star campaign. Say what you want about the product but you got to give credit where credit is due. The people behind what we love so much have hearts of gold.

Tonight will serve as a prime example that the WWE is undeniably great at being a service to others.

A few weeks ago the WWE universe met a young man named Elijah. In a video that was posted on WWE’s Twitter and Facebook pages Triple H and Stephanie McMahon informed little Elijah that he was now Mr. Money in the Bank. Inside the briefcase was an official WWE superstar contract!

If you haven’t seen the video you can view it here in a tweet that chairmen Vince McMahon sent out earlier today

Yep you heard that right. Elijah is the newest superstar to the ever growing WWE roster. Tonight live on WWE Monday night Raw It will be made official as Elijah will be accompanied to the ring by his favorite Wrestler Stardust And the Authority will be awaiting their arrival to welcome Elijah to the roster.

It is sure to be s heartfelt moment and I’m sure I speak for everyone here. “You won’t want to miss it: