After the participants were confirmed last week, ROH has now revealed the bracket for their number one contender’s tournament.
The left side of the bracket has PCO vs. Kenny King and Dalton Castle vs. Mark Haskins in the first round. The right side has Colt Cabana vs. Marty Scurll and Bandido vs. Jay Lethal.
The winner of the tournament will challenge for the ROH World Championship at Final Battle this December.
PCO vs. King and Cabana vs. Scurll are set for ROH’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view on Friday, September 27. Castle vs. Haskins and Bandido vs. Lethal will take place at the post-Death Before Dishonor television tapings on Saturday, September 28. Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada is hosting both shows.
ROH World Champion Matt Taven is defending his title against Volador Jr. at ROH & CMLL’s Global Wars Espectacular night two this Saturday. Rush will challenge for the ROH World title at the Death Before Dishonor PPV.
The semifinals and finals of the number one contender’s tournament are taking place at Glory By Honor at the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, October 12.
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
-On KFAN’s “Powertrip Morning Show,” the hosts this morning spent several minutes on air attempting to figure out how many women Ric Flair had sex with on average per week during his adult life to have reached the 10,000 number he bragged about in an interview for ESPN’s “30 for 30” special about him that is due to air in November. Porn star Ron Jeremy told TMZ he thinks that number is not true. Flair told People that he wishes he hadn’t said it “because of my grandkids.” This story is getting a lot of play elsewhere, including at MAXIM.
-Jack Swagger will be raising funds for Mikey’s Cause, putting on a wrestling demonstration. Mikey’s Cause is an organization for kids dealing coping with cancer. Swagger helps host “A Night for Lynette Ely!” with WrestleJam 16 to honor childhood cancer survivor Lynette Ely at Ferrara Elementary School in East Haven, Connecticut on Saturday, Nov. 4. In 2016, at only 8 years old, Lynette was diagnosed with a very rare, aggressive type of cancer. Tickets for the big show featuring Jack Swagger and WrestleJam 16 are available through PayPal, with a portion of every ticket sold donated to the Mikey’s Way foundation. All seats are $20, and $10 for kids 12 and under. To purchase tickets, please email [email protected].
-Tuesday night, Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand Officer for the WWE, attended the Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Youth of the Year gala where she and other big name celebs honored six, diverse finalists. One of the six finalists, Carlos Polanco, was named as National Youth of the Year from nearly four million youth nationwide. Vince McMahon, CEO and Chairman of WWE was a Club kid and is also an esteemed member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame.
-Former Survivor contestant Jonny Fairplay, who also worked for TNA as a manager and is a recurring guest cohost of PWTorch Livecast and Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast episodes, has launched a new Survivor post-show podcast with pro wrestling podcast host Conrad Thompson. Matt Hardy and Reby Hardy made a surprise appearance at their afterparty at the Rboot Arcade Bar in Winston-Salem, N.C. While not available on iTunes quite yet, it can be streamed here: SURVIVOR OF THE FAIREST, EP. 1
CHECK OUT THIS RECENT NEWS UPDATE: Cena keynote speech today talks about keys to his success, thoughts on Vince McMahon, how wrestlers perceive themselves incorrectly
Iran will take its most significant step in breaching the nuclear deal this weekend by casting aside a limit on uranium enrichment levels, the country’s president said Wednesday.
Hassan Rouhani said that on Sunday his government would stop respecting a clause in the deal which limits Iran to enriching uranium beyond the low level of 3.67 per cent.
"On July 7, our enrichment level will no longer be 3.67 per cent,” Mr Rouhani said. “We will put aside this commitment. We will increase beyond 3.67 per cent to as much as we want, as much as is necessary, as much as we need.”
The move is part of an Iranian strategy of slowly ratcheting up violations of the deal as a way of pressuring European states to do more to deliver the economic benefits Tehran was promised during the 2015 negotiations.
Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran. While Iran remained compliant for more than a year, it has now started incrementally violating sections of the agreement.
Mr Rouhani also said Iran would step up production of heavy water at the Arak reactor, which could eventually produce the type of plutonium needed for a nuclear weapon.
There is no sign Iran is currently seeking to build a nuclear weapon and even with the threatened violations it would be more than a year away from being able to build a bomb.
However, the decisions by Mr Trump to abandon the deal and by Iran to start backing out its terms have alarmed European diplomats, who believe the deal is in danger of collapse and the prospects of war are increasing.
Mr Rouhani said Iran was prepared to go back to abiding by the nuclear agreement if it received the economic benefits it was promised.
Boris Johnson said it would be a “great mistake” for Iran to pull out of the nuclear agreement. “I would urge again the Iranian government to think very, very hard about scrapping the [agreement] and breaching their commitments on the Iran nuclear deal,” Mr Johnson said.
France also warned Iran to return to compliance and not make any further violations. "Iran will gain nothing by leaving the Vienna accord," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Sir James Dyson, the leading Brexiteer, billionaire and high-flying British technology entrepreneur, has bought the most expensive “super penthouse” in Singapore.
The three-storey “bungalow in the sky” occupies the 62nd to 64th floors – spanning more than 21,000 square feet – at the top of Singapore’s tallest building and was sold for £44 million, according to local media reports.
The luxurious five-bedroom Wallich residence in the downtown Tanjong Pagar Centre, is accessed by its own lift and boasts its own swimming pool, 600-bottle wine cellar, jacuzzi and private garden with stunning views that include the Marina Bay Sands hotel and Sentosa island, where US president Donald Trump met Kim Jong-un for a historic summit in 2018.
Mr Dyson, 72, who invented the bagless vacuum cleaner, announced plans in January to move his company’s head office from the UK to the Asian city-state of Singapore to be closer to its fastest-growing markets.
As one of the most high-profile Brexit advocates of the business world, Mr Dyson and his executives were forced to deny accusations that the move East was linked to uncertainties about the UK’s post-Brexit economy.
Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Dyson said “my personal views on Britain’s departure from the European Union didn’t come into our recent decision to move Dyson’s head office. I think Britain has a hugely exciting future once it leaves the European Union and Dyson will continue to invest and grow here.”
The tycoon stressed his decision was related to his ambition to invent a “meaningfully different” electric car by 2021, adding that he hoped to benefit from Singapore’s great technology expertise. His firm also makes bladeless fans, air purifiers and hair dryers.
“I accept that I may be ambitious to get there faster than some, but please don’t take it the wrong way: these are not the actions of a hypocrite but someone wanting to invest more in the UK post-Brexit, not less,” he wrote.
Title records seen by Reuters show that Mr Dyson and his wife Lady Deirdre, who makes contemporary rugs, became tenants of the 99-year leasehold property on June 20.
"Given the decision to locate the headquarters in Singapore and the growing focus of the company’s business in the region, of course James Dyson has bought a property there," a Dyson spokesman told the news agency, without giving further details of the purchase.
The records did not reveal the price paid, but before its unveiling, the lavish residence had a dizzying asking price of 100 million Singapore dollars (£59m), making it Singapore’s most expensive. The Business Times, however, reported a lower final price of S$73.8m (£44m).
The price-tag would likely set a new record for a penthouse purchase in Singapore, one of the world’s most expensive cities to buy a home.
The island city-state, a former British colony of just 50 square miles at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, has developed into a global business hub that also attracts the super-rich from less-developed Southeast Asian nations, as well as millionaires from mainland China.
Many flock to the city for medical tourism, and to enjoy its glitzy casinos and expensive rooftop bars. In 2018, Singapore provided the setting for the Hollywood romantic comedy blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians, directed by John M. Chu.
Mr Dyson’s purchase does not appear to have been hindered by intensified property restrictions which kicked in last year after a 9.1 per cent annual increase in home prices and as developers paid record amounts to buy land.
Foreigners now have to pay levies of more than 20 per cent to buy property under the new rules, but citizens and permanent residents pay far lower taxes.
The super-penthouse had been on the market for 18 months and was only shown to wealthy clients who had the potential to be serious buyers.
"From the onset, the buyer was always going to be a foreigner," said Leong Boon Hoe of List Sotheby’s International Realty, one of the agencies marketing the penthouse. "It’s a place to be able to showcase your wealth".
Jeffrey Epstein abused a young woman while on work release from his 18-month sentence, a lawyer for the woman claimed on Tuesday.
Brad Edwards told a press conference that a woman has come forward to say she was abused by the 66-year-old financier in 2007-8, while he was serving his sentence.
Epstein’s lawyers in Florida negotiated a plea deal whereby he would register as a sex offender and serve an 18 month sentence, but be spared federal prosecution for sex trafficking, and allowed to go to his Palm Beach office six days a week on work release. He only served 13 months of the 18 month sentence.
The deal was arranged by Alex Acosta, Donald Trump’s labour secretary, who resigned on Friday amid mounting questions over the lenient deal.
He did not release the name of the new accuser.
Mr Edwards dropped the bombshell at a press conference with his client, Courtney Wild, who has sued the government over the secret Florida deal, which was made without informing the accusers – a legal requirement.
Epstein was arrested on July 7 by police in New York, and faces 40 years in prison if convicted on new sex trafficking charges.
Ms Wild, who on Monday appeared in court to ask the New York judge not to grant bail to Epstein, called on any other victims to come forward. A judge will make a decision on bail on Thursday.
“I never had the change for my voice to be heard,” she said. “My voice was muted by the same people that were supposed to protect me. Eleven years later a judge has ruled my rights were violated.
“It’s time for the government to do right by me and other victims.
“To every victim out there, I understand what you are going through. You may try to convince yourself it was a long time ago and try to move on. But you are not alone. If you are a victim of Jeffrey Epstein, you know what I know, he will continue to sexually abuse women until he is stopped.”
Epstein was first accused of molesting dozens of underage girls a decade ago in Florida, where witnesses said that he recruited teenage girls for erotic massages that escalated to molestation, masturbation and sexual contact.
Police say that after Epstein’s arrest on July 7, new potential victims have also come forward. They also claim that a raid on Epstein’s palatial Upper East Side mansion revealed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of nude pictures of young girls.
The police also found a safe full of cash, diamonds, and a fake Saudi passport during the raid.
Epstein’s lawyer Martin Weinberg has been approached by The Telegraph for comment.
A British former headmaster of an international school in China appeared in a Singapore court Tuesday charged with consumption and possession of methamphetamine and ecstasy, reports said.
Damien Michael Charnock used to be the head of Dulwich College Shanghai, a branch of the exclusive London private school, the city-state’s Straits Times newspaper reported.
The 60-year-old faces five charges, including consumption of methamphetamine and ecstasy in March, according to charge sheets.
He is also charged with possessing packets of meth and ecstasy tablets, as well as equipment used to consume drugs, at an apartment in the city.
The case has echoes of hit American TV show "Breaking Bad", which tells the story of a chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with cancer and turns to making meth to raise money to secure his family’s future.
For each charge of drug consumption, Charnock faces up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to Sg$20,000 ($14,600), according to the Straits Times.
It is not clear why Charnock was in Singapore when he was arrested.
In an interview in 2015, Charnock said he was appointed to work at the Shanghai institution in 2014 after years as a headmaster at a school in London.
Dulwich College, founded in the 17th century, now has several branches in Asia, including in Singapore.
Eighteen people were killed when a small military plane crashed into a residential area in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi early Tuesday, officials told AFP.
The plane crashed into a poor village near an upscale neighbourhood in the garrison city that is home to the army’s headquarters, creating a fireball that lit up the night sky and terrified residents.
"We have taken 18 dead bodies to hospital… that included 13 civilians and five crew members," said local rescue spokesman Farooq Butt, adding that a further 12 people had been injured in the accident near the capital Islamabad.
"All the bodies are badly burned, so DNA tests are required for identification," he added.
One resident told AFP that the crash happened around 2am.
"I woke to the sound of a huge explosion. I stepped out of my house and saw huge flames and we rushed to the site," said Mohammad Sadiq.
"People were screaming. We tried to help them but the flames were too high and the fire too intense," he said, adding he believed seven members of one family were among the dead.
Another resident Ghulam Khan said he heard the plane as it buzzed over his house, adding the aircraft appeared to be on fire before it crashed.
The military’s information wing said the plane was on a routine training mission when the accident occurred, adding that rescue officials had extinguished the fire caused by the crash and moved the injured to a local hospital.
An AFP reporter at the scene said smoke was still rising from the wreckage and destroyed homes, while pieces of the plane were visible on a nearby roof.
Hours after the crash rescue workers could be seen combing through the smouldering site, gathering debris and inspecting the scene while ambulances swarmed the area.
Military officials had also cordoned off the crash site while a crowd of residents stood nearby, some of them sobbing.
Prime Minister Imran Khan offered his condolences to the affected families and wished a "quick recovery for the injured", according to a tweet by the Pakistani government.
Pakistan has a chequered aviation safety record, with frequent plane and helicopter crashes over the years.
In 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed while travelling from remote northern Pakistan to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.
The deadliest air disaster on Pakistani soil was in 2010, when an Airbus 321 operated by private airline Airblue and flying from Karachi crashed into the hills outside Islamabad while coming in to land, killing all 152 on board.
This weekend, themes of friendship, love and family abound in new releases coming to theaters near you.
In the mood for a crowd-pleasing heist film? Look no further than “Hustlers,” a movie about sisterhood starring Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu as exotic dancers who struggle to stay in business after the 2008 economic recession.
Meanwhile, fans of Donna Tartt’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel can watch the story play out onscreen in “The Goldfinch,” starring Oakes Fegley as a grieving, motherless teenage boy whom a patrician (Nicole Kidman) takes in as her surrogate son. Ansel Elgort plays the adult version of the teenager in the film.
Here’s what to see and what to skip this weekend:
Movies Out This Weekend
“Hustlers” — Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu; directed by Lorene Scafaria
Jennifer Lopez leads an all-star cast in Lorene Scafaria’s crime caper movie that is based on Jessica Pressler’s 2014 New York magazine article, “The Hustlers at Scores,” in which the journalist profiled several exotic dancers who scrambled to stay afloat after the 2008 recession.
A story of friendship and sisterhood, the film follows Ramona (Lopez), a veteran pole dancer at a notorious Manhattan strip club, where she leads a pack of newbie dancers — Destiny (Constance Wu), Annabelle (Lili Reinhart), Diamond (Cardi B), Mercedes (Keke Palmer) and Liz (Lizzo). In the film, Ramona and her crew ride the boom times of Wall Street like there’s no tomorrow, basking in the glow of this seemingly everlasting world of excess.
However, the economic downturn soon hits rock-bottom, and Wall Street collapses. Suddenly, the ladies’ favorite dollar bill-waving stockbrokers stop flooding the gentlemen’s bar. What are they to do now in order to survive the recession? Ramona and Destiny concoct a plan — albeit illicit and dangerous — to stay in the game: drug their clients with memory-blurring cocktails and run up charges on their credit cards.
Simple enough? Yes, that may be the case — but there’s more to it than meets the eye.
See it. Lopez exudes charisma and confidence in her best performance to date since her career-defining work in “Out of Sight.” Plus, single-liners zing with delight in this crowd-pleasing movie.
Watch the trailer:
“The Goldfinch” — Oakes Fegley, Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman; directed by John Crowley
Donna Tartt’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel comes to life in John Crowley’s “The Goldfinch,” a poignant story about a young man struggling to move on, let go and leave his tragic past behind.
The film opens with a dreamy sequence set in a hotel room in Amsterdam, where young adult Theo (Ansel Elgort) reflects on his life as he gazes out over a serene canal during a snowfall. Then, the narrative flashes back to 2008 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where 13-year-old Theo (Oakes Fegley) is badly shaken, only minutes after losing his mother in a terrorist bombing attack. Samantha Barbour (Nicole Kidman), a patrician, soon takes the young teenager in as her surrogate son. As he adapts to his new surroundings, he befriends another blast survivor named Pippa (Aimee Lawrence), a young girl who will hold a special place in his heart.
But just when Theo is about to accept his new life with the Barbour family, his dad, Larry Decker (Luke Wilson), suddenly shows up at the massive Manhattan apartment to claim his son. Reluctant and perplexed, Samantha complies with Larry’s request, and Theo relocates with his disgraceful father in Las Vegas, where the young boy soon gets enmeshed with substance abuse.
Years later, the story picks up with Theo (Elgort) back in New York, where he is now a working professional. There, he reconnects with the Barbour family as well as with his childhood crush, Pippa (Ashleigh Cummings). Everything in Theo’s life seems normal, but deep inside, he remains embroiled in his tragic past. Why? The answer lies in a priceless 17th-century painting called “The Goldfinch.”
Skip it. With a running time of nearly 150 minutes, the movie’s flow languishes with two timelines that feel too disjointed, inorganic and convoluted to process.
Tim McNiff catches up with 17-year-old world champion wrestler Emily Shilson.
Okay… don’t come at me because I just called a 17-year-old girl a “beast,” It’s cool. At least, I think it is.
As I explained to Emily Shilson, who just last week became the first girl from the U.S. to win a world championship since 2015 (teammate Macey Kilty from Wisconsin also won a world title the very next day), I meant it as nothing but a compliment, because Emily Shilson eats, drinks, lifts, sweats, dreams and breathes everything about wrestling.
“I can’t imagine doing any other sport. It just wouldn’t be the same,” says Emily. “I love every minute of wrestling. Whether it’s hard or not, it’s just fun and sometimes the funnest parts are the hard parts.”
Emily would know. Winning her world championship certainly did not come easy. A runner-up to a wrestler from Japan a year ago, Emily suffered food poisoning and was throwing up before her quarterfinal match in this year’s tournament in Zagreb, Croatia. How affected was Emily? She tech-falled her opponent from India 10-0 to move into the semifinals at 43 kilograms. Continue reading at www.kare11.com
Justin Barrasso Of Sports Illustrated recently interviewed WWE Hall Of Famer Arn Anderson regarding his recent release from The WWE. Below are his comments:
“I was fortunate enough to work with WWE for 18 years,” Anderson said. “Certainly that provided my family and myself with a nice living, and I have no regrets. A lot of my best friends still work there. Everything has a shelf life, and I guess mine ran out.”
Anderson is set to make his first-ever post-WWE appearance at Starrcast II in Las Vegas, Nevada during the weekend of May 23rd-26th, which is the same weekend as AEW’s Double Or Nothing Event. This will be Arn’s first non-WWE sanctioned appearance in almost 20 years. Below are his comments on the appearance:
“It used to be a dangerous setting when they handed me a live mic,” Anderson said of the Starrcast appearance. “So we’ll see if it will be again.”